My main carry gun is a 40 caliber, the mag holds 9 rounds and I carry one spare 14 round mag. My 9mm carry gun mag holds 7 rounds and I carry 2 spare mags with it. I also have several extra mags for each gun in my car gun safe.

I prefer a second pistol and will opt for that over a spare mag when concealment is the first priority.

My rationale is that it gives me more versatility. I can arm a second law abiding citizen in the event of a mass shooting (most of friends/family don't edc).

I'd also rather go to a completely fresh slate than diagnosis a semi auto in a worst case scenario. My experience has shown that if a proven reliable ( over 500 rounds fired) semi auto suddenly goes down, I usually need new springs, not more ammo.

All that said, I will carry a spare magazine when concealment concerns are more relaxed because, well why not?

My preference is 1 in the gun and 2 in a holder, but then I carry 1911s a lot.

Of course there’s always the Jerry Miculek version:

Two reloads. Not because I anticipate needing 46 rounds of ammo, but because most malfunctions are related to magazines, or ammunition, and if I have to strip a full or partially full magazine due to a stoppage, I'm gonna need some help playing catchup.

One in the gun and one spare,then I have 3 in the car in a three mag pouch.All five get rotated every September that ammo becomes range ammo and fresh ammo goes into the spare mags.

One in the pistol and one on the belt. If I cant resolve the situation with that load, its "feet, don fail me now" !
When out and about with my GP 100, I pack one speedloader and an MTM Ammo Wallet in my back pocket.

I carry a G19 with a flush fit 15 in the gun and a 15 round mag with the Glock +2 extension on it. Less for the extra two rounds and more because the corner of the flush fitting mag base digs into my side sometimes.

One in the gun and one spare. I read the poll as haw many spare mags should be carried, so I voted one.

There is no answer to this question. Really. If you need a mag and you don't have it then you are F****. But almost every study I have seen about cc use has the answer being less than one mag. So since I know one is none, and two is one I carry one.

I carry 1. In the woods I carry zero extras, in the woods I won’t uave time to reload. In the city though, 1.

I recommend 2.
1 in the gun and another in a pocket or near my belt line.
The second magazine is more for a semi auto malfunction than needing more ammo in a gun fight.

I've always ran 1 in the gun and two mags spare.

I've done a single spare every so often; sometimes a 15rd G22 mag but mostly just another G23 mag. No extension base plates for me, not after I had a blowout with one at the range.

Mostly however I carry only the gun with no spare mag or mag holster. It's just too much add-on shit to be carrying around; another sign that I'm getting old and ornery, I think.

One is none, two is better, three is best.

If I carry my 239 I carry one extra mag. If I carry my 226 I do not carry any extra mags. 19 rounds will do the job if I do mine.

I voted 2 spares, but usually only leave the house with one spare mag in a clip-on holder on me.

Realistically though, if the 15-17 round mag in the gun, plus one spare isn't enough ammo to get me out of whatever trouble I'm in, then another mag probably won't make much difference. I need close air support.

I've been in a few firefights back in the late 60s & I don't recall ever wishing I was carrying LESS ammo. But now that I'm 70 years old, it seems like too much of a pain in the butt to un-do my belt to add a mag holder.

I carry 2 spare mags for whatever I’m carrying, except when it’s my XD-S 9, then it’s three (all 8-rounders). I don’t mind carrying the extra crap on my belt. I also carry a couple knives and a few flashlights, so what’s a couple magazines?

On the very rare occasion that I carry my Taurus 85, I’ll carry a Bianchi SpeedStrip, but normally when I carry the 85 it’s as a BUG in an ankle holster.

Normally when I carry, I carry one of the following: M11-A1, CZ-75B Omega Convertible, P229/.40, or Glock 19 or 23, each with two spare mags (or the aforementioned XD-S/9 with 3 mags).

Overkill? Perhaps, but I believe that old truism “better to have it and not need it, than to need it and not have it”...

For my personal situation I CCW with whatever is in my pistol, either my Walther PPS or Glock 19.

There are no right or wrong answers in such a situation, just what the particular individual is comfortable with.

I tend to carry three, one in the gun and two spares, although that is not an absolute. Sometimes it's just what is in the gun, depending on what I am wearing.

As for ownership, I like to have at least 8 "full capacity" magazines for my carry guns. Having lived through magazine bans, I want to have enough that I will be grandfathered with enough supply to get me to my eternal rest.

mags ? its not the mags, its the number of rounds.

30 minimum