Is "six" still enough for defense?

The better question, is why limit yourself to six, when you could have 10 or more?

Yes. 6 once. 6 twice. 6 three times.

It is hits that count, not rounds down range.

I have a high degree of confidence in my five shot Taurus.



If you feel you need more fire power, go for it. Take with you what you are confident in.

When it comes to self defense, in the end it's whatever helps you sleep at night. Or walk in town, you get the gist.

You feel comfortable carrying 6? Go for it. Some feel comfy with 17+1, some feel great with 2.

Whatever you like. I feel good with 6, mostly because very few people carry 'round these parts.

In the end, the only right answer is the one you like best.

When magnums bark, the bad guys know they cant hide

WrongHanded said:

The better question, is why limit yourself to six, when you could have 10 or more?

Click to expand...

+1

I don’t worry about stuff I see on the news. 90% is sensationalized and some of it even looks orchestrated. Yes crime is up and criminals are set free way too often but I know anything can happen any day. Luckily for me, nothing has happened so far!

I carry a G17 every day, 16+ hours a day not because I’m worried about anything. I carry 18 rounds because I can and it’s no more hassle for me than a lower capacity gun. If I have to defend myself I’ll use the least amount of rounds as possible. (Hopefully zero rounds)

I am comfortable with 6.

357smallbore said:

Is 6 rounds enough in today's America where you have your bangers doing a spray and pray shooting. Psycho mental people doing mass shootings. I have revolvers and autos, I am a wheel gunner though. I like autos, just prefer the revolver as my carry gun. I carry a speed strip with me as my reload if needed.
I'm either packing my Rossi 720 in 44 Special or my Ruger Speed Six in 357 The 44 is a 5 shot.
When I do carry auto. It's either my S&W Shield 9mm or my Taurus G3c.
I live in a nice 35k town 35 miles outside Kansas City. I work in the city M-F.
Just reevaluating what I may want or need to do going forward.

Click to expand...

You are probably fine in that location. We are talking defense here so 6 rounds plus a reload should be enough to get away or stop a threat. I would probably tote a box of ammo in your car when going into the city. You dont need to spray ammo if you can shoot and use 357magnum. Deffensive sidearms are not meant to be suppresive fire weapons.

Six is six more than the vast majority of us will ever need. I feel well armed when I carry a six shot 357 Magnum revolver.

I would decree 6 rounds (plus some form of reload) perfectly adequate for a private citizen out in public conducting their daily business, including general local travel (walking or driving), shopping, dining, getting gas, going to a movie, etc. This would NOT include off-duty/undercover LE (who may have a duty to "get involved"), employees/owners of high-risk business (like pawn shops, liquor stores, jewelery stores) or comprehensive home defense.

The "What If Brigade" will squeal, but the documented record just does not indicate overwhelming demonstrated need for higher capacity platforms or John Wick quality reloads for encounters experienced by John Smith and his wife getting gas before hitting Home Depot and stopping for dinner at Applebee's. Even the "what about multiple attackers?" admonishment falls a bit flat when examples of a group continuing to press an attack after discovering the citizen victim is unexpectedly armed and willing to shoot are very difficult to find. Maybe that will change. The folks who preach you are unprepared and "not serious about defense" if you don't have enough firepower to take-on an ex-Spetsnaz team at the local Quick-E-Mart will often ironically put-down the need for extended range defensive handgun marksmanship- a scenario that ACTUALLY occurs, and seems to be increasing in regularity.

The bottom line is to carry a SAFE platform that you are comfortable with using, skilled in deploying, and fits with your lifestyle- especially with fallout for exposure in various NPE settings you may need to navigate. Not everyone is retired with grown kids and able to fully dictate the "who, what, when, where and how" of daily life. Remember that opinions from third-party Tactical Ted "experts" are just that, and have no AUTOMATIC applicability or viability in your personal situation.

WrongHanded said:

357smallbore said:

Is 6 rounds enough in today's America where you have your bangers doing a spray and pray shooting. Psycho mental people doing mass shootings. I have revolvers and autos, I am a wheel gunner though. I like autos, just prefer the revolver as my carry gun. I carry a speed strip with me as my reload if needed.

