Mag pouch options and purposes
The are many ways of concealing a firearm, but when it comes to carrying backup mags, there are far fewer options. I know plenty of people that carry spare mags around in pockets, but I’ve seen too many times that the top round of a loaded mag will eventually pop loose or be out of place which could cause a malfunction. I’d recommend carrying spare ammo along the belt line for 85% of CCW. There are some tactical jackets that are designed for holding magazines, but I also recommend close the pockets and not leaving them open. Elastic retention will help hold a mag from side to side movement, but when it comes to up and down movement, those mags will probable hit the ground when you may be reaching for them.
Also keep in mind that there are ways of modifying your mode of carry before you leave the house, some environments are always going to call for different guns and different gear, but it’s best to stick with the best for all occasions. If you’ve never taken a Defensive training course, I highly recommend going. You will hopefully get a good instructor and get your money’s worth, but one of the things I can almost guarantee you will learn about, is all of the other students that show up with gear that didn’t cut it. Blackhawk Holsters are top tier firearm retention holsters, and they make a single and double stack mag holder that gives you a level of tension without having to deal with a cumbersome flap or snap down mag holder.





I’m the type that goes through sticker shock whenever I go to gun shops or gun shows and see the prices the NIB guns cost. People seem to think that buying used means the gun is closer to breakage than a new gun. Nothing could be further from the truth. There are several manufacturers that are making incredible reliable and durable firearms that may have fewer than 500rds through. If you look at barrel life and frame life, those guns are in the equivallent of being in the early stages of grade school. There are plenty of used police trade ins that just have holster wear and probable only were shot during qualification each year by an LEO.
Suggestion for CCW are always need to be preceded by “for what environment”. Yes defending yourself from a BG is why you are carrying, but there are so many ways to carry a firearm that there is not a do everything gun. We don’t want to carry the smallest capacity and caliber into known hostile environments, but we have to be careful we aren’t overdueing it. What do I mean? I know what to look for when I am wondering if somebody might be packing. I’ve seen gangsters and drug dealers adjust their pants in the same spot and seem to move things which is a dead giveaway that they are packing.
Promag and Mec-Gar make decent magazines, I wouldn’t suggest them as primary magazines, but factory new magazines can be pricey. I would suggest regardless of which number of magazines you are normally carrying, keep 3 or 4 range mags for each handgun you own.
Any experienced and well trainied CCW holder will tell you that it may be wise to change your holster or carry gun during the change in seasons. I’ve spotted more than a few CCW holders out in the open when it was pretty obvious that the machismo took the best of them and they just had to keep carrying that 1911 IWB at 5 o’clock in the summer months as they were 5’7″ and didn’t realize that when they were standing in line at the super market that I could see the T-shirt bunched up around the belt line.
Promag magazines have gone through the decades being one of the top end of the replacement or after marketa magazines and they are still holding up. Pistol reliability has drastically increased over the last 15yrs and so has the machining and manufacturer of rifle and pistol magazines. Whether you have a Keltec P32 or a Mini 14, you can find Promag magazines at a reasonable price and use them for primary or secondary uses. During the assautl weapons ban of 1994 until the sunset of the ban,
A great many years ago I wondered how people really knew which holster worked for them. It’s one of those things people don’t understand when they first start to carry a gun. The reality is that some holster designs are as pretty to look at in the same way we shop for clothing or for a car. Some people just need to get around from point A to point B and don’t need to show off.