I have a Hammerli/Walther Olympia rapid fire pistol in 22 short. It was used in the Olympic rapid fire matches during the 1950-60's. The match consisted of five shot strings, one shot on each of five different targets. Time limits were 8 seconds, 6 seconds and 4 seconds per string. My magazine is serial numbered to the pistol. The question is, since the strings wre only 5 shots, why is the magazine capacity six shots?

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The designers watch too many western movies, and all the cowboys had six-shooters.

When it was designed there was most likely a similar type of shooting that would use the same basic pistol/ magazine combination. Ivan

Just a guess, but if the shooter had a FTF and had to clear the chamber they still had a chance to complete the 5 shot requirement.
Or it's the same reasoning that hot dogs come 10 to a pack and buns come in 8.

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It is actually a simple reason the magazine has a little extra capacity. This is a Target Pistol and accuracy/reliability is of the utmost importance. Most of us know from prior experience the difficulty in seating a magazine filled to maximum because of no clearance (space) for the top most cartridge to go and no more down travel in the magazine to create that space. This situation is only when loading while the slide is forward in battery. By giving one more round capacity that pistol will now NOT deform the top cartridge thereby degrading accuracy and/or reliability. The auto loading of each cartridge is as near as possible to being the same force and seating on each. All tending to maximize accuracy. I have encountered many autoloaders that simply did not have enough 'give' left in a fully loaded magazine to accept that magazine with a closed slide. Use some force and you can make it go, but it will have deformed that cartridge on top and the loading into the chamber will be 'different' than the rest of the cartridges. Summing up to perhaps result in a flyer. That is all that there is to this question. ....... Big Cholla