Click to expand...

why limit yourself to six, when you could have 10 or more?

Click to expand...

I am sure these ladies wished they had more than 6/7/10+ rounds - https://www.thehighroad.org/index.p...-defense-going-up.912017/page-5#post-12454066

6?
My S&W M69 only holds 5....


I can't think of a valid reason more would do any good. Other than to make a liberal do the pee pee dance.

The real answer is yes for the majority of situations especially the ones where no shots are even fired, which is probably more than is ever talked about.

However, the news stories you hear about often will lead one to feel better with a gun that has higher capacity in an equally powerful cartridge that is more concealable and equally as user friendly to shoot. Probably less expensive too.

That is the reality these days. Revolvers have been evolved out not so much because they are not capable, but because better options exist. Nearly universally better too if one were to give them a chance.

Years ago the philosophy was that any gun is better than no gun. Or, the gun you have on you is better than the one left home. These philosophies are still true. More recent times however have seen a shift towards “You need to carry this or you’re going to die!!”

If you will carry the revolver always but may not carry the G19 then choose the revolver every time. The “advice” many give around here can persuade people into making choices which are not best for them individually.

earlthegoat2 said:

Revolvers have been evolved out not so much because they are not capable, but because better options exist. Nearly universally better too if one were to give them a chance.

... If you will carry the revolver always but may not carry the G19 then choose the revolver every time. The “advice” many give around here can persuade people into making choices which are not best for them individually.

Click to expand...

+1 ... In comparison, these videos show armed bank robber dropping after being shot by security guard

I wouldn't limit myself to six shots. Not when there are options that are just as compact and easy to carry that hold twice as many rounds. None of us believe in spray and pray but you gotta figure in that under stress you might miss a few rounds or make less than optimal hits. For me ten rounds is where I start to feel comfortable.

OP put this in the revolver forum where I seldom venture, but this topic is open enough to be in general handgun discussion.

WrongHanded said:

The better question, is why limit yourself to six, when you could have 10 or more?

Click to expand...

I like that ^

Here are 6 examples where 5-6 hits failed to quickly incapacitate a single attacker:
https://www.thehighroad.org/index.php?threads/do-examples-incidents-matter-to-you.902897/

I had somebody tell me that if LE involved the incident is inapplicable as if who is pulling the trigger matters; if one thinks that illogically I likely can't change it.
IMO revolvers (low capacity) are okay if one is uncomfortable or incompetent with loaded chamber on a semi, too frail to work the slide, or as a "back-up".
I'll not intentionally handicap myself with only 6 rounds when there are so many 10+1 options available (and that is if stuck under a 10 round limit).
How would I be better off with a 6 shot revolver to defend myself with rather than a Glock 22? I wouldn't. the Glock is advantageous anywhere, everywhere*.


*There are no grizzles in FL and if a black bear shows up in Publix parking lot the Glock 22 will suffice. In before but... bears - didn't get me, I called it.

Is "six" still enough for defense?

Click to expand...

Yes.

I know in my head that I am better armed with one of my Glocks for EDC I can shoot them as well at 50 yards as my smiths whether it's the 4"686 or my 2.75" 66. My Glocks have Heinie straight 8 sights that are better in low light conditions. That being said I have a love for revolvers, maybe too much Elmer Keith in my blood. I still find myself packing one of my wheelguns about 30 percent of the time. I live in the country and our crime rate is minimal and rifles are usually close. I see both sides of the coin.

The crime rate is extremely low where I live. I am a large and somewhat intimidating person. In the evenings I walk my 110 pound pit/doberman mix around our neighborhood. He is alert and protective. After years of needing them at work, I always have a large folding knife clipped to my pocket.

Even so, I lived in some very bad places when I was younger, so I carry a snub 38 in my back pocket anyway. I am very comfortable with snub 38's. I've been carrying them and shooting them for just over 30 years. IMHO, carrying the 38 is not really necessary, but some of my experiences as a young man have never really left me.

