How Much Ammo Capacity Is Enough?

How do you determine how much ammo capacity is adequate for your concealed carry handgun? Here are a few thoughts to help you decide.

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[budterence]

First rule of a gunfight, have a gun.

[dtroy]

I appreciate the soberness with which this channel discussed CC and self defense. Too many channels out there refer to guns as toys and sit analyzing which round does the most damage to watermelons. Thank you for your frankness and reverence for a very serious subject.

[alexs]

I live in CA so I carry a sharp stick. (Registered with the DOJ along with my fingerprints and social security number of course)

[tankerd]

I worked in firearms sales for a while, I'm a combat vet and I concealed carry on a daily basis so I have put an honest amount of thought into this.

I really feel like it is all about a balance between the extremes of the two opposing CCW camps, let's call them Bare-Minimum Bob and Carl the Commando. Bob has it right that probably 99% of encounters (which are unlikely as it is) are going to be done and over in one to three rounds, and just carrying anything is more than half the battle. Carl has it right that you don't want to be caught with your pants down in that one impossibly shitty situation where you are say, fighting multiple combatants, or get in a protracted firefight; and that you want to be as well trained as possible.

Personally, I ride the line and carry a purpose-built, single stack concealed carry 9mm with an extra magazine or a 380 with an extra mag in shorts and tee shirt weather. I am a reasonably skilled shooter simply from my long time in the service and my continuing love for shooting. Having squeezed the trigger in anger before, I know I can handle myself on the mental level. I am not trying to toot my own horn more than I deserve, but I think I am a bit above the level that the average concealed carrier should be at.

I don't feel like carrying a 5 shot wheel gun that you have shot no more than 10 rounds out of is a wise choice. I also feel like going out of your way to stuff a Glock 19 in your pants (no matter how uncomfortable you think that is), and paying John Rambo a hundred dollars an hour to train you to do drills to prepare for a unicorn of a situation is a poor use of your own resources.

Get a gun you like to carry with at least a modest ammunition capacity, carry some extra rounds if you want, and practice with your pistol AT LEAST a few times a year. After that, you know what is your most important asset when you're out on the streets? Something that hardly any gun videos and articles talk about? Situational awareness. You need to maintain some serious SA if you want a leg up out in the real world. Watch what other people are doing, look for escape routes and ways out as you go about your business, get your guard up when you go into a creepy location in a creepy area at a creepy hour. You can be Carl the Commando himself, and if you don't have good SA out there, you might as well be Bare-Minimum Bob.

[politicallyunreliable]

A voice of reason. That's why I'm subscribed.

[Vanilla]

A five shot .22 rimfire in your hand is always more effective than the 10mm auto loader, with 5 15-round magazines in a locker at home.

[MidwayShooter]

Another CCW statistic is the more comfortable the firearm is to carry, the more they will carry it .

[edha]

I recently changed my EDC from semi-auto to revolver. I'm confident in my ability to clear malfunctions -- I'm quite proficient at it in my livingroom with snapcaps. But can I do it quickly enough in a situation? Maybe. Maybe not. The common thread in everything I've read about self-defense encounters is that things happen real quick. So I made the decision to scratch FTF & FTE from my list of things that could go wrong. Another factor is that I'm a revolver guy at heart. The first time I strapped steel to my hip rather than polymer,  it just felt right TO ME. My two cents! I enjoy your videos, Mr. LG.

[herbertkellett]

Your calm thought out presentations are always terrific! I’ve been legally carrying for 3 years, upon moving to NC from NYC (hell) I immediately applied for my CHP once I was eligible. I went to a range and had a qualified firearms instructor train me in the use of firearms: how to handle semi autos, revolvers, how to load, clean, and above all gun and range safety. I returned and we did range time with an assortment of handguns to experience recoil, larger handguns, small handguns etc. Then as required by the state I attended the 8 hour CHP training course and passed. I carried a .380 Caliber Ruger LC380 using a hip holster which a shirt outside my pants easily concealed. Last spring I purchased a Beretta Pico which is also a 380 - 6 + 1. Beretta sells their own pocket holster which I highly recommended. It fits perfectly in my front right pocket and it draws smoothly! Beretta designed it with no snags and it is a thin pistol. Yes it took some time to get use to firing .380 from a small, light handgun. You MUST use 2 hands for accuracy! My dilemma: (this is funny) I’ve become so used to carrying it I’m ignoring my other pistols! On my dresser (I live alone so there are no safety issues) there’s my wallet, keys, my Beretta, and a money clip. Each day I routinely place each item in the usual pockets and away I go!

