Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns Let's be honest...

I was told this once on another forum when I said I carry a pistol and 3 extra mags while out hunting in addition to my bolt gun. Enough to fight my way back to my truck where my AR is, if necessary. This is in the deserts between Tuscon and Phoenix. My answer to that is.....why should I have to give up hunting and 4 wheeling because of the dangers associated with my location. Im not going to give up the things I love doing because bad people break the law in the same area as me.

Nevermind, I misread your post. Although if I got to the point where I felt I needed to press my gun on someones neck I would have fired long before he could retreat. Meaning how much danger did you feel you were in to draw your weapon, press it against someones neck and not fire?

Having a reload regardless of what weapon you carry in my opinion is not a bad idea because personally i just hate the though of a empty pistol in my hand or holster even if i don't need a reload. In this world of gang mentality carrying extra round seem like a good idea.

Dryflyelk there is alot of information on actual shootings. I have read 6% of all self defense shootings require a reload. That does not take into account the shootings were a second gun was pulled and used.

My personal opinion is only hits matter. It does not matter a whole lot what those hits are made with. I will take capacity over caliber. I have talked with alot of people that have been in shootings and everyone has said that the scariest part is when there gun went to slide lock.

Off duty I carry a glock 27, smith 642 and spare mag for the glock. This way I have a gun available to each hand.

Dink

Carry what you are best with and have the most confidence in....

One of the best reasons for carrying an extra mag is not because you'll need additional rounds but because a major cause for weapon malfunctions relates to a bad magazine. Bad springs, bent feed lips etc. are typically what causes a handgun to go down while shooting.

Carrying an extra mag allows for quickly stripping out the bad mag and getting back in the fight without fiddlef#%@ing around. Some departments mandate carrying at least one extra mag, mainly for this reason.

Great info gentlemen.

Dink, I was guessing around 5%, so that's pretty close. I wonder what situations would require that? The perp would have to be hellbent on doing you harm and a gun wouldn't or didn't change his mind. That BG has got to be high or crazy.

I wonder what the percentage is of BG's that keep coming after being hit by a round? Again, that guy has got to be high as a kite to want more medicine.

FOR ME, to carry on a daily basis, I need light and comfortable. Loading down my belt and pants with more mags, lights, or whatever is out of the question. Sure, it's better to have that stuff, but the inconvenience and weight make it prohibitive. I can't imagine rocking a full sized gun like some of you gents, with additional mags, all while trying to conceal it.

Obviously our situations and lives are different, and if you can carry the extra firepower, by all means, go for it. I just can't imagine myself getting into a situation where my Sig P238 didn't solve the problem. If I can't do it with 7 rounds, I need help anyway. Hopefully I never find out.

dryflyelk keep in mind when chit hits the fan you will miss and pull bad shots. Other situations that would require a reload are malfunctions, running out of bullets and hitting the mag release button during the fight.

Remember everytime you walk into a public bathroom all a turd has to do is turn the lights out on you and you will be [bleep]. That reason alone should make you want to carry a flashlight with you. Not to mention being out at night, parking garages and large department stores when the power goes out.

Seven rounds is not very many. I hope you do get it done with seven because if not you will have to beg for your life or your family's life.

Dink

After hitting what I aim at..For me bullet performance is most important.

I do not carry without at least one reload. In higher perceived threat areas I tend to carry left front pocket and strong right side both.Heck I carry a blade I can get to with both hands. Magazines get dropped and malfunction, cylinders open and dump cartridges, folks shoot them dry. folks trap your hands.

My behaviors are based on the information I have gathered more than my opinions. For example;Personally, I feel pretty good with a Bodyguard and one speed strip. Other folks have convinced me I may not be able to deal with some common situations with one.
As a result, I tend to carry two pistols if I have a Bodyguard on me. So far noone has convinced me that ten rounds loaded in weapons won't solve most common situations.


