I just started to conceal carry my XD-9 (16 rd capacity) in Texas and was wondering is one spare magazine enough? Or should I be carrying two?

I think one is enough. I usually carry a spare on me, one in my truck and one in my backpack.

If you're a cop, I'd say two spares at least.

But for daily carry for joe civy like me, one is plenty for daily carry. Remember, you're carrying for self defense and not to go around itching for a fight and looking for trouble so you can shoot folks.

I carry 1 to 3 spare 8 round  mags for my Shield, depending on what I am doing. I usually only carry 1 spare if I'm carrying my P226 duty weapon.

Unless you are a LEO, yes. The mag is there mostly in case of problems anyways. Highly unlikely you will ever need it in the first place and also very unlikely you will need a reload; however there are no guarantees so if you feel better carrying more than 1 spare I wouldn't fault you. This is coming from someone who carries a snub K frame and 1 speedloader so take this for what it is worth I guess.

I carry two for many reasons stated above.

Realistically, you'll be fine with just one.

One is probably fine for a higher capacity gun like yours.  I'd probably carry two if each mag only held 10 rounds or less, but that's me.

I usually carry one 17 round spare for my Glock 19.  I've been thinking about adding a second to EDC lately but I can't seem to justify the need.  The first spare is primarily there for the case of malfunctions.  A second would clearly be for more ammo for when I think 33 rounds won't be enough.

Pretty much this. I usually have one spare on me and another in the truck. If I need more than that I'm not going.

Usually yes on my person, but keep 3-4 in center console, probably one or two in door pocket, a couple in bag. Same for wife's ride.

Now if in Memphis I carry two spares.

The fight will likely be over before you even need the second one, unless you spray and pray.

I normally carry one spare mag, but I have a nice nylon 3 cell mag pouch if I want to be over the top.  I usually carry 2 spare mags and my flashlight, when I use it.

I have a Milt Sparks 6-pack, but other than carrying mags to the range, it doesn't get much use.  

Hopefully, 19 to 31 rounds is enough.  That would be my .38 Super or my P226.  More than most carried in the 20th century.

I have always carried two extra mags.  Even my home defense AR has two 30 rnd mags down loaded to 28 each cinched together. I like having a plan B.

I carry 3 extra 15 round mags.

San Antonio here.

Pfft, I have a 60 round Surefire and a 60 round drum from Magpul for that

This

No one ever walked out of a gunfight complaining of having too much ammo left.

Only reason I carry a second mag is because LCP mags are so small they fit in that little right hand pant pocket along with a pocket knife.

LOL there's two loaded beta mags next to the safe, just in case there really are zombies. Ones loaded with M855 the other clone Mk262 mod 1. But for the most part if 48 rnds of 75 grn TAP won't put the fire out. Then that's some DEEP SHIT I've gotten myself into.

I carry 3 on my duty belt when i'm working and another 11 rounds  in my BUG. Off duty i usually have a spare in my pocket.

I generally only carry one spare if I'm packing the Glock 19 or 20 but I carry a couple with the 43. I always have spare readily available in the car as well. I keep 2x19 round mags, 2x33 round mags for the 19, 2x15 round mags for the 20 and 2x7 round mags for the 43 in my center console.

I carry a spare 15 round magazine for my Glock 19 or Hi Power primarily as insurance in the event of a magazine-related malfunction. The extra ammo is nice, too.

I don't carry a spare unless I'm carrying my G43. Might not be "smart" but I have enough shit in my pockets and another mag is a bit of a hassle.

Same here, but if I carry my G27 I carry 3.
Also a good idea to have some spare loaded mags as well as a full box of SD ammo in the car.

For carry, 1 tried and true mag in case of a malfunction.

But you should own more than one extra mag for the gun. A set (or more) for training so that you don't beat up your carry mags is a good idea.

Cheers!
-JC

I carry an XDS 4.0 in 9mm. I carry an 8-round in the gun, plus a spare 9-rounder. That's 18 total.

I do have a magazine holder that can carry two spare mags, but I have not used that yet.

For me, personally, I feel comfortable with what I have.

Never ever carried a spare mag.  Or speed loader.  Too much other stuff already; cell phone, wallet, keys, knife, check book, spare change, I just don't have enough room.

There are still people these days that still carry checkbooks?

I still carry a checkbook.

