Are there any records of equipment being used to advantage?

[Lavan]

Now this may sound silly, but I see so many accessories and gizmos advertised to give you a carry "edge" but don't think I've seen accounts where all this cool equipment decided an event.

When I carried, I ...usually... didn't have extra mags on me.

Course, I never got in a situation OUTSIDE THE SHOP where I even had to draw a gun.

Anyone have confirmed data that multiple mags and expanded wells etc. made a difference in a ...citizen... encounter?

[FireForged]

maybe it was the extra mag, maybe it was the direction of the wind or where the sun was positioned in the sky, maybe in was standing your ground or maybe it was running away or maybe it was the traction offered by your vibrem soled boots..

my point is that you can likely find an example of darn near anything being speculated at the cause for success. The bottom line is that merited decisions about such things are not likely to come from a thread on a discussion forum but rather by your own personal training, knowledge, experience and consideration of your specific circumstances.

I run a bone stock gun, if the dang thing goes bang when I pull the trigger, its done its job and everything else is up to me. If I want to be better, I train harder, I don't do stuff to my gun. I certainly do carry an extra mag.. I think everyone should.

[BarryLee]

if you are looking for real data I doubt anoynone has collected this, but I could be wrong. If you'd just like to see some random examples you might read the American Rifleman Armed Citizen series.

[TunnelRat]

I guess I never considered an extra magazine a "gizmo".

Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

[K_Mac]

I also don't think an extra magazine or even an expanded mag well to be gimmicks. An extra magazine is as essential as a good holster in my opinion.

I've never been in a wreck where air bags were deployed, but having them and other safety features in the vehicle used by my daughter and grand kids gives me the peace of mind that comes with knowing they have the latest and greatest gizmos to keep them protected in case of a life threatening incident. It is likely they will never need them. That is not really of concern to me.

[MarkCO]

I have yet to see any case of armed civilian defense where a magwell was of any consequence, but that is not saying such does not exist.

I have read several reports where white light was counted as a force multiplier or a tactical advantage. Some were IDs where the decision was made NOT to shoot. I have personally had one of these myself.

I have read a few reports of a laser being mentioned as a benefit, but to be fair, I also saw one where the shooter was distracted by the laser.

While I think a spare mag is a good idea, I have not run across any SD cases where it made a difference.

IMHO, spare mag, holster and cell phone are a package deal that goes along with the firearm. For many, the addition of a flashlight and an EDC knife might be a good idea. There are other items one might consider to have in the home and car, but which I personally feel are beyond realm of practical for most of us in a normal everyday type of environment. If I "knew" I was going to be in a gunfight (I would plan to be somewhere else, but that aside), I would have armor, medical and long guns. But that is impractical, and we won't know. So we make our choices and hope that they are sufficient to survive if we happen to be in that less than 1% of people who are attacked by someone intent on doing us grave bodily harm or murdering us. Hope in this context is more one of assurance born of good choices and practice, not just a wild plea that we survive.

[Sevens]

My EDC is phone, keys, wallet, knife, flashlight, Walther PPQm2 and a single extra magazine.

For your convenience, I have listed them in the order of which gets used most.

For most days out in the wild, I always have all of those items, no extra and none of them excluded.

[Lavan]

Did anyone bother to read that I posted, "ACCESSORIES and gizmos?" or was it too tempting to emphasize "gizmo" to make the question sound silly?

[JohnKSa]

Assuming a spring kit is considered an accessory/gizmo, I've read an incident that would be of the opposite type from what you're asking.

One of the Ayoob Files articles reports a case where a person did a spring kit "upgrade" to his DA revolver and when he needed it for self-defense, it had repeated failures to fire due to a too light spring. Fortunately he did survive the encounter.

My guess is that if he tested it at all after the replacement, he tested it in SA exclusively which results in a slightly stronger hammer strike than when shooting in DA.

Lance Thomas used multiple guns in some of his shootouts rather than reloading--but had he chosen to go with spare magazines instead, I suppose he would have been an example of what you're asking about.

[Lavan]

I always make the assumption that NOBODY goes armed without even ...testing... their....

....um....

GIZMOS.

[TXAZ]

What do you want to be prepared for? There are realistic limits, because I'm pretty sure neither Warren Buffett, Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos nor Carlos "Slim" are posting on this thread, and therefore none of us can fully be prepared for a sustained, Brigade level Special Forces attack who bring a logistics train.

So... (and assuming you have the means, training, will and opportunity)
If it's a 12 year old punk with a mouth and a knife, a mouse gun might be enough with 1 round.
If it's an attacker with a gun, a full mag may be appropriate.
If it's the local gang, you'll need alot more.
...
...