Is 5 or 6 really enough in today's world.

[357smallbore]

To have a ccw and one you carry daily, Is a 5 or 6 shot revolver really enough in today's wacked out criminal world? Or do you really need the double stack autos?
I'm not talking about walking through the ghetto or putting yourself in a bad place that you need to carry your "evil black gun".
But doing your every day routine.

 

[earlthegoat2]

Let the games begin.

Hey-Oh!!

it really up to you. If you don’t want to carry a reload then don’t.

There are unfortunately countless modern anecdotes of multiple assailants however there is precious little real evidence that 5 shots is not enough.

Enjoy.

 

[LocoGringo]

It's impossible to say...do you feel undergunned or unprepared with 5 rounds? How competent are you with your tool?

I carry an XDs in .45. It's kinda in between what you're talking about. The standard magazine is only 5 rounds, but I can carry a quick reloading 7 round magazine if it's necessary. I'm also pretty good with it.

It really depends on what you're comfortable with and what you're good at shooting.

 

[nick22]

I love my revolvers and carry my Smith&Wesson 66 on occasion because it makes me smile. I admit that I carry an ugly Glock 23 90 percent of the time and I just ordered a Gen 5 MOS and an RMR to put on it so I guess I am in the more party favors the better crowd.

 

[trackskippy]

Its going to take exactly what it takes. No more, no less. Only one way to find out if you brought enough along in the gun.

If youre comfortable shooting under stress, while you move, most likely at a moving target, and confident you can make good hits doing so, youre ahead of the curve.

You need to be realistic in your practice and your actual skills too. Theres a lot more to this than just basic bullseye-type shooting. Knowing your human anatomy, and understanding that you will likely need to shoot repetitively and quickly, and in the right places, is also a plus.

 

[NMachine]

Kleenbore takes over thread in 3-2-1

 

[DR505]

Hasn't this same thread topic been posted every week for about the last three years? Sure seems like it.

 

[plainsdrifter]

Speed loaders

 

[BLACKHAWKNJ]

Only the hits count.

 

[aaaaa]

The more rounds you have, the less likely you will need them all. What is the optimum number of rounds. It depends.

 

[mcb]

Random thoughts..

We live in one of the most, if not the most, peaceful modern eras mankind has ever seen.

A 5 or 6 shot revolver has no meaningful advantage over modern semi-autos.

I would take the guy that practice with his J-frame over the guy that thinks his high-cap semi means he doesn't have to.

 

[Jonesy814]

Depends. In some cases, 15 rounds might not be enough especially if you miss a lot. In other cases just pulling out your gun could be enough to stop an attack.
I ask myself, what situation would I be in where 2 or 3 assailants are still trying to shoot me or get to me, after I have taken a few shots at them? Most criminals want easy pickings. It's not like there is a hit squad out to get you.
Have no plans or reason to go to Chicago, LA, NY City. I'll just stay here in my middle of nowhere small town where actual murder happens once every 50 years, if that.

 

[Lo-Profile]

I'm perfectly happy with a 642 Airweight in a pocket as I am with a double stack DA/SA gun

 

[Pat Riot]

Well so far I have needed Zero rounds on a daily basis for all of my adult life. I figure 5 rounds in my 442 and a couple of speed strips is just fine with me. If I think I need more I have other guns to carry.

 

[someguy2800]

I’ve seen many videos and reports of people being shot 5 or 6 times or more and still not stopping. Would a bigger caliber have done better? Would a different bullet have done better? Was the first shot fatal and it just took them that long to run out of oxygen in the brain? Don’t know.

Personally I don’t like to carry revolvers for reasons other than capacity, but it is a nice bonus.

 

[dweis]

Five, six, seven might be enough in most likely scenarios. But it is the unlikely scenario that might get you killed. I went from a 7+1 capacity to a 15 +1 capacity 2 years ago. Why? Because I noticed that unlikely scenarios were and are more frequent year after year. Oh, I carry an extra 15 round mag too.

+1

 

[ColtPythonElite]

I am comfortable with 5 or 6

 

[WrongHanded]

How about some math.

Most of the defensive shooting data I have seen suggests that the average number of hits needed to successfully stop an attacker is between 1 and 2. So we must round up to 2 because we can't shoot 1.73 rounds, or 1.28 rounds.

Cops (the data suggests) only hit with somewhere around 30-35% of their shots. Most people are not any better under pressure than the average police officer. So we can assume most people will only hit with about 1/3rd of their shots.

