Is 6 Shots Really Enough?

[LouisianaGunner12]

My daily carry is a S&W Model 19 blued with a 4" barrel, loaded with 125 grain loads, with a Glock 26 as backup.


I used to never second guess that 6 shots was enough until I started reading other opinions on the internet

Now I'm not so sure. I love my revolver and have shot so many thousands of rounds through it that it feels like an extension of my hand, something that I've never felt with higher capacity semi autos. I am confident that I can make meaningful hits with my 19 in a self defense situation. But what about if there are multiple attackers? What if I miss? What if, what if, what if?That's why I started carrying a G26 as backup, as much as I dislike the plastic little thing. But what if I don't have enough time to draw my backup? The uncertainty is maddening.

Am I just letting this (and the internet) get to my head? Should I not be concerned with my 6 shots?

 

[Coop45]

Have you considered naval gunfire? No, I wouldn't trust those sailors either. It would seem to me that after a couple of their pals had been ventilated the thing the bad guys would be thinking would be something about not getting ventilated too.

 

[HKGuns]

Don't listen to the Mall Nija's. A single well placed shot is all you are likely to need. Keep your wits about you under duress and your six gun will be plenty.

 

[OptimusPrime]

May I speak for Coop here: the other bad guys will run away.

 

[rcmodel]

If you subscribe to the "Aimed Fire" school of gunfighting?

6 in a revolver or 7 in a 1911 and a spare mag or speed-loader or two is more then enough.

If you go with the "Spray & Pray" school of gunfighting?
3 or 4 17 round mags is not enough.

I'm old school though.

5 in a J-Frame is enough, if I don't want to clank when I walk.
And keep stopping to pull up my pants and patting myself in the obvious places to print to see if I dropped anything getting out of the car, or out of a restaurant.

rc

 

[LouisianaGunner12]

I have considered the 627 with 8 shots, but I much prefer my trusty model 19. Plus, 2 shots isn't that big a difference.

 

[KenW.]

I routinely carry a 5-shooter and feel quite comforted.

 

[PabloJ]

Six shots are plenty. If you ever hear gun shots run away from the sound not toward it.

 

[bainter1212]

If you start worrying about every single contingency, you will end up carrying a Glock with 25 mag pouches on your belt, and constantly carrying around a huge pack full of survival gear everywhere you go. You have to draw a line somewhere. Let the internet nutjobs spout whatever they want, and do what you are comfortable with. Half the guys on the internet who spout out all these rules about combat, engagements etc are 37 yrs old, sitting in their mom's basement and don't know what the heck they are talking about.
Be content that you are better armed than 99% of the people around you, and the bad guys will be just as scared of your sixgun as they would be of an AR.

 

[lowercase]

6 shots?

I usually roll with a 5-shooter.

If that's not enough, I guess I'll find out the hard way.

 

[lobo9er]

I throw hazard to the wind and EDC a 380!

 

[420Stainless]

Should be unless you or your friends do business with people that like to settle accounts with a drive by. Or one heck of a big riot breaks out around you. The first doesn't apply to me and I will take my chances with the second. Six is all my favorite carry holds and I may move to five sometimes if I like the way my new Taurus .44 Special shoots.

 

[Droid noob]

I've carried my LCR as my primary before and just feel under gunned when I do. Before all these mass murders started happening, I didn't feel that way. I know, my chances of being in that situation are very small. I just don't feel comfortable playing the odds though. It's just my preference. I carry a g26 with g17 spare mag. My school of thought is better to have it and not need it.

 

[PabloJ]

Should be unless you or your friends do business with people that like to settle accounts with a drive by. Or one heck of a big riot breaks out around you. The first doesn't apply to me and I will take my chances with the second. Six is all my favorite carry holds and I may move to five sometimes if I like the way my new Taurus .44 Special shoots.

Common sense dictates that when faced with major riot one should JOIN the rioters until safe exit from the crowd is possible.

 

[rcmodel]

I just don't feel comfortable playing the odds though.

Boy, me too!

I carry an umbrella when it isn't raining, in case it does.

And I attach copper ground strap on the umbrella when it is raining, just in case I might get hit by lightening.

But I'm not a risk taker.

