What would be a "real" world amount of magazine capacity

[Sam]

If your concerned with capacity or fire power then consider a pistol that takes the biggest bullets such as a full size Glock in 45acp.

There is no substantial difference in terminal effectiveness between any of the major duty calibers. With that said, pistol rounds are also horrible man stoppers and so more than one well placed shot will probably be needed. There's also the issue of multiple attackers and decreased accuracy under the stress of a gunfight.

People always throw around similar statements usually to the effect of "8 rounds of .45 acp should be enough to stop an attacker." Well sure 8 rounds should be enough if there is only 1 attacker and all the rounds are well placed. Why not give myself a greater margin of safety? I can't assume that a fight is going to go exactly right for me and exactly like I planned in my head. There very well may be more than one attacker that I may have to shoot more than once and I won't have the same accuracy as I do on a quiet controlled range lane where bad guys aren't trying to harm me.

[section31]

There was a time when men had to load powder and shot for each round. A trained man with ten round magazines and a serious mind set in not a man to be trifled with, even if you have 17 round magazines and a badge.

[sigstroker]

Since u don't know how it's gonna go, the more rounds the better. U might have to shoot his momma too.

Yup. I had a friend that carried a SIG 226 (16 rounds) and two 20 round magazines for reloads (56 rounds total). A guy said something like "ODDS ARE you'll never need all that because statistics say the average gunfight is less than 5 rounds". My friend said "Once you start talking odds, you're gambling".

[barca101]

My opinion is if you carry 10 rds, whether you ccw or for HD, someone prepared should always carry another spare mag of 10 rds. If you have to pop off 2 or 6 rds to protect yourself or another, make sure you keep the mag you just used instead of discarding it and tactically reload with the extra fresh mag you have to stay in the game. As always train, train, and train.

[sigstroker]

There is no substantial difference in terminal effectiveness between any of the major duty calibers. With that said, pistol rounds are also horrible man stoppers and so more than one well placed shot will probably be needed.

You're wrong.

Where do people come up with this baloney?

[Trenchfoot]

Back to my question; How many rds in a magazine would cover most real world, life threating encounters? Some people with little experience may think a large pistol magazine would be better than a very usefully size.

For most handguns, the "standard capacity" magazine and the CA neutered ones, for that particular handgun, will be the same size.

For example, a Glock 19's 15 round magazines are going to be the same size as the 10 rounders for it.

[Sam]

You're wrong.

Where do people come up with this baloney?

If you've got a cite I'd love to see it. Here's one that you (and anyone serious about the subject) should read:

http://pistol-forum.com/showthread.php?4337-Service-Caliber-Handgun-Duty-and-Self-Defense-Ammo

[Ronin2]

Hope to aquire a CZ 75 Compact 9mm at some point. Am wondering what the difference between the 14 rd and 10 rd magazine might be in a real life situation.

If you are well trained and mentally prepared, you can handle the situation with a lethal force confrontation with a single assailant with, at the most, three well placed shots. So therefore, if you are well trained, the real life situation between 14 and 10 rnds is extra weight of four rounds.


Multiple assailants? That can complicate the 10 round magazine capacity problem a little.

[elSquid]

If you've got a cite I'd love to see it. Here's one that you (and anyone serious about the subject) should read:

http://pistol-forum.com/showthread.p...f-Defense-Ammo

From the link:

The nice aspects of .45 ACP are that it makes large holes, can be very accurate, and offers good penetration of some intermediate barriers. Unfortunately, magazine capacity is less than ideal, .45 ACP is more expensive to practice with, and in general is harder to shoot well compared with 9 mm. .45 ACP makes the most sense in states with idiotic 10 rd magazine restrictions, in departments that give you lots of free .45 ACP ammo, or in situations where modern expanding ammunition is restricted due to asinine, illogical regulations.

So 10 rounds 45ACP > 10 rounds 9mm?

-- Michael

[mohawkdcg]

These days you have to be ready for the guy on PCP or bath salts. I remember my brother and 4 fellow officers were attacked by a knife wielding perp that was on PCP. They made 19 hits with 45ACP from Sig 220s before he went down. And he survived!

Admittedly this may not be the typical situation but I would play it safe and carry 2 spare mags. If you were on your own in that type of confrontation you might not survive anyway as these drugs make them super strong and super fast.

[baddos]

Youtube has tons of videos of guys getting shot by 9mm and walking away. It's better to have more bullets than you need then one too little.

[Sam]

From the link:

The nice aspects of .45 ACP are that it makes large holes, can be very accurate, and offers good penetration of some intermediate barriers. Unfortunately, magazine capacity is less than ideal, .45 ACP is more expensive to practice with, and in general is harder to shoot well compared with 9 mm. .45 ACP makes the most sense in states with idiotic 10 rd magazine restrictions, in departments that give you lots of free .45 ACP ammo, or in situations where modern expanding ammunition is restricted due to asinine, illogical regulations.

So 10 rounds 45ACP > 10 rounds 9mm?

-- Michael

Surely 10 rounds of 45 ACP will make bigger holes than 10 rounds of 9mm, but I don't think the discussion should be solely focused on that. How cheap or expensive is practice ammo? How does the gun recoil? Can I shoot 45 as quickly and as accurately as 9? Ballistically, 10 rounds of 45 may be better than 10 rounds of 9 but I don't think that is the only criterion to look at when selecting a round for self defense use.

[elSquid]

Surely 10 rounds of 45 ACP will make bigger holes than 10 rounds of 9mm, but I don't think the discussion should be solely focused on that. How cheap or expensive is practice ammo? How does the gun recoil? Can I shoot 45 as quickly and as accurately as 9? Ballistically, 10 rounds of 45 may be better than 10 rounds of 9 but I don't think that is the only criterion to look at when selecting a round for self defense use.

I certainly can't disagree with that.

-- Michael

[Ronin2]

Youtube has tons of videos of guys getting shot by 9mm and walking away. It's better to have more bullets than you need then one too little.

The two factors that determine stopping power do not reference caliber at all. Those two factors are; shot placement and penetration.

Trust me... a 9mm double tap to the chest, a shot thru the heart will kill someone. A shot to the medulla oblongata will put down ANYONE like switching off a light.

If you are not precise with your shot placement... then yeah.. you will need LOTS of rounds of any caliber, short of .50 BMG, to shoot someone to pieces.

[Fishslayer]

Better to have it and not need it...

Which is louder? A "bang" when it should go "click" or a "click" when it should go "bang?"