So, before I begin, I'd like to say that I think the point of this thread is to explore both the pros and cons of carrying a spare magazine.
And with that in-mind, I'd like to further that exploration by taking up some counter-points: not because I believe that either
@KASHIRA-3 or
@SoNic are either more right or more wrong, but rather just to further an already excellent debate.
So, with that said:
There is a difference between being "worried" about something and simply conducting a risk assessment. Considering what the resulting damage may be from a magazine failure and considering the overall cost and effort to mitigate such potential for substantial loss, just about any analysis of risk would probably identify the cheap and near effortless remedy as good policy. Risk assessing 101 ( potential for high lost vs low cost to remedy) = action plan. Depending on how high the loss is considered to be, the likely hood of it happening is not as important as the need to safeguard against it. In this example, we are talking LIFE-safety.
So if we take this view, then wouldn't the expense be irrelevant, and perhaps given the weight/size, we'd be better off carrying a second gun?
My 19-round XDm9 magazine full-stack with nineteen 147 gr. Federal HSTs comes in at 362 grams (a hair below 12.8 oz.), with an OE SA X-Tension (to not only bridge the gap, but more importantly, to serve as the overtravel stop that the XDm lacks).
My S&W M&P 340 (Centennial AirLite) comes in at 455 grams (just shy of 16.1 ounces), with a full cylinder of five Speer 135 gr. +P Short Barrel GDHPs.
My Kahr PM9 with 7 rounds of 147 gr. Speer GDHPs comes in at 561 grams (right below 19.8 ounces).
The J-frame is a paragon of concealed carry and virtually disappears in either an IWB or ankle holster. The Kahr is slimmer and makes for even more discrete carry as a pocket-gun, and again all but disappears at the waist.
Couldn't one argue that if there's a problem with the primary weapon, that given the time it takes to remediate even a simple "Type 1 Malfunction" or stoppage, it's better to just go to a backup weapon (doubly so if the backup is ready-at-hand, instead of riding in deeper concealment)? That if we do take that worst-possible-case scenario and play it out, we should account for the possibility of that failure-to-fire to potentially be a true malfunction of the weapon?
Certainly, the way that the late Louis Awerbuck presents it, that makes a lot more sense than carrying a spare mag....
Risk assessment. Consider the risk of getting hit by a lighting strike. Would you wear a tinfoil cap and down conductor all the time?
What's the risk that a factory magazine, seldom used, cleaned monthly, would fail? Is not worrying me that much to keep it on me.
Rather add a personal electrical shock device for that weight and size:
https://www.amazon.com/SABRE-Gun-Anti-Grab-Technology-Intimidating-Flashlight/dp/B075K3PC7Y
Given modern technique, I'm really hesitant to go the way of a pain-compliance, contact, weapon as a lethal-force alternative/backup.
Arguably, this is why we have gone away from the old irritant "Mace" formulation ("CN/CS") to the modern inflammatory-agent we see in "OC."
Anything that relies on pain to inflict compliance will be just that much more highly variable in terms of its effectiveness, particularly against mentally altered or simply more determined aggressors. And given the contact-weapon nature of "stun guns" and the like (which needs to be clearly distinguished from a true "TASER" - which, itself should be noted can be used in "Drive Stun" mode to elicit pain compliance...a technique which, as both the DOJ and PERF noted, is of limited effectiveness and may even prove counterproductive), I'm even more hesitant to recommend its use in a lethal-force context (i.e. given that we're looking to replace a magazine of ammunition with its presence).
I'd much rather have that space taken up by either OC - which would allow me to further expand my use-of-force spectrum, to "give me a tool between harsh language and the gun," as we discussed in another thread - or even a knife, or, better yet, a proper high-powered flashlight (versus the rather anemic one that's incorporated into the tool cited above), which can itself potentially help the user avoid problems to begin with.
