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View Poll Results: What is the smallest acceptable total capacity acceptable for a concealed carry gun?

Voters
272. You may not vote on this poll
  • 4

    8 2.94%
  • 5

    150 55.15%
  • 6

    45 16.54%
  • 7

    12 4.41%
  • 8

    17 6.25%
  • 9

    4 1.47%
  • 10-12

    19 6.99%
  • 13-15

    6 2.21%
  • 16-18

    6 2.21%
  • 19+

    5 1.84%
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Results 81 to 100 of 163

Thread: How Many Shots Is Enough for Concealed Carry?

  1. #81
    Boolit Master
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    5 in the mag and one in the chamber plus a spare 7rd mag is what I use with my XDs in 45acp. More important though is can you stay calm in a shoot and make your first couple of shots good hits.

  2. #82
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    ^^^^Indeed!
    If we could tell the future, we'd know whether to buy life insurance now or later, marry this girl or that, which job to take and a host of other life choices which can be ill or beneficent could be made with confidence. But we can't.

    However, in the awful chance where we get caught up in violence, having confidence in our skill and preparation can make all the difference. I consider 5 to be the minimum, as that is the capacity of the smallest guns I consider capable of service in the gravest extreme.

    Actually, though, I consider that whatever the capacity of the gun, a reload is a good thing. It is very easy in the initial panic of the situation to shoot your gun empty. Being able to reload allows you to respond, should your assailant(s) resume hostilities.
    Last edited by rintinglen; 07-25-2022 at 11:45 AM.
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  3. #83
    Boolit Master
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    I voted “6” because I’m comfortable with a full size short barrel revolver AND at least two reloads. I don’t normally leave home without them.

    For semiauto pistols 8 +1 and at least one reload is my minimum comfort level.

  4. #84
    Boolit Mold
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    Quote Originally Posted by RogerDat View Post
    The whole statistic on gun in the home more likely to kill an occupant than an intruder is based on occupant suicide vs the extremly low instances of intruders staying to be shot at (0 fatalities) intruder driven off. Followed by shot fired in general direction of intruder but a clean miss (0 fatalities). Then there are the the few times an intruder is shot at, hit, but not fatally (0 fatalities) And after all of these subsets of intruder/bad guy confrontation are eliminated one has a tiny fraction of one percent of confrontations that involve an intruder shot and killed (1 fatality).

    As applies to this discussion my guess is confrontations in the outside world follow much the same pattern. The largest subset is intruder leaves without shots fired. With few situations involving multiple shots. I guess real world the hit to miss ratio might improve if one wasn't awakened in the middle of the night in a dark house and trying to conduct a firefight in ones BVD's assuming one doesn't sleep commando which I'm going to assume wouldn't make it easier.

    I would assume for carry the old detective standard of 5 in the gun and 2 reloads for a total of 15 would be sufficient. I can't think of many situations in public where the rapid shooting and spraying cover fire in an area with innocent bystanders would be appropriate. Worst case I can think of is trying to hold off an attacker and I'm willing to wait until they decide I'm out of ammo or reloading and advance to prove them wrong. Your move, my hallway. Which is how I view my home defense situation. Bedroom is at end of hallway. Wife is on phone to 911 and you have to enter that hallway to do us harm so...

    Nice 5 shot revolves is aces in my book. Although the 45 acp "why shoot twice" idea has some merit out in the world, it is a bit noisy for indoors.


    Actually, That study is incredibly biased, but not the way you think.
    The study looked at all police reported instances of gun shots in a home. THEN it looked at how many of those the owner of the home was injured by gunfire. Its called cherry picking your data. What are the odds that if a gun fight happened in a house, a (legal) occupant of the home owned a gun? High crime areas, drug dealing, etc.,
    So it is improper sample selection to predetermine outcome. The PROPER data set for that analysis is ALL GUN OWNERS, not just the ones that specifically for whatever reason had a shooting in their home. It is incredibly flawed science that never should have made it past peer review, other than it was a result the publication wanted to make a case for.

  5. #85
    Boolit Grand Master FergusonTO35's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Rapier View Post
    Practice, practice, practice. Shot placement always beats fast noise. My first shot, is always what counts. have no idea which movie you watched that ever gave you the idea that the number of rounds expended has anything to do with anything at all, except getting yourself shot.
    I try to never miss with the first shot, and every shot on the next target is the first shot.
    If you practice you learn to squeeze the trigger quickly.
    This is how I roll. None of my CCW pieces are powerhouses, and I carry a .380 90% of the time. But all of them are reliable and accurate, and offer me the best possible chance for stopping the bad guy or at least hurting him enough to effect my escape. I also use plain 8.5x11 paper for targets. If I can quicly put them all in the center of that area then I am doing what I need to do.
    Currently casting and loading: .32 Auto, .380 Auto, .38 Special, 9X19, .357 Magnum, .257 Roberts, 6.5 Creedmoor, .30 WCF, .308 WCF, .45-70.

