COUNTING SHOTS is important to me......

[Fastbolt]

I used to count shots because of shooting a 1911, SA & DA revolvers. Then, after I became a LE firearms instructor, I was always counting shots when our qual scenarios involved firing a specific number of shots, both for myself ... and when qualifying/observing other shooters.

Not being able to show attention to following even simple instructions in a range environment, meaning something as simple as only shooting x-number of rounds at x-number of different targets, can show either a lack of listening to instructions in the first place ... or being unable to remember instructions when having to multitask on a range.

Then, add in some requirements to exercise simple Judgment tasks, meaning shoot/no-shoot situations and targets, while having to assess and decide on-the-go, and that can really start testing the abilities of folks to recognize, orient and think on their feet while deciding if they should act ... and how to act.

Bottom line? Even when I don't consciously think to listen and count rounds, more often than not some part of my subconscious is apparently counting shots heard, whether mine or those of someone else to whom I'm paying attention. It was the years of serving as a firearms trainer that really seemed to cement the habit.

 

[WCCPHD]

Having been in an actual law enforcement shooting, I can tell you that thinking goes out the window. I did not know how many shots I fired until the State Bureau of Investigation Special Agent asked for my firearm and checked. Three shots, three hits.

 

[Fastbolt]

Threat focus can certainly occur and "preempt" other active thoughts.

Having listened to a number of LE folks who have been in on/off-duty OIS incidents, some knew how many shots they fired, and some didn't remember. Listening to cops who have been shot, on the other hand? They seemed to remember how many hits they suffered.

 

[Rammer Jammer]

If I ever get into a defensive shooting I'll be focusing all my mental faculties on accuracy.

Counting shots is fine for the range and that's about it.

 

[Golphin]

Saw that on the Netflix series "Hell on Wheels" where he tells a new shooter just count the shots and makes sure he runs out before you do then get close to him and shoot him. Of course that will not work so good today with the semi autos.

 

[6518John]

I know what you are thinking, "did he fire 6 shots or only 5?"

Chief38–you knew the answer, before Clint pulled the trigger didn't you!?

Dirty Harry - YouTube

 

[chief38]

Chief38–you knew the answer, before Clint pulled the trigger didn't you!?

Dirty Harry - YouTube

THAT"S RIGHT! LOL!!

 

[luangtom]

Counting shots out serves one well in real-life scenarios. I would venture a guess that most in hostile-fire environments are prone to count their shots. I know it served me well in SE Asia for 509 days.

 

[ISCS Yoda]

It's a great skill at the range. How you can count shots when you're fighting for your life is a little bit beyond my ken. The tactical reload was developed, I THINK, because someone understood that in the middle of a firefight you need to be focused on things other than your round count. But, a quick break in the action, which can happen = tactical reload.

I always wanted a Colt SAA like the one Kevin Costner used in "Open Range". In the final shootout he fanned that dogleg like it was a Dyson room fan and I have no idea how many rounds he fired. I do tend to notice that in movies and TV shows.

I'm surprised that we still don't have firearms with LED readouts that keep track of remaining ammunition in the magazine like in the movie ALIENS. I remember hearing that the US Army was planning on making such a feature a requirement in future trials for military contracts, but apparently it was never actually implemented.

First, I do think that the implementation didn't happen because the explosive recoil plays havoc with the mini-computer you'd have to have in there for the LED readout. Hollyweird can do it. Uncle Sam cannot.

Pray they never figure out how to do it because that will lead to personalized-only-the-owner-can-shoot-it horrific regulation.

 

[ZGrand]

Yep. I'm a counter, too.

 

[SMSgt]

Counting rounds presumes one can count.

 

[WR Moore]

Whether you count rounds, don't count rounds or think you count rounds, your answer to any question as to how many rounds you fired in an encounter should be: "As many as I needed to." Or, "I don't know."

Like many above, I religiously counted rounds during qualification and planned mag changes in competition. Then, in 2012 during a Patrol Rifle Instructor qualification (no alibis), I unexpectedly ran dry. Fortunately, I did so at a point I could reload without penalty. I figured out later that I'd grabbed the wrong mag after a tactical reload. As Robbie Burns once wrote: "The plans of mice and men often go astray."

 

[shocker]

Dr. No - You've Had Your Six - YouTube

 

[Jon651]

First of all, I think there are more than a few people here who are bragging. 6, 7, 15 shots, etc. I don't believe a single word of it!

After I do about 3 or 4 shots, I'm usually counting ceiling tiles!

 

[w.r.gun]

reload because you can, not because you have to.

 

[delcrossv]

I always count. Particularly important when with the kids to make sure they've cleared the cylinder.

 

[S&WIowegan]

I automatically count when I'm the shooter. I also count at USPSA or IDPA matches of other shooters. It's just there, no big effort. I lose it after about 15 rounds.

 

[Fastbolt]

... your answer to any question as to how many rounds you fired in an encounter should be: "As many as I needed to." Or, "I don't know."

Yep. Why feed words that may become bait for someone's fishing trip?

Like many above, I religiously counted rounds during qualification and planned mag changes in competition. Then, in 2012 during a Patrol Rifle Instructor qualification (no alibis), I unexpectedly ran dry. ...

No kidding. My subconscious "counting meter" only engages and keeps a running count for shot strings, not for some cumulative tally after moving and shooting on the run.

Sometimes when watching a TV show or Movie at home, I'll stop and reverse a scene to replay it and count the "shots" fired by some actor, if the back of my mind is giving me some "number" and I'm curious if that unbidden number is accurate or close.

More often than not that subconscious "number" is right on the money, or within a round, either way, but we're only talking about a pistol magazine, not a select-fire rifle being fired FA.

It really becomes annoying (and interferes with the suspension of disbelief) when your subconscious round count software makes you realize the rounds portrayed as being fired by some character exceeds the round count of a real magazine in that make/model pistol. Like an old Western Six-Shooter with an endless supply.

Guess that subconscious "counting software" got more ingrained than I realized.

Then again, I'm only observing, not involved in ducking actual incoming rounds, or trying to thin the mixture of adrenaline in my own system.

 

[two-bit cowboy]

When I practice I empty a J-frame with .357s as quickly as I can and still maintain accuracy, usually inside of five seconds.

I count, yes.

I've not been in a fight. I've always guessed I would empty the J-frame, just as I train. I hope never to find out!

 

[fredj338]

Pretty easy to count shots on a flat range with nothing else going on. A whole lot diff in a fight or even in high speed competition. Its a learned thing but under stress, anyone can lose count. Why having more thsn 5-6 matter to some of us.