Carrying the 38 is already overkill. A high-capacity service pistol and a bunch of extra mags would just be ridiculous.

"You can never have too much ammo, unless your drowning, or on fire."


I frequently carry a revolver but am under no delusion that my capacity is a liability I must accept. I believe I am more proficient than most at reloading a revolver quickly. I pray I never need to prove that in earnest.

I am a revolver guy also.
Ammo capacity isn't the only factor in my decision to carry an auto.
Better sights
Flatter profile
Longer sight plane
Less recoil
Less blast and noise
...and yes...more capacity.

I counted 5 shots made by the security guard. In this exchange a J-frame revolver would have sufficed, but that's a lot like hopefully having just enough gas in your tank to make it to your destination. A little extra is always prudent. Carry what you feel safe with, just always carry, as the day you don't, Mr. Murphy will surely come visiting.

357smallbore said:

Is 6 rounds enough in today's America where you have your bangers doing a spray and pray shooting. Psycho mental people doing mass shootings. I have revolvers and autos, I am a wheel gunner though. I like autos, just prefer the revolver as my carry gun. I carry a speed strip with me as my reload if needed.
I'm either packing my Rossi 720 in 44 Special or my Ruger Speed Six in 357 The 44 is a 5 shot.
When I do carry auto. It's either my S&W Shield 9mm or my Taurus G3c.
I live in a nice 35k town 35 miles outside Kansas City. I work in the city M-F.
Just reevaluating what I may want or need to do going forward.

Click to expand...

Yes, this is a valid question, however, is not the real question is should you carry a revolver or a modern handgun.
I have seen in the last year or so the people that like/carry revolvers have been come more vocal about that being a good choice for carry. Usually, the old myth that "a wheel gun is more reliable" or "if 5 is not enough then it is your fault" (or variations).
I suspect that part of this is due to the "gun grabbers" trying to make semi-automatic guns out lawed and socially unacceptable, but also some of it is that there are still a lot of "older males" that started out on a revolver and are not willing to change, so they push that opinion on new shooters, especially young females.
My observations are as follows:
1) not willing to accept the hot gases that are expelled by revolver from between the cylinder and barrel. (very dangerous to shooter and other near them)
2) the small revolvers do not provide a large or ergonomic grip for good control of firearm. (Weight is not evenly distributed)
3) At least at my local ranges, revolver shooters have a lot more accuracy issues than the norm.
4) due to the cost of ammo and time required to reload, revolver shooters usually practice/train much less often
5) when a revolver fails, it almost always means a gun smith and a medical person is required, where for semi-automatic firearms worse case is mag replacement.
6) red dot sights are less common on small revolvers
7) semi-automatic handguns are much easier to conceal carry

So, are we really "old white bald guys" so set in our ways that we can not learn better ways of doing things?
(for the record, I am an old white bald guy)

Subjective questions always have several answers, and their
all circumstance dependent. My circumstances are markedly different than yours. So said, evaluate your own conditions, biases, needs, physical constraints , training/ ability and mindset.
Conditions( mine) rural farm, not much traffic, drug users and theives are within 2 miles.
Biases, i like revolvers primarily, own semi autos too
Needs, I go no where unarmed so, light weight non bulky / snagging short barrel, reasonably powerful, no big bear threats here.
Physical constraints, none save moving the carry method when long, bulky clothing is needed
Training, quite extensive
Mindset if anyone knows the late James Yeager, thats me.
Then, some of it changes when i go to town,
Are 5 in a smith 637 still viable?
Population density changes more people, more possibility of threat, so my first bias to revolvers does still hold up partially
Needs, i dont require the same smaller size handgun, im not working on the farm.
Physical constraints, concealing the firearm, plenty of options
Training nearly all of mine is situational based in built up area's so thats all good.
Mindset way more situationaly aware.
So all in all it comes up fairly close.
But more people, and no constraint for ease of carry. My solution and your results will vary, is a
637 and reloads at the farm. Anywhere else glock 17 flashlight and spare magazine. Determine your conditions rationally and act accordingly. Best of luck.