  6. #86
    Boolit Grand Master

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    Unless you are a sworn officer you only need enough ammo to escape and be the worlds best witness. When I started out as an officer we carried 5 shot snubbie with 5 spare rounds and thought we were well armed. My current CCW is either a 6 shot snubbie or my Browning hi power as i can't shoot my 1911 as well due to Uncle Arthur. Remember your job is just to survive an armed encounter no to stop a robbery or fend off charging hordes. If you can put them where they need to go 5 or 6 will do it and if yuu can't mother nature will clean the gene pool.

  7. #87
    Boolit Master

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    I'm pretty sure no one has ever said they wish that they had less ammo after a gunfight.

    43X with Shield Arms 15 round mag.

    762
    Hope for the best, plan for the worst.
    My amendment can beat up your amendment.

  8. #88
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    Quote Originally Posted by 762 shooter View Post
    I'm pretty sure no one has ever said they wish that they had less ammo after a gunfight.

    43X with Shield Arms 15 round mag.

    762
    I haven't made the commitment to a 10 round Glock 48 with the 15 round Shield Arms magazines, still learning to trust it. But I'm definitely leaning that way. A surprisingly good little combination package.


  9. #89
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    Quote Originally Posted by 762 shooter View Post
    I'm pretty sure no one has ever said they wish that they had less ammo after a gunfight.

    43X with Shield Arms 15 round mag.

    762
    No, but there have been many sighs of relief when a shift ended and a 8 pound gun belt came off. Now more is more, that can't be disputed. But that is not what was asked.

    The question was, "how many shots is enough for concealed carry;" not "how many is plenty". As I see it, it is a balancing act between the rest of your life, and being armed. Truth to tell, I'd be much better armed with an M-1 carbine and two or three 30 round mags. But that would make grocery shopping, purchasing gas and visiting the bank a bit sketchy. Not to mention being somewhat hard to conceal, unless I were to wear a poncho all the time like the Man with No Name in an Eastwood movie.
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  10. #90
    Boolit Master
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    After watching this thread and viewing the poll results, which show 5 rounds chosen by the majority it seems that there really is no answer that will suit most people. It parallels the Stopping Power threads of which there is never any consensus on.
    I know no one will answer me but does it seem like some subjects are designed to be an open ended subject to which there will never be an answer?
    Or am I mistaken again?

  11. #91
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    Quote Originally Posted by 44MAG#1 View Post
    After watching this thread and viewing the poll results, which show 5 rounds chosen by the majority it seems that there really is no answer that will suit most people. It parallels the Stopping Power threads of which there is never any consensus on.
    I know no one will answer me but does it seem like some subjects are designed to be an open ended subject to which there will never be an answer?
    Or am I mistaken again?
    Nailed it!/

  12. #92
    Boolit Master
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    Yep

    Some people consider they will enter a war zone, others a quilting bee, and everything in between.

    It really is like fire extinguishers. Keep one of the little 'spray bombs' or a 20lb?

  13. #93
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    I voted 5 because I carry a S&W model32 24/7 365 days a year now that I am retired and don't go to big cities on any regular basis . My load is right at 1000 fps with a GD 110 . Gives good penetration , classic mushroom and retains its weight. I can put five in the palm of my hand at 20 yards under stress. I have been in a few SD situations and the last one was settled with a .380 Winchester Silvertip. Never been in a Miami type shootout in this country and don't expect to be in one. One or two shots usually ends things one way or another, most thugs are cowards and get gone when they realize they don't have the only gun in the fight. I do carry two reloads on J strips just incase.

    One of those situations was at home , the other two were in places I should have avoided to begin with but didn't. It's been over 30 years since I had to even show a gun , mostly because I learned to avoid situations I don't need to go in to. That said, bad things do happen in good places to be so I always carry and stay aware of what's going on around me .
    Grumpy Old Man With A Gun....... Do Not Touch !!

  14. #94
    Boolit Master

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    Quote Originally Posted by 44MAG#1 View Post
    After watching this thread and viewing the poll results, which show 5 rounds chosen by the majority it seems that there really is no answer that will suit most people. It parallels the Stopping Power threads of which there is never any consensus on.
    I know no one will answer me but does it seem like some subjects are designed to be an open ended subject to which there will never be an answer?
    Or am I mistaken again?
    100% correct. Everyone should carry what they are comfortable with, there is no one size fits all carry piece. Mine now is a J frame but I have carried 1911's, PPKs .380, Browning HP, Beretta 81BB, Kahr .40 and several large caliber revolvers. I carried what made me feel the most safe and well prepared at that particular time in the known situation I was going to be in. Regardless of what you carry, how well prepared mentally you are , how much you practice things can still go sideways . You just do the best you can with what you got at the time.
    Grumpy Old Man With A Gun....... Do Not Touch !!

