War Story - 20 years ago or so, I joined a department that had recently transitioned from S&W Model 66 to the then newer 4043. The predominant off-duty gun was the J Frame and a few of the most tactically minded guys had purchased 4053s.
There were some mostly younger, more tactically aligned guys who lobbied for allowing personally owned Glocks and SIGs. Two years later, 75% of the officers were carrying something other than Smith & Wesson. Most of the off-duty guns were Glock 23s, SIG P229s and a few G27s. The old guys with mortgages and kids in college were the only guys who didn’t switch. The dozens of guys and gals that switched wanted more rounds, less weight and better ergonomics - on duty and off.
I had a J Frame then with speed strips. I carried a J Frame last week on vacation out of state (swimming pool) and frequently as a winter pocket gun. My frame of reference is five-round J Frames are dated, but nothing carries quite the same.
To the original posters question, I switched to a Glock 26 years ago, which has more than twice as many of a more effective cartridge at an equivalent size to a J Frame. Now I have 12round Magpul magazine that allows 13 to be carried and a tactical light on the Glock. No way a G26 is as comfortable to carry as a J Frame but the additional capacity and speed of reloading were major determinants for me. Bonus is that the G26 shot better for me out of the box and requires less practice to remain proficient.
On capacity, the Trolley Square incident in SLC is what I think of when someone says X-amount of rounds are enough off-duty or in a civllian scenario. Same for the Skokie IL shootout where more than 15 .45ACP rounds did not get the job done against a determined felon.
I am here because I am just old enough to appreciate classic Smiths. My guess is most of the folks speaking up for the five-shot J Frame are over 40 and predisposed to be good shooters.
I am almost 40,but not quite yet, couple more years to go! I do carry a J frame every day, but I am a recent convert to revolvers. I grew up shooting all kinds and I never liked revolvers at all. Always loved semi autos and never wanted anything but. I loved so many of them. As of a couple years ago, I started watching a lot of old black and white private detective shows and movies and being that I love all things 50's-70's I started to wonder why I didn't like revolvers. I bought a snubby and then 4 more of them. I was and am madly in love with a gun I swore I'd NEVER own. I do like them because they are old school, I'll admit to that, but they do make pretty practical guns even still. I believe everyone should own, love and carry whatever they like. If someone doesn't like revolvers then so be it. I guess a lot of people who dislike revolvers feel that they are such and old design and aren't technologically advanced that you may as well throw a rock in self defence. The thing is, for me at least, I cannot speak for other revolver owners, I carry a gun to get me out of a gun fight or out of a self defence situation, not to engage in them. If I'm in a store or a bank, I absolutely will not try to intervene unless it meant my life or someone else's. I am in no way, shape or form trying to die over some money some insurance company may have to pay off. It's not like they'd reward me if I did stop it. I have a gun with enough rounds to, when needed, get me out of harms way and back to safety. If I had to shoot someone in self defence, I'm going to try my best to just incapacitate that person, not kill them. I don't even wanna deal with the legal nightmare of that. If I have a gun that can shoot someone and I get the drop on that person first, I'm going to use it to get me out of there. I don't think more than 5 will "likely" be needed to accomplish that. There is a chance I HAVE to be involved in a firefight, but again, my goal would be to get out of there, not stop everyone shooting at me. It's just that the chances of something like that happening to me are about the same as winning the lottery. Yes it is possible, that's why I carry, but I highly doubt that will ever happen to me.
As far as the church shooting (I believe that's what you were referencing, sorry if I'm wrong), I would never think to take a gun into church. However, had someone been armed in there, even with just 5 rounds, they may have been able to stop the guy before more than a couple or any people were dead. Yes, in that situation, I'd wish I had an auto, but if someone drew a gun as this guy is pulling out his, he could've been dead before anyone else was hurt. I feel any gun is better than no gun. Even my Derringer, when I have to go places I don't want my gun to possibly show, I grab my 38 spec Derringer. It's only 2 single action shots, but at least it's something. Plus I still carry my speed strips just in case. I don't normally carry that, but it still makes me feel a lot safer than not having it. If someone else has a gun out and you point a Derringer at them at close enough range, very many may think twice before doing something stupid because at least one bullet is gonna hit them. I would imagine there are at least a good amount of criminals who would give up at the risk of being shot. Not all would, in fact maybe even most wouldn't, but I'll take it over nothing any day. I'm guessing that played a part in that guy's decision to go to a church. He probably assumed no one would have a gun and criminals will act differently if they know that no one has a gun as opposed to knowing they do. Anything is possible, and if I was in a jam and needed more than my 5 and back up 10 rounds, I'd certainly hope someone with an auto would join in and help out, but the likelihood of that happening to any one person has got to be astronomically small. Again, I think everyone should carry what they want, but I truly belive situational awareness and ability to use what you have play a far larger role in SD situations than the type of gun or caliber it holds. Plus, some people intentionally put themselves in harms way and I dont really do that so I think trouble would have a harder time finding me at an exact location at an exact time for a very short duration. Like I said in other posts, anything is possible, I could even win the lottery, but even though I play I'm not making plans for that giant paycheck because it probably won't happen.
It's just really weird for me though because a couple years ago I was on the other side of the fence and even hated revolvers. I was so far on the other side of the fence, I couldn't even see the fence. Now I wonder how I ever lived without revolvers especially my J frames.