So divide your gun's capacity by 6 (3 for the hit to miss rate, and the 2 for the number of rounds needed). The number you are left with is how many attackers your can handle with that gun.

A 6 shot revolver is therefore good for 1 attacker. A 15 shot semi-auto is good for 2.5 attackers.

Of course that's just based on the averages; for people who miss under stress, and are shooting a cartridge that won't reliably stop an attacker in a single hit. So.... almost everyone.

 

[Ranger99]

If you anticipate a firefight, you shouldn't
go there
If you can't consistently hit close range
bullseyes, you have the wrong setup for
you, and need to completely change.
If you suck and can't punch bullseyes,
you need real training.
If you still suck you need a whistle and
a can of spray
50% bullseyes out of 15 shots fired
sucks


Only bullseyes count
Like Jordan said, no second place winner

 

[JohnKSa]

Is 5 or 6 really enough in today's world.

It's enough unless it isn't. No one can really say more than that unless they can somehow see the future. If you find someone like that, DON'T ask them how many rounds you will need. Instead, ask them how you can avoid the gunfight.

So divide your gun's capacity by 6 (3 for the hit to miss rate, and the 2 for the number of rounds needed). The number you are left with is how many attackers your can handle with that gun.

You're on the right track, but it's a little more complicated than that.

Here's a thread where I provided the results based on working out the probabilities.

https://www.thehighroad.org/index.p...multiple-assailants-hit-rate-capacity.665883/

Assuming a 30% hit rate, 2 hits required to neutralize, that the defender gets to shoot all available rounds without getting killed, that no shots are wasted shooting an assailant more than is absolutely required, then six shots would be enough to handle one attacker about 58% of the time. With the same assumptions, 12 shots would be enough for one attacker about 92% of the time.

For two attackers and those assumptions, 6 shots would be enough about 7% of the time. 12 shots would be enough for two attackers about 50% of the time.

 

[tmd16556]

Some of it depends on your goal and ability. Most of these threads are like bear threads. How do I eliminate an invincible enemy while my feet are planted in concrete. For ccw, your goal is getting yourself and maybe others in your party away from the threat. I consider firing 0-1 shots, not hitting anyone, and running like hell and never seeing the bad guy again a successful self defense encounter. If you’re by yourself and mobile, a 5 shot J frame can buy you the time to extract yourself. If you lack mobility or people in your party do, you may need to have more firepower. There really isn’t one right answer here,

Unless you’re in that city where the gangs of bears on crack cocaine live. I just carry a flare gun but bring two heavy machine gun teams and no fewer than three 120 mm mortars for backup.

 

[DR505]

It's enough unless it isn't. No one can really say more than that unless they can somehow see the future. If you find someone like that, DON'T ask them how many rounds you will need. Instead, ask them how you can avoid the gunfight.You're on the right track, but it's a little more complicated than that.

Here's a thread where I provided the results based on working out the probabilities.

https://www.thehighroad.org/index.p...multiple-assailants-hit-rate-capacity.665883/

Assuming a 30% hit rate, 2 hits required to neutralize, that the defender gets to shoot all available rounds without getting killed, that no shots are wasted shooting an assailant more than is absolutely required, then six shots would be enough to handle one attacker about 58% of the time. With the same assumptions, 12 shots would be enough for one attacker about 92% of the time.

For two attackers and those assumptions, 6 shots would be enough about 7% of the time. 12 shots would be enough for two attackers about 50% of the time.

Now, how do you take into account the percentage of attackers that will flee when the target suddenly produces a gun and starts shooting? Do your calculations already factor that in based on data?

 

[westernrover]

Don't forget the attackers who won't attack because of the probability that you're armed.

 

[JohnKSa]

Now, how do you take into account the percentage of attackers that will flee when the target suddenly produces a gun and starts shooting? Do your calculations already factor that in based on data?

The assumption built into the calculation is that 2 hits are required to neutralize each attacker. If an attacker runs before they are hit twice, that violates the assumption and the probabilities don't work.

Things obviously get tremendously easier if attackers run when they see a gun or when they hear a shot. If that's the scenario you want to prepare for you might not even need the gun loaded at all--or maybe have it loaded only with blanks. If, on the other hand, you need a real gun with real bullets to deal with a scenario, then you will need to make hits and the calculation provides some insight into how hard it is to get two hits on an attacker (or two) with a given number of rounds and realistic gunfight hit rates.

 

[Bazoo]

I’m comfortable with my single action revolver in my not big city area. I’m not comfortable in the big city regardless of gun. For that matter I ain’t comfortable in a crowded store in my smaller city. Like on Black Friday for example.