how important is a sixth shot?

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My opinion only. If you need that 6th shot you're already in over your head. That's considering only the people who are carrying the firearm for self defense. If you're in law inforcement or the military and breaking down doors to find the bad guy, you need more than 6.
 
Did you miss the first 5 shots?
Did anyone you didn't hit not begin to run immediately?
Is anyone coming at you, with anything in hand?

Sometimes the sound of the gun firing will get people running in the opposite direction. Sometimes it won't, maybe cause you are cornered.

If you feel you need a sixth shot, why not carry an auto with 8 shots?

Personally, I love revos and the 357 and I would love a 6th shot, so I understand your question, but it's one only you can answer. Sometimes I carry just the 5 shots, and other times I carry compact auto with 8.
 
all I can say is if you are concerned about 5 shots not being enough, then, for your own peace of mind, get something with a higher capacity.. that said, as was previously stated, if you really need that 6th shot, for all practical purposes, you are probably already screwed.. but then again... I guess that is why I have my taurus 608 (8 shots in a .357):D sends shivers down the spine... hehe...

get what you are most comfortable with..
 
Like a lot of people already said, if it takes 6 shots to take down someone then you are probably already screwed. I would be afraid of someone slinging out 5 bullets and missing his target.
 
one in the snot locker = game over.........until then practice

the gun is only as accurate as u r:p
 
When I worked in a gun shop, a man told me emphatically that he would never carry a 5-shot S&W, insisting that the 6-shot Colt was better. "What if there are six of them", he sneered. I spoiled his whole day by asking, "What if there are seven of them."

Jim
 
""If you need that 6th shot you're already in over your head.""

so why are there so many threads about back up guns if all thats thought to be needed is 5 or less??

5 is probably all most will ever need. but not all that everybody will.
do you know which one you are?
 
My feeling would be that if I couldn't do the job with five and a speedloader, I would throw the gun at them and run like hell.

Seriously, this is not TV where heavily armed gangs carry on hours-long gunfights. At the sight of an armed victim, most street thugs will depart the vicinity so fast their shoes smoke.

Jim
 
The highest probability is that you'll never even need one shot. The only problem I see with a five shooter is more reloading time at the range.
 
Glock 19.

But seriously, why do you need even five? Threatened enough to fire? Fire one and run. If you're caught fire another one, and make it good.
 
Wow...........5 shots is "enough," apparently, for each and every situation....:rolleyes:

Fire one and run? And hope the wife and kids can keep up ? At best, take one in the back while you run away...

Only 2-3 shots per encounter? (a stat that is WRONG, btw, and even if it wasn't, it's an AVERAGE, not a maximum.) As my Dad always said "Averages are always wrong."

I'd prefer 6 over 5, as would most anyone, given essentially the same size and bulk. And that brings up the REAL question: for the size/weight/bulk of a Ruger SP-101, is there something better?

Absolutely ! The Glock 19 has already been mentioned, so let me add a Kahr P-9 or P-40, or S&W M&P Compact 9mm or .40, or Glock 26/27

All of these hold more than 5 or 6 (ranging from 8 to 16) and are much easier to carry, shoot and reload.

.
 
what sparked this was a horror story i heard from a professor/ex-police chief.. he told us a story about how a cop friend of his in chicago was going home after a shift and was robbed by a guy with a knife. the cop pulled his j-frame and shot the guy five times in the chest. The baddie continued to run at him and stabbed him to death. The bad guy was high on PCP and didnt feel any one of those shots.
 
That 6th shot may not have mattered.......or it might've saved his life.
 
How do you know it's not working?

You can fire 5 shots in under a second. Well before the target has a chance to "react" to being hit.

Shot #3 can come in under 1/2 second, allowing even less time for a reaction.

Or do you advocate shoot 1-2, assess, then re-engage?
 
Unless you are choppering into a hot LZ in a rice paddy - you will probably find 5 to be plenty.

But just remember, if you can't shoot well.............shoot a lot.
 
How important would that sixth shot be in a fiveshooter?
How important would that seventh shot be in a sixhooter?
How important would that eighth shot be in a sevenhooter?
How important would that ninth shot be in an eighthooter?

Enough with revolvers.

How important would that 31st shot be in a thirty round mag?

Ill let you guys hash the rest of this out.
 
All of these hold more than 5 or 6 (ranging from 8 to 16) and are much easier to carry, shoot and reload.
Click to expand...

David E, respectfully, that may be true for you but is not necessarily true for everyone. And I'm not a bottom-feeder hater, preferring one most of the time for myself (generally a Para 12.45). But sometimes my 642 is the best alternative, and I shoot it better than a very small semi - so would rather have it than a pistol which may hold a couple more rounds.

Cheers -

7
 
thats the kinda question you ask yourself when your 5 shots down fumbling for your speed loader... 99% of gun fights may end in under 5 shots.. but by that same token 99% of the time you carry it you will never need it... but you still carry right... i say my golden rule is its better to have it and not need it then to need it and not have it...
 
If you are not comfortable/trust it its a bad idea. I am personally in market for a snub nose revolver. 5 or 6 shot. I really don't care. (odds are a 5 shot as Colts rotate backwards.) :) and cost... Most likely a 9mm
 
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