If they would print $500 and $1000 bills, like they did back in the day, it might not be necessary.

But, they started calling them in 47 years ago.

Not trying to sound like Banacek, but some times the old ways are the best.

I have a kydex magazine carrier for example, but if I have time to thread the Horseshoe leather carrier on my belt, I much prefer that.

I always carry at least 4. But, it comes down to what you are comfortable with. I always look at the worst case scenario and plan accordingly. The best case, average scenario is not the one that is going to get you killed. The worst case scenario is the one that will get you killed. Especially if you run out of ammunition. For example, most common, everyday dregs will probably not want to get into a gunfight and go into flight mode. Then there are the ones whose physiology gives them superhuman strength. Consider many police encounters where the bad guy(s) was shot multiple times and continued to shoot at the police, even though their bodies had taken multiple, seemingly incapacitating damage.

An example would be the two armored car robbers who engaged in a shootout with FBI agents in Miami in 1985. They took multiple hits to major organs and continued to shoot at FBI agents and killed several of the agents before they finally died. Someone will come along and say that they're not the FBI and have no intention of engaging armored car robbers. But, the point is, you carry a gun for protection without intending to engage anybody in a life threating situation. You may not intend to use your weapon, but, you carry it just in case you do.  You leave your house and have no intention of walking in on an armed robbery at the gas station. The people having dinner at the Luby's restaurant in Texas had no intention to encounter a nutcase who would drive his pickup truck into the restaurant and get out and start shooting restaurant patrons for no apparent reasons. Who expected that to happen when they went there to eat?

There was a Vietnamese restaurant in New Orleans where they were robbed. The robber didn't just rob them she took them into the back and shot all of them to leave no witnesses behind. Turned out a little girl survived and identified the robber as a uniformed NOL police officer. I'm sure none of the restaurant patrons thought they were going to be robbed and then killed that day.

Or the nut that went into the McDonald's restaurant in San Diego and started shooting patrons for no apparent reason. Or the two terrorists in San Bernardino, CA. If I am out and about and something like this happens, I will be wishing I had even more than the 4 magazines that I carry now. FBI Special Agent Mireles who almost died in the shootout in Miami in 1985 said he learned one thing from that experience. Carry as much ammo as you can.

The purpose of carrying is for self defense, not looking for robbers and terrorists to shoot.

I'm good with a mag in the gun and a spare mag, life is too short to be over-analytical about things.

Not here to argue one way or another, but in most of the examples you listed above there was still only 1-2 assailants. Not sure why you would need 4 magazines even for that situation.

Personally I carry 15+1 in my G19 with a spare 17rd reload. I feel like 33rds should be able to get me out of trouble, and if I need any more than that then I fear that I grossly underestimated the situation.

agreed, one in the chamber and one mag=14 rds of .40 is good enough for me. If you're going to be that conscious of extreme scenarios you might as well open carry an AR on your back.

...or just stay at home in a fighting position with food and water being brought to you throughout the days.

Tried that once in Kuwait for a few weeks after coming down from missions up North.  Can't recommend  

Better off carrying a decent blaster with a reload, and a couple extra mags in a glovebox. Far less mind numbing, and one will smell better.

Wow..... If you get to the point of needing 4 mags you are doing it wrong.  Pistol is only to get you back to your rifle or vehicle to GTFO of that situation.  

Mag in pistol and spare that is all for me.

Often times i don't carry a spare mag at all.

Many times i will carry a small pocket gun or ankle carry a small pistol and carry my g19 or G30s, So that makes one small gun and one medium gun.

Other times i carry my G19 or G30S and a spare mag. Depends on my mood and where I'm going to be. If I'm in the city (usually Denver) i opt for option 3. Ive never carried more than one mag though. I keep extras in the truck.

I carry 2 spare mags carrying 31 rounds total. I have 2 spares in my glove box.

Handy place for business cards, grocery lists, stamps, assorted notes, etc.

You will not get a straight answer. Some guys I know don't carry a spare mag and they are fine with it, others carry 4-5 because 60+ gold dots are not enough for a prolonged firefight . In any case, I usually carry one spare because the mag is the weak link, and not because I feel like I need "X" number of rounds on me at all times. More ammo is better than less ammo, but you gotta be reasonable.

My main carry is the G43. I don't keep any spare on my person. I have 2 on my backpack, which goes everywhere with me. 2 in the door of my truck. I feel 7 rounds  is enough for me. It all comes down to what makes you comfortable.

