Has anyone EVER used more than 5 or 6 shots carrying a revolver?

Macchina said:

Has anyone EVER used more than 5 or 6 shots carrying a revolver?

Click to expand...

If they did, they may not be alive to respond to the thread.

A reload would be assurance that if you survived the initial attack and got to cover, then you can top off in case the attacker(s) comes back.

edit: I wrote that thinking self defense but I guess could apply to bears. Maybe?

When carrying a favorite snubby might not be enough gun...

I also bring another snubby!

New York reload for me.

This video forever haunts me ... why you may need more than 5/6 rounds.

I have no personal experience to offer, but suggest that you look up something called "survivorship bias." The famous example was a study of that recorded the location of bullet holes in WWII combat aircraft after each mission. The conclusion, which seems counter-intuitive at first, was to put armor or structural reinforcement where there were no bullet holes recorded *because those were the ones that didn't come back.* This question about revolver reloads is the same...those that needed the reload may not be here to tell the tale. Personally, I carry a couple of speed strips for my 642 if only because I'd feel pretty damn stupid if I needed them but didn't have them.

I doubt most have never shot a gun in self defense much less 3 or more rounds.

Yes, sometimes lots more. I think at Nationals in 2009 I used over 250 rounds. Walking the farm with a single six, might have a box of 50 that might get gone through if I find a good plinking spot.

That said, I haven’t fired a single shot with a revolver in a shoot out, or a number of other firearms. So for that task, so far, 5 or 6 has been enough.

cluttonfred said:

LiveLife said:

If they did, they may not be alive to respond to the thread.

Click to expand...

The conclusion, which seems counter-intuitive at first, was to put armor or structural reinforcement where there were no bullet holes recorded *because those were the ones that didn't come back.* This question about revolver reloads is the same...those that needed the reload may not be here to tell the tale.

Click to expand...

My bullseye match shooting/reloading mentor was a revolver guy but he was also very proficient with semi-autos. Impression I got from him was if you were to carry 5/6 round revolver vs 10/15 round semi-auto, you needed to practice to where those 5/6 rounds really counted.

It's very interesting that they would put armor/reinforcement where there were no bullet holes ... but if planes returned with those bullet holes and they were not near vital plane components, it would make sense.

I used all ten from a 9mm Colt one night when a beaver surprised me up in the yard and he still got away.

That was enough to convince me I needed to carry "more gun". I keep thinking what if he could have shot back instead of running?

Macchina said:

Aside from a LEO, has anyone ever reloaded their revolver outside of the range?

Click to expand...

I suppose shooting ground squirrels with .22s (something my wife and I have been doing a couple of times a week for a month now) over at a friend's ranch isn't what you meant, right?
Besides, when the ground squirrels are real close, I've been using my Glock 44, and it doesn't hold any more rounds than my wife's 8-shot Smith revolver. If I carried an extra magazine, my Glock might be a little faster to reload than my wife's revolver, I suppose. That could be important if we're charged by a hoard of angry ground squirrels.

I have always carried a .38 in my pocket (I do carry reloads). I have always thought that more than sufficient. However, considering the situation we face now, I am thinking it would be a prudent thing to carry more gun.

Macchina said:

When I carry my compact 5-shot revolvers or while hunting my 6-shot revolvers I always carry a speed strip or two. It's stupid not to, right? While it's only another couple ounces I will admit that strip of rounds does get annoying when I'm biking or walking 15 miles in a day of hunting.

I started thinking tonight: the only time I've used more than one shot in my revolver was when a friend got lost hunting and I used 3 shots to help him locate our camp.

Aside from a LEO, has anyone ever reloaded their revolver outside of the range?

Click to expand...

If you mean carrying for hunting? Then no, can't see the need to reloads. If you mean for defense carry? Then it's a whole different thing. I for decades used to hear tales of someone soaking up multiple hits and not stopping. I used to think maybe this happened one time but, most of these had to be stories told around the watering hole. Then as camera tech got so cheap and good we started to see a LOT of shootings on video. Now there are a lot of shootings, mostly by LEO's of some scum soaking up rounds from a duty pistol and refusing to stop. Often these are what I call drug zombies. People who are mentally "off" and often have drugs in them on top of this and it is scary to watch them take hits and act like almost nothing is happening to them. It made me take to carrying 10 round mags in my 1911 now instead of the old 8 round. I am sure will never need them but damn, every time I see another video of some zombie who just will not stop when shot? I want some extra ammo with me. Especially now with so many who are allowed to roam the streets who should be locked up in some kind of institution. Instead they are allowed to make multiple people victims over and over again with the courts turning them loose every time.