I carry a 6-shot .380, or 5-shot S&W along with the umbrella too.

rc

 

[JohnKSa]

It's probably enough unless you're confronted with multiple determined bad guys. Then the odds start to look pretty grim once you factor in typical gunfight hit/miss rates and the need to connect more than once with a handgun round to put a determined attacker down.

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=665883

 

[Stress_Test]

Just for s**** and grins, I've carried my LCR in my jeans front pocket, and my M&P .45c inside the waistband, both on the left side.

NO, it's not comfortable!

Also I look like a stroke victim when I move and bend due to all the weight on that side (not very flexible, you know).

Going out the door armed up like the Punisher sounds good until you actually try it!

 

[Stress_Test]

It's probably enough unless you're confronted with multiple determined bad guys. Then the odds start to look pretty grim once you factor in typical gunfight hit/miss rates and the need to connect more than once with a handgun round to put a determined attacker down.

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=665883

Also, way I look at it, if you've got three guys shooting at you, you're not likely to live long enough to expend all the ammo in a 15-17 round mag anyway...

 

[Deaf Smith]

My daily carry is a S&W Model 19 blued with a 4" barrel, loaded with 125 grain loads, with a Glock 26 as backup.


I used to never second guess that 6 shots was enough until I started reading other opinions on the internet

Now I'm not so sure. I love my revolver and have shot so many thousands of rounds through it that it feels like an extension of my hand, something that I've never felt with higher capacity semi autos. I am confident that I can make meaningful hits with my 19 in a self defense situation. But what about if there are multiple attackers? What if I miss? What if, what if, what if?That's why I started carrying a G26 as backup, as much as I dislike the plastic little thing. But what if I don't have enough time to draw my backup? The uncertainty is maddening.

Am I just letting this (and the internet) get to my head? Should I not be concerned with my 6 shots?

If you are a fast and good shot then sure a six shooter will do.

If you are crummy lousy shot I doubt anything will do.

The semi-automatics do best for those who have modest skills. In their hands it will improve their hit potential.

And keep in mind the most important shot fired in self defense is the FIRST ONE and not the tenth or fifteenth one!

Now with that being said I nomalry pack a Glock sub-compact. 9mm, .40, or .357 Sig. All are fine. Ammo content from 9 to 11 rounds. I tend to just put 10 in my 26 and nine rounds in the other two. Then either a spare mag or a small pocket Kel-tec P32 as the 'spare'. But on other occasions I carry a S&W J Centennial 642. Yes 5 shots.

But folks, I shoot weekly and have expert or above ratings in IDPA and been to many a shooting school. Shooting and martial arts are my hobbies. Been that way for over 30 years.

So will six do? For some yes. But be realistic about your shooting skills and what you can do. I could pack a S&W K frame if I wanted to (I sure have enough of them) but I mostly pack a Glock.

Deaf

 

[rcmodel]

if you've got three guys shooting at you, you're not likely to live long enough to expend all the ammo in a 15-17 round mag anyway...

Unless they are all shooting Gansta Style sideways, and you are shooting gun upright using the front sight!

Then, you will most likely win every time.

rc

 

[JohnKSa]

Also, way I look at it, if you've got three guys shooting at you, you're not likely to live long enough to expend all the ammo in a 15-17 round mag anyway...

I make that point more than once in the thread I linked to in my post. However, there's a lot of real estate between 6 rounds and 15 rounds.

 

[joeschmoe]

The purpose of a handgun is to fight your way to your carbine.

 

[Haxby]

I have never heard of a good-guy-private-citizen losing a gunfight because he ran out of ammunition.

 

[PabloJ]

The purpose of a handgun is to fight your way to your carbine.

The ONLY purpose of sidearm is that one does not have to beg for their life. That is why as private citizen no matter how many rounds you have the only smart thing to do is to run AWAY from sound of gunshots.

 

[orionengnr]

Yep. Carry what you shoot well and are confident in.

Practice with it regularly, and make sure your shots count. As a wise man once said, "You can't miss fast enough to win a gunfight".

There seem to be about a bazillion people who think that 5 rounds from a 642 are more than enough. Who am I to argue? They are far better prepared than 95% of the general population.