Although not LEO, I've found that my idea of "Bring enough gun" has changed over the years. I used to think that a pistol with one spare mag was enough. But I suppose it depends on what area of the country you live in and what are your chances of getting caught up in a riot or encountering a larger group of miscreants?

When I lived in Portland and saw that agitators were intimidating the locals in their neighborhoods and blocking traffic, I realized that a pistol and a spare mag might not be enough to get out of a situation. They've shut down I-5 freeway on multiple occasions. So now you're stuck in traffic and can't drive away and you have an angry mob harassing or in some cases assaulting people who were just trying to go about their day peacefully.

After that, I started carrying an AR pistol with four magazines in my truck vault.

I've also changed what I carry at church. With churches and schools being the recent targets of trannys, I went from carrying a P365 to a full size 1911 on Sundays. All other days everywhere else is just a P365 with a spare 15 round mag. I still keep the AR pistol in the truck.

I supposed if I lived in Detroit or NOLA, or some high crime area, I might adjust my carry setup. Don't know what that would look like though.

Tony.

Not sure where the line should be, but six mags on your belt doesn't sound like law enforcement anymore...urban warfare to hold territory perhaps?

Totally understand wanting to get home alive, but mobility is a form of fire power too IMO.

quote:

Can You Carry Too Much Ammo?

1) Swimming
2) On fire

Obligatory Timothy Gramins reference - an LEO who switched from .45ACP to 9mm after being in a shootout that required 14 hits to incapacitate his assailant

Why one cop carries 145 rounds of ammo on the job

quote:

Originally posted by iron chef:
Obligatory Timothy Gramins reference - an LEO who switched from .45ACP to 9mm after being in a shootout that required 14 hits to incapacitate his assailant

Why one cop carries 145 rounds of ammo on the job

First story I thought of when I saw this thread title! Donut Operators crayon cartoon of how it went down.

quote:

Originally posted by iron chef:
Obligatory Timothy Gramins reference - an LEO who switched from .45ACP to 9mm after being in a shootout that required 14 hits to incapacitate his assailant

Why one cop carries 145 rounds of ammo on the job

He got the job done with 33 rounds out of the 37 he carried for his duty gun


I can understand why he would want to start carrying more than just 37 total rounds, since he was 4 rounds away from running out. But simply switching to the G17 (like he did) with the standard 3 mags would get him 52. An additonal spare magazine like I carry would get him 69, more than double his "worst case scenario" expenditure.

Going all the way from 37 to 145 is excessive. He overcompensated and went from "not enough" to "way too much". But if it makes him feel better to have those two 33 round mags shoved in his vest after that traumatic event, then more power to him. Still not something I'd advocate to other officers.

quote:

Originally posted by iron chef:
Obligatory Timothy Gramins reference - an LEO who switched from .45ACP to 9mm after being in a shootout that required 14 hits to incapacitate his assailant

Why one cop carries 145 rounds of ammo on the job

Yes, I considered mentioning that in my initial reply. A key point in the story though (from memory) is that it all ended when he slowed down and shot the perp in the head instead of just continuing to send rounds his way.

His entire first magazine - over 1/3 of his total rounds expended - was also shot through the front windshield while he was still seated in the car. Bullets shot through windshields experience severe upward deflection due to the angle and makeup of the windshield's laminated safety glass, so it's very likely that few to none of those rounds ended up where he intended.

This is something that we demonstrate with junk cars during Vehicle CQB classes, where we shoot through various parts of the car, including the windshield (in both directions).

A target placed directly at the front bumper can still be hit in the upper torso/neck/head with most rounds if you aim at the lower torso while shooting out through the windshield from the front seats.

But with a target positioned just a few feet past the front bumper, the rounds end up going over the top of the target.

If you fire enough rounds that you manage to fully port an open hole through the laminated glass so that the next rounds aren't deflected that changes things. But that requires both wasting the first X rounds (and sending them flying who knows where) as well as needing the threat to remain rooted in place so that you don't have to track your muzzle over onto an unbroken section of windshield. Neither of which are recipes for success.

Two on the duty belt, and two more on my vest. You might need to provide a reload to your partner. Also I have dropped my reload on the range, having another one is always a plus.

quote:

It's a topic of discussion and debate among the instructor cadre. Just for clarification, 6 factory high cap mags puts you at 148 rounds on your person. Thoughts?

Thoughts?
Hey, my $.02?
"You do you, boo!" I'm NOT lugging 6 magazines. I'm not Sgt CPD SIG USMC anymore. I'm a Cop, not an occupying force. They want to tote 6 Hi-Cap mags, go right ahead. They also might get some odd looks and eye-rolls, , but hey... Who am I to judge.

Depending on what I was doing and where I was doing it at:
Sig P-220: 4 magazines and occasionally a 5 shot snub
Glock G-21: 3 magazines, occasionally a G-30 as a back-up
Glock G-19, or G-17 or G-34: 3 magazines (2 on the belt, 1 on the vest)

AR: 1 magazine in the gun, one on my vest, 2 in my bag in the car.
(If I need any more than 4 full AR magazines, I'm in the wrong fuckin' place)

Maybe soon, if things happen and I get lucky, it might just be a G-19 and maybe a spare mag.