Is 6 still enough for today's world

[loadedp3at]

Not a caliber war. Just a question about the times and whether a small single stack of revolver is enough.

[KahrMan]

I do not think so. That is why I switched my from Kahr PM45. I didn’t think 7 rounds was enough. I switched to a glock 48. With the shield arms mags I now carry 15+1 in a single stack frame. Works great for me. 

[FUJIMO]

16 + 1 for several years now. Easier than an additional mag for me.

[Alleycat72]

Back when I was young and good at shooting handguns, I carried a 10mm with 8. I was relying on my skill at shooting targets. Now that I'm older and quite a bit better at shooting, I run 19 rounds in the mag. 

Edited May 1, 2021 by alleycat72

[Chucktshoes]

It was never enough. 

[A.J. Holst]

The disturbing trend in violent crime encounters is multiple bad guys and girls.

Not likely to have time to reload a revolver and figure a minimum of  2 seconds for a pistol, if you're good, practice continuously and not entangled / fending off.

And a Tom Givens-ism: a high capacity pistol is not so you can shoot more, it is so you have to reload less.

Depending on environment and attire, I will carry a single stack (and a back up) but prefer a full size or compact equivalent for EDC (with a back up)

In a society where criminals are emboldened due to the political landscape, do you want to be less armed?

[Darrell]

And bucking the trend as usual:  I've always thought six in a revolver is plenty, and revolvers are darned near jamb-proof. And I often carry a .45ACP with 7. 

I've always thought that THE perfect self-defense weapon is a pump-action 12g. Anyone who hears that distinctive ker-chunk and keeps on coming deserves what will happen next. Hard to conceal, though.....

[Possumslayer]

Just went from shield to shield +

[GlockSpock]

2 hours ago, Darrell said:

And bucking the trend as usual:  I've always thought six in a revolver is plenty, and revolvers are darned near jamb-proof. And I often carry a .45ACP with 7. 

I've always thought that THE perfect self-defense weapon is a pump-action 12g. Anyone who hears that distinctive ker-chunk and keeps on coming deserves what will happen next. Hard to conceal, though.....

Joe?

[Alleycat72]

2 hours ago, Darrell said:

And bucking the trend as usual:  I've always thought six in a revolver is plenty, and revolvers are darned near jamb-proof. And I often carry a .45ACP with 7. 

I've always thought that THE perfect self-defense weapon is a pump-action 12g. Anyone who hears that distinctive ker-chunk and keeps on coming deserves what will happen next. Hard to conceal, though.....

I think a 12 gauge is great also, but I don't want to give away my position. Pumping a shotgun is good for throwing cold water on guys that want an excuse for discontinuing their bravado, but for someone that means you harm it's not a good idea. 

[Raoul]

Nope. I carried A PM 40 for years. These days its a CZ 75.

[Darrell]

2 hours ago, GlockSpock said:

Joe?

C'mon man! There's no need to hurl insults!

Edited May 2, 2021 by Darrell

[camp]

I hope 6 is over kill, as I daily carry a 5 shot revolver

[Wheelgunner]

9 hours ago, loadedp3at said:

Not a caliber war. Just a question about the times and whether a small single stack of revolver is enough.

Enough for what?  Purpose matters, and circumstances do too. 

Trip to the grocery store in the 'burbs?  Yeah, probably enough.  But when it's time to demo the deck behind your house, you reach for the crowbar and 10 lbs. sledge - not the framing hammer.

[Quavodus]

I love revolvers. I think the .38 Special and .357 magnum are some great  versatile rounds but, 5 or 6 rds. ain't real exciting. Only thing with autos, is they throw brass around.

[Whisper]

Look at stats for defensive firearms use by armed citizens.  Also, you might read the recently released "Real Shootouts of the LAPD -- Off Duty Incidents, Volume 1"  by Claude Werner. This studies every off-duty shooting (burglary, assault, etc.) by LAPD officers since 2005, so it should be similar to what average citizens experience.

One similarity:  Firing of more than two shots is extremely rare. 

That said, it doesn't mean that the need for more than two shots never happens, and you don't want to be the statistical outlier if you're the person involved in a defensive situation where you need more than that.  I carry a semiauto most of the time.  But just yesterday I carried a J-frame 38 for a while.  Make your own choices, but you might take some comfort in the knowledge that it's extremely unlikely you will need more than five rounds.

Cheers,

Whisper

Edited May 2, 2021 by Whisper

[hipower]

14 hours ago, Possumslayer said:

Just went from shield to shield +

What holster do you use for it? I have the 4" and my old one doesn't quite fit.

[hipower]

14 hours ago, Raoul said:

Nope. I carried A PM 40 for years. These days its a CZ 75.

Nice choice. A little heavy with a full mag load, but nice.

[Moped]

I usually carry one of three pistols, a S&W 442 with two speed strips, a Walther PPK with two extra mags or a Ruger LC9S Pro with two extra 9 round mags. I see no reason to carry anymore than that.

[tnhawk]

A 1911 and spare mag should be more than I'll ever need.

[Chucktshoes]

I take paid training and practice what I was taught because it is incumbent upon me to do so if I wish to be effective in defending myself or those I am responsible for should the need arise. 

What I’ve learned in that training is that under stress, my aim goes to crap. The more training and the more practice I do, the less that is true, but it will always be true to some degree.  So all my shots are not likely to be all A-zone or CNS 1-shot stoppers. 

With a few exceptions, most non-catastrophic malfunctions in a semi-auto pistol can be fixed with a new magazine. The ones that can’t make flight a much more attractive option if at all possible. (In addition, the myth of revolver reliability to the point of being wholly malfunction free, is just plain not true. Revolvers are pretty susceptible to malfunctions from foreign objects in the mechanism. In fact, I would argue that a semi auto pistol is generally more reliable and easier to fix when a malfunction does occur.) 

Finally, I think we’ve all watched enough shooting breakdown videos to gain the knowledge that one or several rounds aren’t guaranteed to make even one attacker, let alone more than one, stop what they are doing.

The practical application of that information leads me to carry a 9mm pistol with a minimum capacity of 10rds (though normally 15) and at least 1 larger spare magazine. 

So, no. As of the early 20th century a 5 or 6 shot revolver was never enough if you wanted an effective defensive weapon. (Why do you think the ‘New York Reload’ was a thing?) Now, if all you’re after is a talisman to feel prepared, then it’s no worse than any other gun shaped one. 

Edited May 2, 2021 by Chucktshoes

[Possumslayer]

5 hours ago, hipower said:

What holster do you use for it? I have the 4" and my old one doesn't quite fit.

Ordered c&g, I’ll know in a couple months how it works

[leroy]

Im ok with whatever ya are comfortable shooting; ya just have ta know how to shoot n have the mindset to shoot...  I carry a 238 and/or 938 because they are thin n easy to carry when im in relatively safe territory..  Out on " the frontier " the big pistolas ride along.    I like the at least two gun idea:... " The quickest reload is a second pistola "...

leroy...

[Quavodus]

I actually prefer a revolver, I think it's because I've shot them longer but, it concerns me with the limited shots.

[papa61]

Situational Awareness. Depends on where I'm going, what time of day, what the social climate is, etc. Some days it's just my 7 round Kel Tec P32, some days my Para P14-45 with a back-up. If I lived in certain areas of the country I wouldn't go out without an AR and a pump 12ga. 

I just purchased a Taurus 608 and it's the only revolver in my collection at this time, so no, 6 isn't enough LOL