Sufficient capacity. What is that? In order to answer, I'd have to know the specifics of each and every incident.
You know what concerns me the most? (Hint, it's not capacity or caliber.)
It's whether the first 1-2 hits are going to go where I want them to go. Accurately enough. Quickly enough. Delivered while I'm getting off the dime. Whether or not I'm using 1 or 2 hands.
Will having more rounds on tap possibly afford me the opportunity to correct any mistakes made in getting off those first 1-2 shots? Maybe. Maybe not. Kinda depends whether those first 1-2 hits are effective, and in order to hope for that, they've got to be delivered.
Multiple threats? Sure, it's been happening, especially in urban areas where gangs have been emboldened, and LE presence has been reduced (for whatever reasons). If more than 1 threat is shooting at you, though, the capacity of
your favorite handgun might become a moot point. What if the threat(S) get his/their first 1-2 (3-4) hits on you
first? The old saying of the
Firstest with the Mostest is the Bestest may just as easily mean the criminals getting their hits in first.
Capacity is all well and good. Not nearly as high on my personal list of priorities, though. (Yes, I once had this conversation with Mas.
If nothing else, it may delay having to reload as soon. Having more rounds on the body in the event of reloading being needed isn't necessarily a bad thing, but how often does the typical
off-duty cop or private citizen (CCW) actually reload during the course of a shooting incident? From what's heard within the LE training industry, not as many as some folks may suspect.
On-duty cops needing to reload? Sure, that's happened, and reportedly more often than for off-duty or private citizen incidents. After all, cops are continually looking for suspicious incidents/people, or being dispatched to reported or known dangerous incidents. Greater risks/odds of becoming embroiled in something when you're doing risky things every few minutes of every hour.
I find my the minimum end of my 'comfort zone', as a retired cop, to be when I carry a concealed retirement handgun that has 5-8rd capacity. 9-10 is arguably better ... but then I have to balance a slightly larger size and weight in my overall risk assessment for that day/evening.
While I could've filled my safe with all manner of pistols that used 'standard capacity' mags - using my peace officer exemption to my state's mag capacity restrictions, before I retired - the only pistol I own that came with 'high capacity/LE-Only mags' only uses 12rd mags. I carried the same capacity handguns off-duty in the days I had an active badge, as I do in retirement ... and with the exception of the 1 pistol that uses 12rd mags, I use 6-10rd mags in the rest. Come to think of it, I have a couple G27 factory + mags, from the federal ban days when Glock considered them to be 11rd mags, so they had to be marked and sold as restricted in states like mine, since the manufacturer stated they held more than 10rds. I also ended up with a G19 mag from those days, but I never carry it in my G26. The 9rd & 10rd mags are fine by me.
As most members here will probably remember, I often carry one of my J-frames, and even one of my LCP's, depending on my planned activities, areas of travel, manner of dress, and just how I may feel on any particular day. I don't denigrate anyone else (private citizen or cop, working or retired) who thinks differently, though. Their life, their experience (whatever the sum of that may be) and their call.
How well and quickly can they get those arguably critical first 1-2 hits accurately and effectively on a threat, though?
If capacity is being used as a substitute for accuracy and skill? May not be the best strategy. Not my problem, though.
