Interesting questin: How many rounds?

[CommonCents]

It seems that many criminal situations of home invasion and armed robbery are involving 2 or more thugs. I'd definitely lean toward higher capacity and extra mag.

Must adapt as situations change.

 

[Rastoff]

It seems that many criminal situations of home invasion and armed robbery are involving 2 or more thugs. I'd definitely lean toward higher capacity and extra mag.

Must adapt as situations change.

Home invasions are different. If someone attacks me in my home, I have a LOT more ammo available than if I'm out on the town.

 

[Protected One]

It seems that many criminal situations of home invasion and armed robbery are involving 2 or more thugs. I'd definitely lean toward higher capacity and extra mag.

Must adapt as situations change.

It's not so much a matter of how many thugs are involved...it's more a matter of "human nature". NOBODY, even thugs don't want to get shot, thus, no matter how many there are they normally run like hell at the first shot.
I've seen video footage of six, count em - 6 thugs being chased from a store by a little old lady with a 5 shot revolver!!! They were literally running each other over as the got bottlenecked at the exit door! Math says they could have overrun her by sheer numbers...human nature screams don't try!.

 

[CommonCents]

It's not so much a matter of how many thugs are involved...it's more a matter of "human nature". NOBODY, even thugs don't want to get shot, thus, no matter how many there are they normally run like hell at the first shot.
I've seen video footage of six, count em - 6 thugs being chased from a store by a little old lady with a 5 shot revolver!!! They were literally running each other over as the got bottlenecked at the exit door! Math says they could have overrun her by sheer numbers...human nature screams don't try!.

I like to CYA for the worst. Especially when there is really no opportunity cost in carrying a bit more capacity and another mag. It's a no brainer for me.

 

[Protected One]

I like to CYA for the worst. Especially when there is really no opportunity cost in carrying a bit more capacity and another mag. It's a no brainer for me.

I hear what you're saying and I understand. Personally, I carry 13+1 most of the time, but even with an extra mag I don't consider myself prepared for "the worst"...just over prepared for the most likely situations.

 

[SgtLumpy]

...I've seen video footage of six, count em - 6 thugs being chased from a store by a little old lady with a 5 shot revolver!!! They were literally running each other over as the got bottlenecked at the exit door! ...

That's why I always carry a little old lady with me when out on the town.


Sgt Lumpy

 

[CC83]

I'd say 6 or 7 is plenty out in public, but I want more for my home. Always seems to be 2 or more home invaders. No I don't have statistics on that, just what I hear on the radio and home invasions/rapes that I know of. It's an opinion, nothing more, nothing less.

 

[David R]

I don't know the right answer. I started carrying a Sterling 22. It was "cocked and locked". Probably held 6 or 7 22 Lr. I didn't like carrying a striker fired cheap piece of junk. SO I traded that for a beretta 21a that holds 7 rounds of 22. Double/single action with a tip up barrel. Blow back and no extractor. If a round misfires not only I can't get it out of the chamber, but it is Peened in. Now I carry a 5 shot chiefs special, or a BG38 or an LCP with 6 shots of 380.
I feel much more comfortable with only 5 38s than I did with 7 22s. I do not carry extra ammo, only what the gun holds.

To each his own.

For a while I had an Italian Beretta 92. With 2 spare mags I could carry 51 rounds of 9mm.

David

 

[TexasArmed]

I could see that going really wrong if you grabbed the wrong speed loader in the middle of a fight.

That is a possibility I will admit. But then I am not reaching for
that speed loader till I have used both guns. That gives me ten
rounds before I have to reach for a speed loader. Chances are
that it would be over by then one way or the other. I am figuring I would need a few speed loader to reload with after the
gun fight is over. But I admit that using two calibers could result
in my grabbing the wrong speed loader.

 

[Chillock]

If you're not an LEO, have had to defend yourself with a firearm "a few times", and it had nothing to do with being in a "bad area", Lady Luck must not like you worth a damn. Especially if firing two full magazines wasn't enough in one case.

Your neighborhood sounds pretty scary to me.

It was outside of a mall at one of the banks. At the time the mall was considered a "high end" mall.

Obviously, a well known misconception: bad things only happen in a bad neighborhood... Wrong.