I think about this often, as I have had no formal training. Im also not big on fighting, ive never taken any kind of martials arts or self defense courses so im sure I would get my ass handed to me in a bar fight. In 2016 I plan on taking some type of defense course, preferably with a portion focusing on weapon retention in case I happen to get made before or during the struggle.

ETA: by "not big on fighting" I mean never been in what I would call a real fight, other than just wrestling/playing around. Im not the biggest guy either, but I lift weights and am in pretty good shape cardio wise as well. I know once the adrenaline dumps everything changes, but my technical skills are pretty much nonexistant

There's a video out there that a man tried to disarm someone in some casino and they went to the ground and got either shot with his own gun or by the thugs own gun. Retention along with combatives is pretty darn important, along with cardio work outs meaning more stamina to stay in it longer and outlast them POS's and to never give up for the fight of your life.

ETA: found it...NSFW or family

Same here, Brewster County

Granted this is about a cop at work, but, even if he tried to retreat, I doubt he would have just him go.  If the bad guy here decided to take you on, I think you would have the same problem as this cop.  
https://www.policeone.com/police-heroes/articles/6199620-Why-one-cop-carries-145-rounds-of-ammo-on-the-job/

I usually carry a spare mag, either a 17 round one for the G19 or an 8 round one for the P290RS.  For either one, it is a DeSantis in my front weak side pocket.

There's also a story out there of a guy who fought off home invaders and fired 30 rounds or more.

Then you read what happened to Blitz and Mike_P and they didn't fire as many.

Use common sense and don't be too over analytical about this.We're not cops for those that go about our lives. Life is too short to be this paranoid.

Yeah, this place seems to be neckbeard city.  Dude a few posts above is citing 30-year-old infamous FBI shootouts as the impetus for him carrying like 80 rounds for a pistol.

You are very unlikely to be in a situation where you need a gun.

You are even less likely to have to shoot someone.

You are even LESS likely to be confronted by multiple assailants.

You are EVEN LESS LIKELY to need so many rounds to solve your problem that you need to reload..

Etc etc etc.

Most people on this site are many orders of magnitude more likely to die from heart disease than criminal activity.  Hell, I bet most people on here are more adversely affected by all the money they spend on guns and associated shit than they are by criminal activity.  

Agreed; OK you may be that one in a billion exception....but I bet not! I'm OK with an extra mag in case of a failure (and extremely unlikely you'd ever need it), past that you are really getting out there. Unless you are a LEO of some kind I don't see it either.



 

No shit, there I was.... at a gun show on Sunday buying a hard to find rifle I'd been wanting for quite awhile.  As I'd already made another purchase, the cash on hand was low, so I opted to use my debit card and eat the 3% fee - it was a good deal anyway.

The dealer says to me "Do you have a checkbook?".  I reply "Yes but I don't carry it as no one takes checks anymore."  He says "I do...if someone writes a bad check for a firearm it's a felony and ATF will immediately go after the individual and recover the gun for me."

Consequently, my future plan is to at least have a check book in the vehicle when I go to gun shows.

   

Back to the topic at hand, the data on self defense shoots, LEO or citizen, indicate that the vast majority of self defense shoots are conducted with less than 5 shots fired in under 5 seconds at ranges of 5 yards or less.

As an example, the FBI studied 12 years of agent involved shoots and found that 75% of it's agent involved shoots resulted in three rounds or less being fired, and at ranges of three yards or less.


Consequently, assuming you'll need multiple reloads isn't a reasonable assumption - you'll be packing extra weight and bulk just to accommodate a very low probability subset of what is an already very low probability event.   The greater risk is that sooner or later you'll get tired of carrying all that extra crap and just leave it all home for that quick trip to the stab and grab to get your wife some Ben and Jerry's - and discover you need three to five of those rounds in the gun you left home really, really bad.


For a revolver, there's not much need for a reload at all, but on the other hand a 5 shot speed strip for a Model 36 or Model 60 doesn't take up much space in a pocket or weigh very much, so there's minimal downside to carrying them.

For a pistol, you need to carry a single spare magazine, not for the additional rounds, but because dropping the mag currently in the weapon and replacing it with the spare is the fastest way to resolve certain malfunctions where "tap, rack, bang" isn't sufficient.