Commenter RevolverRob quotes Clint Smith from Thunder Ranch:
“Nobody has ever complained of having too much ammunition during a gunfight.”
Amen.
I make no bones about the fact that I like capacity. It’s one reason I like 9mm handguns over other calibers like .40 S&W and .45 ACP. Since all pistol rounds suck about the same, I think it’s useful to consider other aspects such as capacity. If .45 ACP and 9mm will both get the job done, and I can carry twice as many 9mm rounds well… hopefully I won’t need them, but gosh it’s nice to have them if you do. We’re back to one of those old adages for why you carry: better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it. So, nice to have more ammo if you can, eh?
Put it this way. I opted to carry only a 5-shot snub-nose revolver a little while ago, and just when I opted to do that I had an incident that had potential to be ugly. Thankfully nothing came of it and that we did have rifles, but boy those 5 rounds just didn’t feel like enough. Maybe if it was just one guy it’d be OK, but again we like to say that “2 is 1, 1 is none”, to be aware of that which you can’t see, and all that stuff. So if it did wind up being 2 or more attackers, would those 5-6 rounds be enough?
Stuff From Hsoi 
Ok, I’m not here to stir up trouble, I promise. :)-~ I know we agree to disagree and all that, but I hope I may be given the opportunity to present a view from the other side.
While I agree that all pistol rounds suck, I am not convinced they suck equally.
Also, I seriously doubt you are carrying 50 rounds of 9mm around with you (I carry 25 rounds of .45acp with me ((3×8)+1) ).
I think more of us single stack lovers are carrying spare mags than you think, and I hope we’re all practicing reloads. (I do.)
Finally, another quote from Clint Smith:
“The 1911 remains popular because it’s an efficient tool. In more than 30 years of experience, I’ve met more competent, serious gunmen who carry 1911’s than those who pack any other handgun. They are professionals – policemen, government agents and others who carry handguns daily because the know their live may depend on it…Me? I’ve carried a 1911 every single day for the past 20 years. It’s a very comforting gun to have at your hip. It offers a good, consistent single-action trigger pull and is wonderfully dependable. Because the 1911 is basically a defensive handgun, I’m not concerned about tight groups. I don’t bother with expanding hollowpoints that could cause feeding problems. For absolute reliability, I shoot only high-quality ball ammunition. That big .45 slug doesn’t have to expand to be effective.”
From Guns and Ammo, September, 2001.
In all fairness though, I believe Clint is a fan of the XD 45 too.
Yes you’re here to stir up trouble, that’s what you do. 😉
You’re actually correct. All pistol rounds don’t suck equally. That one can carry more 9mm than .45 ACP… that just adds to .45 ACP’s suck. 😉
No I am not carrying 50 rounds of 9mm on me, but I am carrying more than you.
I also don’t think most people carry a reload. Unless you’re a serious student of gunfighting — and most people are not — they’re not going to carry a reload let alone know how to do it under pressure. In fact, most folks that would conceal carry a gun I’d reason don’t do much more practice than going to the range every so often and slowly punching holes in stationery paper. To carry a reload, to practice reloads, to do these sorts of things requires a different sort of person and frankly most people just aren’t into that. Hell, one of my shootin’ buddies was telling me how he was at a shooting function and everyone there had a CHL but only he and an off-duty APD guy were carrying at the time! So screw caring about reloads, how about just carrying in the first place?
Another point to consider is that a reload means your gun cannot operate. If you must reload, you must change tactics… you must get to cover, then reload; you can no longer engage the threat. Or at best, your attention is distracted… you are focusing on a reload, instead of focusing on an attacker… that 1.5 seconds it takes for you to reload? you won’t be focused on the attacker and he will be all over you (Tueller Drill). Plus, a reload takes time and no matter how much you practice there’s still chance for something to screw up and the reload to take longer than desired or flat out fail. Do you practice reloads under pressure (e.g. let’s try it next time with dummy rounds… I’ll be all over you like white on rice and you try to reload). If I took it to extremes, would you like a gun that was a single-shot and you must reload after each shot, or would you like to have the ammo fairy grant you a never-emptying magazine so you never had to reload? I suspect if such could exist, you’d take the magical never-emptying magazine. If such is that case, why not have a magazine that can hold as much as possible?
Point is, yes reloads are important to carry, not just for additional ammo but because the most likely point of failure in your semi-automatic handgun is going to be the magazine, or maybe an ammo-related malfunction. Having the reload is useful just to deal with such problems, but of course more rounds are useful too. However, an attacker isn’t stopped by the action of reloading: they’re stopped by the action of shooting. One may have to reload, but that doesn’t mean it’s always desirable to reload. While you’re reloading, I’m still shooting.
Again, I think it’s perfectly acceptable to say more than a mag’s worth needed equates with serious trouble/ being in over one’s head. Yeah, I might die if I’m facing more than one attacker, but 1) I thenagain might not die, and it might be extra rounds that saves my life, or someone elses; 2) if I am destined for the big lab in the sky, I really don’t want to go out wishing I had more bullets. Seriously, I don’t know what goes through peoples heads when they say stuff like “those extra rounds probably wont help me out of the shit-storm.” I mean, what are they saying, really, that they’ll just lay down and take it if it comes to that? See, I really doubt that anyone who pushes that line actually would say “oh well, I’m out, I guess it’s time to die now” and give up, which is why I called bullshit. To me, it sounds like machismo bs.
As for which calibur to carry, I’m not exactly a pro, but I’ve been convinced that shot placement is the most important factor, so whatever you shoot well with is my deferral. A couple of thugs took down a police officer in MA, killed him with a head shot from a .22 pistol. I won’t be carrying a .22 pistol, but it does go to show you…it’s not the size or the impact (though there might be something to be said about the ability to get through soft body armour) of the hole you punch in someone (and helloooo basic physics F=MA, F being in newtons, N being a function of area, which doesn’t differ all that greatly from .45 to 9mm) but where you punch that hole.
By the way, Hsoi et al, Alex will be transplanted to Texas in a short two weeks from now. He’s got varous war-era rifles and a .50 to play with. ANyone wanna play? I’ve got my eye on the garand and the 50…
SB
Sorry it took so long to reply to this.
I agree with calling BS. Yes it probably is a big-ass shitstorm that you’re involved in, but you’re right… what are you going to do? Fight or die?
Yes, shot-placement is key. That’s what it’s ultimately all about. Thus in my mind, I want to shoot a gun that enables me to get the best shot placement within my capabilities and limitations as a skilled shooter. That’s why I like 9mm, because of all the “big handgun calibers”, I can control and shoot a 9mm-chambered gun better.
As for some play time… yes! I’m all for that. Just drop me a line.