 

[jlrhiner]

I'll expand.
How many rounds you carry should be a decision you make after an evaluation of your circumstances. These will vary. If you are a disciple of statistics, you should be able to protect your 2.4 children with 1.7 rounds. A J frame anything should be adequate. If you are a wild and crazy guy, a reload might be in order.

If you carry a semi-automatic, you should carry a spare magazine. Magazines are mechanical devices. They can and do fail. (When was the last time you dis-assembled your magazines and cleaned them?) That automatically ups your ammo total.


If, as one of our esteemed members once said, you "go stupid places and hang out with stupid people", you may need an ammo bearer. In reality, each situation requires evaluation and planning accordingly.

My EDC is a Kimber Tactical Ultra CDP. I carry it in one of Ray Cory's excellent holsters along with a spare mag and a Surefire 6P in a combo holster also made by Ray. That gives me 15 rounds of .45ACP. With the exception of outlaw motorcycle gangs and amorous bigfeet, I feel very well prepared. My bedside gun is a Colt Combat Commander with an 8 round magazine. A 3cell MagLite lays next to the bed. In the bedroom closet in a spring clip is an 870 with 5 rounds of 000 buck. I feel that I'm adequately prepared. However, if
confronted by the above mentioned amorous bigfeet, or a herd of roaming zombies, hi-cap things would come out of the safe.

My carry technique might not fulfill your needs. We could probably argue caliber, platform and tactics till the cows come home. But in the end, what satisfies your requirements for personal defense is your choice. You have to be satisfied, no one can pick it for you.

 

[Protected One]

I've often pondered this. How much ammo is enough? I, for one do not want to get in a gun fight, let alone a battle. I do like to be over gunned and over ammo'd though.
I want enough to stop the fight and get the hell away from there. That depends on circumstances which are always beyond ones control.
So, who knows how much is enough? I believe it's as many as you are comfortable carrying.

It seems to me that "enough" is not determined by how much we are comfortable carrying - only "the situation" determines what is enough. But since we can't know which situation (if any) will present itself, it's impossible to know how much to carry.

The point of the video was to present information on what statistically has been enough In documented situations. Ultimately, each will carry what they WANT...regardless to whether they think it realistically necessary.

 

[Arik]

As many as you can reasonably carry. No one ever complained of too much ammo in a gun fight and not all targets stand still for you to show off your later like shooting ability with a J frame. Besides that there barriers, too much light or not enough. ...etc...etc..There are so many variables that don't exist at the range that I'd want as much ammo as I can comfortably carry. Not "where I expect to go" or "what situation I expect to get into" The term "if I need more than 5 I'm probably in the wrong place anyway" is a mental handicap. It doesn't matter if you are in the wrong place it only matters how you get out. A "wrong place" can be anywhere. In another post somewhere else I posted about a cop who survived getting shot in the face with a 230 gr 45acp fmj. He got shot 6 more times. In the 6 seconds of the gunfight there were more than a dozen shots fired with each man getting hit multiple times. This happened AT A MALL! A place for family. Now I don't know if that's considered "a wrong place" or not but I would like to have more than 5/7/whatever amount of rounds.

My daily carry is a G19 with 16 rounds of 124gr +p Speer Gold dot. I can't carry extra mags cause it's not easy work but that is my min. If I carry a single stack I bring a few reloads

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk

 

[Protected One]

I'd say 6 or 7 is plenty out in public, but I want more for my home. Always seems to be 2 or more home invaders. No I don't have statistics on that, just what I hear on the radio and home invasions/rapes that I know of. It's an opinion, nothing more, nothing less.

FBI says 3 is the average.

 

[Protected One]

As many as you can reasonably carry. No one ever complained of too much ammo in a gun fight and not all targets stand still for you to show off your later like shooting ability with a J frame. Besides that there barriers, too much light or not enough. ...etc...etc..There are so many variables that don't exist at the range that I'd want as much ammo as I can comfortably carry. Not "where I expect to go" or "what situation I expect to get into" The term "if I need more than 5 I'm probably in the wrong place anyway" is a mental handicap. It doesn't matter if you are in the wrong place it only matters how you get out. A "wrong place" can be anywhere. In another post somewhere else I posted about a cop who survived getting shot in the face with a 230 gr 45acp fmj. He got shot 6 more times. In the 6 seconds of the gunfight there were more than a dozen shots fired with each man getting hit multiple times. This happened AT A MALL! A place for family. Now I don't know if that's considered "a wrong place" or not but I would like to have more than 5/7/whatever amount of rounds.