[arthurcarstens]

Live in N. E. Texas and I remember the incident that happened in Tyler Texas several years. A lunatic armed with an ak47 and body armor tried to kill his ex at the court house in downtown Tyler. A local CCW holder tried to stop the madness. His shots were on target, the prep went down. The CCW holder was out of ammo, the prep got back up and executed the CCW as he tried to hide behind a car. Very sad, props to the CCW holder for his courage, he did, in fact, stopped the killing of others. This has left a very strong impression on me. Religiously carry a spare mag all the time.

[LinkHyrule]

Interesting. When I first got into firearms a few years ago, I thoroughly researched everything I could about the shooting sports and self defense prior to buying my first handgun. I dove headfirst into learning everything I could, from firearm law, self defense law, and mindset to twist rates, kinetic energy, and mechanics.
Through my learning, I came up with a specific list of what I wanted in my first handgun, which would likely be my only handgun for a while (poor college student). I knew I wanted to conceal carry, and as a 120-pound male, I knew I wanted a subcompact. I knew I wanted 9mm for cost, recoil, and capacity reasons. I knew I wanted a hammer-fired gun, preferably DA/SA, and I knew that I wanted a double-stack. I also knew that I wanted it to be suitable for everything: I wanted it small enough to conceal for me, I wanted it to be good enough for home defense, I wanted it to be fun so that I would enjoy practicing with it as a new shooter, I wanted it to be high-enough capacity for me to feel comfortable with it in every role, I wanted it to be attractive enough and high-quality enough to pass down to future generations, and I wanted it to be large enough to be suitable for learning how to shoot with it.
All these factors led me squarely to the subcompact Px4. I've loved it ever since. When I first got it, I was shooting 20" groups at 7 yards as a new shooter. I've improved enough with it that I'm now shooting 2" groups at 7 yards.

[giacomo]

You hit the target when you said:"ammo capacity and guns type is rarely the deciding factor. When an armed citizen loses a fight it’s often because they failed to recognize danger."

In my city there is currently a killer on a 30 days killing spree...he assulted two guards armed wit berettas M9 in two different occasions, one time bare handed another time armed with a double barrel shotgun and both times he was able to kill and steal their guns, wich now has sadly used to commit other crimes. Those guards could have had ship cannon and they would still be dead...

[KrautSpaceMagic]

I saw a comment the other day that went something to the effect of "I feel bad for the guy that tries to rob Jerry micheleck, Jerry will have to explain how he managed to get 40 rounds on target out of a revolver before the guy even hit the ground"

[hkris]

When being robbed or attacked, the assailant is actually at very close range for a knife or small firearm.
In most cases, having a shootout in public and at long range could send you to prison.

[jimhill]

In almost all situations, the person who has the capability to continue functioning in a highly stressful situation will come out on top.

[Nungesser]

Chris,

Thanks for articulating new perspective and nuance on capacity. Thanks too to your and your colleagues for producing high-quality video content. Appreciate the attention you all put to camera angle music, sound quality, intro, outro, background, test, lighting, editing, script, etc. that make your videos not only informative and interesting, but also a genuine pleasure to view and listen to.

[patreynolds]

My mother used to carry a Ruger LC9s. She always complained that she was a horrible shot so one day at the range I asked her if I could give it a go. The very first thing I noticed is that it was really light weight and had a very small grip. This was an issue for me personally because with my hand size I could only get two fingers (not counting trigger and thumb) around the weapon. Well I went through a mag (7 rounds) and couldn't hit the broad side of a barn. Between my lack of grip and the high pressure muzzle flip of the 9mm it was hard to shoot accurately. My mother ended up getting rid of it for a different weapon after she realized that was her issues as well. Moral of the story? Choose a weapon with a comfortable grip for you and a size that will allow accurate shot placement. Sad to say I've been significantly more accurate with better weapon reliability from a Hi-Point JHP-45 .45acp than the LC9s. It ain't always the price or fashion that determines if a said weapon will work.

[benedictbenjo]

I started with a snubnose 5 shot revolver. My current preference is a 10+1 DAO double stack 9mm. It happens to be a similar size as my snubnose too

[stevestevensky]

I was a Louisiana Sheriff's Deputy in the 80's and I carried a stainless Ruger, Security Six, .357 Mag. Never felt unprepared because training is the difference, not capacity.

[MindOverEverything]

Informative, balanced and sane perspectives.