  15. #95
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    Quote Originally Posted by 44MAG#1 View Post
    After watching this thread and viewing the poll results, which show 5 rounds chosen by the majority it seems that there really is no answer that will suit most people. It parallels the Stopping Power threads of which there is never any consensus on.
    I know no one will answer me but does it seem like some subjects are designed to be an open ended subject to which there will never be an answer?
    Or am I mistaken again?
    Yep, this is what I expected when I asked. However, the data did not fall anywhere like I expected! I was completely surprised by the overwhelming choice of 5 rounds, since I believed most folks would opt for 6 or 8 as the minimum and 5 would be an outlier.

    Despite the fact that there can be no absolute right answer, I feel like it's an exercise worth doing. At the very least it tells us about the poll respondants' perception of risk in their lives and their ideas on what action is realistic to take in difficult situations. Note, though, that there is a pretty consistent shape to the data. The peak at 5 falls off fairly smoothly, so that you could almost create an asymptotic curve as round count increases. It didn't have to work out that way, but very interesting that it did.

    The other thing is, the poll asked for the minimum number, it didn't ask for the preferred number. I expect different phrasing would have resulted in very different responses.
    I'm a big fan of data-driven decisions. You want to make me smile, show me a spreadsheet! Extra points for graphs and best-fit predictive equations.

  16. #96
    Boolit Master
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    5 is what I would have expected. Why? 99% of the revolver carriers will have 5 shot pistols. And in this forum I suspect the number who might carry a revolver is quite high. And of those who don't, most recognize that the small revolver is still a potent CCW.

  17. #97
    Boolit Grand Master FergusonTO35's Avatar
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    Biggest problem for me is, my accuracy can vary considerably day to day even with the same gun and ammo. On sunday, I was putting them all in the same hole at 10 yards. Yesterday I was getting patterns the size of my hand. Been shooting and hunting for 37 years and I've come to accept that I'm never going to be a bullseye shooter. So, I'm going to carry the gun and cartridge that reduces the inconsistency as much as possible. So far, that is the .380 Auto in my Glock 42 or Kimber Micro with two reloads.
    Currently casting and loading: .32 Auto, .380 Auto, .38 Special, 9X19, .357 Magnum, .257 Roberts, 6.5 Creedmoor, .30 WCF, .308 WCF, .45-70.

  18. #98
    Boolit Master
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    Quote Originally Posted by FergusonTO35 View Post
    Biggest problem for me is, my accuracy can vary considerably day to day even with the same gun and ammo. On sunday, I was putting them all in the same hole at 10 yards. Yesterday I was getting patterns the size of my hand. Been shooting and hunting for 37 years and I've come to accept that I'm never going to be a bullseye shooter. So, I'm going to carry the gun and cartridge that reduces the inconsistency as much as possible. So far, that is the .380 Auto in my Glock 42 or Kimber Micro with two reloads.
    This happens to me too, and since primers are short my practice has reduced enough to make it worse.
    I have always shot lighter cartridges meaningfully better than stouter ones, and if I were to go back to semi auto centerfires I would choose 380.
    I'm a big fan of data-driven decisions. You want to make me smile, show me a spreadsheet! Extra points for graphs and best-fit predictive equations.

  19. #99
    Boolit Master Rodfac's Avatar
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    While I sometimes carry an auto, with its increased capacity (Sig P365), my usual side arm is a Model 60 Smith with 5 rounds of .38 Spl +P 135's. Thankfully, I've not had to use a weapon against another man since returning from Vietnam in 1970...but I have used an increased level of 'social' awareness over the years (acquired in those two tours in my youth), to avoid several encounters that threatened me and my wife.

    I keep my eyes and ears and BRAIN working, I avoid potential problem locales and feel comfortable with the 5-shot Smith. Others may have different needs and I would never question their choices. YMMv, so PAY ATTENTION out there. Rod
    Rod

  20. #100
    Boolit Grand Master FergusonTO35's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Rodfac View Post

    I keep my eyes and ears and BRAIN working, I avoid potential problem locales and feel comfortable with the 5-shot Smith. Others may have different needs and I would never question their choices. YMMv, so PAY ATTENTION out there. Rod
    This, 100%. If a situation doesn't feel right just leave if possible. Last year while waiting in line at a store the guy in front of me was giving me the evil eye while overtly putting his hand on his wife/girlfriend/whatever's butt. I guess he thought I had the hots for her or something. You never know what people are going to do and a confrontation never turns out well. When he looked the other way I just quietly went to another line out of his view, problem solved.
    Currently casting and loading: .32 Auto, .380 Auto, .38 Special, 9X19, .357 Magnum, .257 Roberts, 6.5 Creedmoor, .30 WCF, .308 WCF, .45-70.

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