My daily carry is a G19 with 16 rounds of 124gr +p Speer Gold dot. I can't carry extra mags cause it's not easy work but that is my min. If I carry a single stack I bring a few reloads

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk

I hear you! My edc is a G23 with 13 rounds of Hornady Critical Duty.

 

[vito]

"What do you mean by FBI says average is 3. 3 rounds? 3 perps? For home invasions or for any self defense situation?

 

[The Real Hawkeye]

After watching the following video (which I found posed a great question) I'm interested to hear what you gentlemen have to say on the subject. And, if you're NOT a gentleman feel free to comment anyway.


Five Rounds Enough For Concealed Carry? - YouTube

I agreed with him completely till he said that if you have five rounds, you're getting through a gunfight alive. I can't believe he meant to say quite that. Likely a poor choice of words. He likely meant to say that chances are you're not going to fail to get out of a gun fight alive due to only having five rounds, and with this I agree.

 

[American1776]

Choosing a carry gun, capacity is never at the top of the list of consideration. Other considerations are more important TO ME. Roughly, in order of importance.

1. Reliable (go bang every time I tell it to)
2. How well I can shoot it.
3. 'stopping power'. I want the most powerful cartridge I can shoot well. If I'm going to need the firearm, I REALLY need it to end the situation NOW, most preferably with the first shot. As such, all my carry guns are MAGNUMS.
4. can I carry it comfortably all day.
5. Capacity.

I only carry revolvers, and when it's the 41 magnum, I carry the six in the gun and one 6 round speed strip in a pouch. When I carry a J-frame .357, it's usually 2 speed strips, five each.
That gives me 12-15 rounds total to 'get me home'. I'm not counting on being able to reload quickly while under direct fire. The only reason I carry reloads just in case there might be a 'break' in the 'action' so to speak, and I have a chance to top off the gun.
I generally think if I have not taken care of the threat within the first three to five rounds from my own firearm, the odds begin to shrink quickly and proportionally with each succeeding round away from me winning the encounter.

Most of us who carry firearms also carry other goodies everyday. That includes knives, flashlights, tactical pens, and other doo dads and gadgets. This all starts to really become a heavy load out. While we COULD carry 310 rounds of ammo on us everyday, we have to also balance practicality and comfort. For me, an extra 6-10 rounds of ammo for my revolvers is all I'm willing to 'tolerate'.

 

[The Real Hawkeye]

I think it depends on the intended mission. A cop is often required to apprehend someone. He's going to the crack house, or whatever, with the intention of not letting armed bad guys get away. This creates a determination in the bad guys (assuming they choose not to surrender) to win the gun fight, so it's going to be a war with lots of rounds fired on both sides. In this case, a high cap magazine is very helpful.

In a self-defense situation, that mindset of "I have to win to survive or escape arrest" doesn't exist for the bad guy. What the bad guy is trying to do is victimize someone and get away unscathed. An armed citizen willing and able to send lead his way isn't someone he wants to deal with, and he will attempt to leave the zone of danger as soon as he realizes that's what he's up against. He will not have the impression that he needs to "win the gun fight." His goal will be to get away, if he can, and find a more suitable victim. In the self-defense role, therefore, five rounds is going to be plenty in the vast vast majority of cases.

 

[Badkarma 1]

Will. 5 shots get you thru a fight? Sure if you know where to put them!
First your handgun has sights USE THEM! Unless your fighting in a phone booth or your literally belly to belly with the miscreant or at least close enough to stick your piece in his/her body, use the sights. Go to the range and make sure there regulated with POA/POI, then practice at least two to the body and plan B one to the head in case if a failure to stop or body armor might be in use.
B: Have at least one reload! Better to finish the fight with a full weapon than an empty one or partially loaded one.
C:Home invasion, ah this is where the carbine or shotgun comes to bear! Your in your home, and that's where the heavy artillery resides, make good use of it!
Arming a partner, always a good idea as two sets of eyes, ears, are better than one! Just have a plan and communicate.
And lastly, the best fight is the one you never attend!
Dale