And here we go! The lower capacity pistol automatically bestows superior marksmanship to the user. A "hi cap plastic fantastic" GUARANTEES spray and pray and reckless shooting!! If only they could fit 3 or 4 rounds in a snubby .38, nobody would ever miss then!!
I agree, folks tend to make that assumption that more rounds mean accuracy goes to pot.
To be fair however, there is a grain of truth in that in a few different contexts:
1) When police officers switched from revolvers to semi-autos the average number of rounds fired per officer in an engagement went up. Slightly. Research showed averages for rounds fired by officers increased from 2.3 to 2.6 with revolvers to averages around 3.2 rounds to 3.7 rounds for officers with semi-auto pistols. Not exactly spray and pray due to having a larger capacity magazine.
That said the average police officer shoots badly and real world hit percentages average around 15%-20%, and dropping to around 10%-12% at ranges over 7 yards. Some departments do much better - around 50% for Baltimore - due to much better training separate from type of firearm used.
Overall however the hit percentage situation has only gotten worse with semi-auto service pistols, if for no other reason than the slightly higher number of rounds fired resulting in more misses and lower percentages.
2) Similar to most kids focusing more on marksmanship with a single shot than with a semi-auto, or even bolt action, repeater, many of the shooters I see at the range with high capacity semi-auto pistols seem to be a lot less concerned with accuracy than the guys I see at the range with revolvers or single stack semi-auto pistols.
Some of that is due to the knowledge that the number of rounds is limited.
3) There is a degree of truth behind the statement that guns like a J frame snubby are "experts guns". You'll find people who are proficient with them shooting small groups at social shooting distance ranges and beyond. Those shooters do not see a short barrel and short sight radius as an impediment to accuracy - or an excuse for poor accuracy.
Then again, you'll find the opposite in the form of the folks who insist that a snub nose revolver is only meant for short range, point and shoot engagements. I always have visions of Edward G. Robinson pushing his revolver forward with each shot in some gangster movie when I hear this.
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It's also more complicated than just magazine capacity.
I see a lot of folks on the internet and in the real world who are fans of carrying a light weight alloy J frame like the 340 with .357 Magnum ammo. I have yet to meet someone who shoots one of these well, and few who can shoot one well with .38+P ammo.
Smaller and lighter isn't always better, or at least is only better within limits.
The Kimber Micro weighs half as much as the PPK/S, but has a perceived recoil that is very similar due to the locked breech versus blow back design spreading the recoil out over a lightly longer period of time and using a lighter recoil spring. The Kimber Micro is also smaller and easier to conceal. That's a pretty solid argument for "newer is better" (although it's odd to call a miniature reheat of the 1911 design, "new" in comparison to the 1929-1931 PP and PPK design).
However, on the negative side the 2.75" barrel in the Kimber Micro results in reduced velocity compared to the 3.4" PPK and PPK/S barrels - 50 to 70 fps based on load - in a marginal cartridge where 50 to 70 fps makes a difference.
On the smaller and lighter isn't better side of the coin, I see shooters who like to carry a sub compact pistol in 9mm Luger, like the Kimber Micro 9 or the Glock 43. Like the airweight snub nose revolvers, I don't see many people who shoot them well.
In general, I see much better accuracy from most shooters with the .380 ACP Kimber Micro or Glock 42.
Too much cartridge in too small of a gun tends to have significant detrimental effects on accuracy.