LiveLife said:

This video forever haunts me ... why you may need more than 5/6 rounds.

Click to expand...

Alex Clayton said:

If you mean carrying for hunting? Then no, can't see the need to reloads.

Click to expand...

That would probably depend on what you’re hunting. I am of the school where you keep shooting until you are certain the animal will not be getting up to leave town or exact revenge upon you. Reloads are never a bad idea irrespective of the firearm being pressed into action.

I occasionally hear stories of someone's mother's brother's cousin-twice-removed that shot a Grizzly 6 times and was killed while the revolver was empty. But so far I can't find any documented case of that happening. I have seen documented cases where the sixth round stopped a bear. I was reading a study that looked at actual shootings and in 24 cases where a .44 Mag was used it worked 24 times. That said, I understand that the trend in Alaska for guides and bushbums is to switch to 10mm Glocks. The theory is that 15 marginal rounds beats six more potent ones. I dunno, maybe there's something to that but even the .44 Mag is on the bottom end of what I'd want to deal with a 900 lb bear moving 35 mph. I'm thinking something belt fed with multiple barrels, preferably from the air!

Reminds me of this one time at the range - a guy in the next booth asks me why I like shooting revolvers. I tell him that I shoot them more accurately, and that they are faster/easier to reload. He says, “what are you talking about? semis have more capacity to start with, and a mag swap takes 2 seconds.” I reply, “well, I’m currently dropping 2 rounds at a time into my cylinders while you’re squeezing 1 round at time into your mags, and then you have to load the mag into the gun, and then you have to clean-up all your brass.”

Nope, never needed a reload out in the real world, and doubt I ever will, but I still carry one.... because, you know, there are guys with semis out there.

Jack Ryan said:

I used all ten from a 9mm Colt one night when a beaver surprised me up in the yard and he still got away.

That was enough to convince me I needed to carry "more gun". I keep thinking what if he could have shot back instead of running?

Click to expand...

If you had had a “handsgun,” perhaps it would have ended differently.

Phaedrus/69 said:

I occasionally hear stories of someone's mother's brother's cousin-twice-removed that shot a Grizzly 6 times and was killed while the revolver was empty. But so far I can't find any documented case of that happening. I have seen documented cases where the sixth round stopped a bear. I was reading a study that looked at actual shootings and in 24 cases where a .44 Mag was used it worked 24 times. That said, I understand that the trend in Alaska for guides and bushbums is to switch to 10mm Glocks. The theory is that 15 marginal rounds beats six more potent ones. I dunno, maybe there's something to that but even the .44 Mag is on the bottom end of what I'd want to deal with a 900 lb bear moving 35 mph. I'm thinking something belt fed with multiple barrels, preferably from the air!

Click to expand...

Again, it depends. Each and every animal is a law unto itself. I’ve seen Cape buffalo hit multiple times with big caliber rifle rounds and not miss a step on their path to destroy the hunter.

MaxP said:

Again, it depends. Each and every animal is a law unto itself. I’ve seen Cape buffalo hit multiple times with big caliber rifle rounds and not miss a step on their path to destroy the hunter.

Click to expand...

That's equally true of humans. I know of two instances where kids have been killed by BB or pellet guns and guys that absorbed a dozen rounds of .45 ACP and continued to fight. Some soldiers have lost limbs and continued to fight yet people die slipping and falling in the shower.

The one certainty is destroying the CNS. It doesn't matter how tough an animal or person is with a severed spinal column or pulverized brain.

When carrying a concealed centerfire defensive revolver, I usually have one reload in a speed strip on my person. This isn't for a tactical John Wick reload, but an adminstrative reload after the fact. Bad guys come back, or have buddies who join-in after the fact. I don't want to sans ammo waiting for LEO to arrive.