How many magazines?

[MegademiC]

All depends how much you shoot and treat your equipment, and what you do with it.
3 for carry
4 for competition

How many mags do you carry? Do you compete? What is the purpose of the handgun? All factors.

[GNXII]

Usually 10-15 mags for all handguns. All are tested, numbered and intialled. My rule of thumb is if a mag goes bad for whatever reason, its get crushed,shit canned then replaced with 2 new mags. As mentioned above, mags are the weakest link on a semiauto and are expendable. Rifles get about 15-20 for the same reasons. Certain guns,like 1911s, are particular with a certain manufacturers magazines. Testing a few samples of new non-OEM mags before buying a bunch them always helps from sinking alot money with zero return! I had issues when using Wilsons in a Colt 1990 era 1911. Same mags fed fine in S&W and a Springfield, go figure! Mags & Ammo...buy 'em cheap & stack'em deep!

[OldState]

I used to shoot IDPA and when I started I was always advised 3 bare minimum, 5 good, 7 ideal. When I moved from 1911s to M&P Bothach had a crazy sale on factory mags. I bought enough to have 9 for each competition/training gun. I have 5 for my carry piece.

I have stockpiled AR mags just in case....

[The_War_Wagon]

I have over a hundred AR mags, quite frankly, I feel a little silly admitting that.

If Pe-LOUSY gets her way, you'll wish you had more. I know I have over 300, and while I haven't bought any in months, I wouldn't turn any down if they came my way either.

[whatthepuck]

5-6 is a good minimum, 10 per pistol is better.

[ST911]

the quantity to use for the guns purpose, i.e. duty, CCW, competition
the same quantity to use for training, practice, dedicated wear-and-tear
the same quantity in storage to replace those expended in purpose 1 or 2

[Mozart]

I’d recommend 6-9 OEM mags, and then maybe 10-15 cheaper aftermarket. For example, I have 6 Glock OEM for carry rotation, 12 Magpul GL9 of various sizes, and 1 ETS 15rd just to check it out.

If the question revolves around storing for a ban situation, that’ll be plenty. Buy some replacement springs for a ban situation where you’re grandfathered in, in case they outlaw “parts kits”.

[kerplode]

I do this:
Standard Capacity of > 10 rds -> Minimum of 15 per firearm instance (5x ARs = 75 mags min)
Standard Capacity of <= 10 rds -> Minimum of 5 per instance

Realistically, though, I procure as many as I reasonably can. I was just getting big into firearms in 1994, though, so that colors my outlook.

Next time they do the AWB, they're gonna make possession of "high-capacity" magazines a felony, so none of this may really matter (depending on your tolerance for being a felon)

[ndmiller]

A few extra until you're satisfied the new gun is for you. After that a dozen or so should last a lifetime. I'm still using the OEM G19 15 Rounders that were in the box decades ago...albiet with new springs.

[sevin8nin]

5 has become my minimum for any pistol. The thought process being: 1x in the gun and between 1-2 on the belt for edc carry. If scaling the kit up beyond EDC my belt rig typically holds 2 pistol mags and a chest rig or plate carrier often has 2 more pouches. That's 1x in the gun and up to 4x on the body. Therefore 5. Minimum!

I like to have more than that because I'll often keep 3 loaded for EDC, and then rotate through the others for training, which could be up to 5. If it's a class it's really nice to have like 10 mags preloaded so you're not spending as much time loading mags.