I need to believe it will make it to the vitals. Then the damage to the vitals gets important so I suppose caliber, after that capacity.

In my very limited experience from Viet Nam folks often empty their weapons at any sign of a threat. We were Marines so some of has were able to control our fire a little better. Sometimes.
You carried your weapon and a spare magazine everywhere. Period.

Waving a weapon at someone can be a dangerous waste of time.
Believing it will cause someone to surrender/flee is chancey.

In a purely defensive situation, I don�t think that caliber and capacity are very important. Lance Thomas sounds like a warrior, but he basically is an idiot for allowing himself to remain in a situation where he had to defend watches with multiple firearms, not once, but multiple times.

In an offensive situation, I think that cartridge power is important but capacity is overrated. Suppressive fire isn�t going to work in a crowded mall. Skill with the safety equipment, including the ability to reload the chosen equipment under stress, is important. Intelligence, fighting spirit, and ability to deal with severe stress are important.

I will NEVER "wave" a firearm at anybody, if I pull it it is to fire. Now if they turn tail and run before I can fire it is their lucky day. And I mostly carry two on me, a NY reload if you will.

Would you close your business down or move out of your home if it were attacked, more than once? I would do neither.

I don't carry an extra mag when wearing plain clothes, but I probably should...


Travis

I moved from New Orleans. I was perfectly capable of defending myself. My wife was perfectly capable of defending herself. We knew we could not cover our young child's butt once he was old enough to leave the house on his own.

When I was a kid, my father was a pharmacist with a mom and pop pharmacy. After having guns shoved in his face by hyped up junkies wanting controlled substances, he went to law school and got a safer job. I applaud him for that. He is still around.

So, yeah, I pick my battles. If one is coming, and I feel I've done my part in terms of preventive measures, I'll deal with it.

Fair enough, different views/different mind sets I suppose.

If you're in as many battles as that watch dealer, get out of town. There is no profession (besides military) worth risking your life over, every day, IMO. Four gun battles? Man. Move your business to a new town.

You guys know the stats better than I do, but don't a very high percentage of self defense gun battles happen at very close range? Like 5 yards? A guy comes to take your wallet. You pull a gun. The end. The chances of needing more than a couple of shots are very, very slim. You don't even have to hit the guy I'd imagine.

Like has been mentioned, offensive situations are completely different. All you are trying to do is defend yourself and get to safety, and protect those around you. You don't shoot unless you have to do so.

In war, carry as much as you can. Chances are high you'll need it. Viet Nam is not the same as buying groceries at Walmart.

Allow me to say this:

I've been to two shooting schools, and I showed up at both of them with a $100 Makarov. I got laughed at by several other students with their $1500 45 autos.

By the end of the schools, the laughter had stopped. The instructor at one of them asked the scoffers one question. He said, "If any of you want to have Rocky put two of those tiny bullets through your second shirt button, as you have seen him do on the targets, raise your hand."

Nada.

It is NOT the headstamp on the round, nor the rollmark on the gun that determines the winner of a gunfight. It is the steel in the shooter's mind.

I'm sorry, but the OP sounds like a guy who either doesn't or shouldn't carry a loaded handgun for serious social purposes. Just an observation. However, what RockyRabb wrote is spot-on.

My belief is if I am going to be armed, then I may as well be armed well enough to fight through any situation that arises, not just most of them

YMMV

As RR psote it is the mind set that wins, that I agree with. But I like to take it one step farther and have a 45 with enough ammo that I can see it through

NH K9 you are right on. Your personal carry isn't to fend off WWIII, it is to get you out of a jam. Any halfway decent shooter with the heart is going to either get the job done with first or second shot, or be down.

Next training is going to make you a better shot and weapons handler. What it won't do or tell is if you have it in you under fire in the real deal.

I have seen first hand great shots and great weapons handlers that once thrown into the fire were the last guys I would ever want with me in a firefight. That is something you either have or don't, There is no cultavating it.