5-Shot Snub: Enough Gun?

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JCooperfan1911

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I recently purchased one of Sturm Ruger’s lightweight compact revolvers (LCR .38 S&W Special) with a goal of carrying it in my front pocket in a Bob Mika pocket holster and utilizing a Bianchi speed strip in a belt mounted pouch for reloads.

My goals are to carry it constantly in my pocket whilst at home, and also on my nighttime country walks.

But I understand in the year 2023 this would be a controversial choice.

What is everyone’s thoughts on carrying a 5-shot .38 snub nose for primary concealed and carry during these modern times? Is it “enough gun” for the task at hand?

-JCF
 
IMO, it absolutely can / should / would be completely adequate for the vast majority of what one might encounter as a private citizen (of which I are one haha…)

Almost exactly as you described, I carry a S&W 642 in a pocket holster with a reload’s worth of ammo in a 2x2x2 pouch. This is an almost constant-carry for me, including while at home. It serves as a back-up to whatever larger gun I may also be carrying on the belt, but it also is frequently a “solo” gun. Thusly, I do try to remain in regular practice with this gun (as well as the others).
 
JCooperfan1911 said:
What is everyone’s thoughts on carrying a 5-shot .38 snub nose for primary concealed and carry during these modern times? Is it “enough gun” for the task at hand?
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This particular horse has been beat to death, continued to be beaten after death, decayed into the soil, where folks continued to beat it and they're now beating the flowers that grew from the soil. ;) But, to answer your question, it depends.
 
5 rounds is all you need, until it isn't. But for most of us, it's 5 rounds more than we'll ever actually need to fire in self defense.

The way I see it though, if you already have the pocket real-estate dedicated to a gun, then you might as well carry a gun with the most ammo. Have and not need being better than need and not have... that sort of thing.
 
bearcreek said:
This particular horse has been beat to death, continued to be beaten after death, decayed into the soil, where folks continued to beat it and they're now beating the flowers that grew from the soil. ;) But, to answer your question, it depends.
Click to expand...

But is the horse actually ... dead? I've seen all those zombie shows, and I think this might be one of them zombiefied horses, so just cause it is dead doesn't mean it don't need to be beat some more.
Besides, what if the horse was a snub revolver in 10mm? :what:
:rofl:

Seriously, the tool needs to match the application. If you are in an urban environment where multiple attackers are becoming the norm,and some of them will also be armed? Then I wouldn't want to be that limited in capacity or reload time.

For my neighborhood? Raccoons are the most likely threat, and they haven't started shooting back yet. Five shots should be plenty, though I still like my KelTec PMR with a 30 round magazine. You know, just in case those trash pandas get better organized.
 
There is no correct answer to that question, that can be debated endlessly. I thinks its enough for me and perhaps you. But, who knows?

My carry is a S&W 460PD in a Mika pocket holster....and a Bianchi strip.
 
This topic....again? o_O It seems like this is a topic posted often.
 
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5 shots is enough for me. Not 1/3 enough for others. Be honest with yourself , you think you'll be able to reload under pressure? Very likely the answer is no. Do you think you'll get more than 5 shots off? Also, likely no. The 5 shot 38 has been getting it done for a long time, I see no reason it won't continue .
 
Taurus 856UL here for same form factor snub but with 6 shots. Ala Colt Detective Special I do believe. 5 shots is plenty but who says no to 20% more firepower?
 
If I got into a situation where I might need to draw my weapon, my 1st priority would be to try to escape w/o firing a shot, so I'd consider it adequate enough, although I'm likely to be found with a 8 or 9 round pistol, mostly because they are relatively inexpensive, reliable and plentiful.
 
I carry a j frame or a five shot Taurus modt of the time. I have considered buying a higher capacity 9mm for carry, but the statistics tell me that 5 is still adequate.

If I run into 6 ninjas or John Wick I may need more!
 
As always, it appears that almost nobody will ever need to produce a firearm during a hostile encounter, and that of those who do, almost none of them will need to fire a shot, and that of those who do, almost none of them will need more than two or three shots, and that of those who do, almost* none of them will need to reload. So yes, it appears that a five shot snub will do fine for almost every circumstance. (I personally carry more most of the time, but can't make a very good case for it - other than that it just makes me feel better.)

*I use "almost" in the last example out of good manners more than anything. I continue to be unaware of even a single instance of a CCW man needing to reload during a gunfight in public.
 
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JCooperfan1911 said:
I recently purchased one of Sturm Ruger’s lightweight compact revolvers (LCR .38 S&W Special) with a goal of carrying it in my front pocket in a Bob Mika pocket holster and utilizing a Bianchi speed strip in a belt mounted pouch for reloads.

My goals are to carry it constantly in my pocket whilst at home, and also on my nighttime country walks.

But I understand in the year 2023 this would be a controversial choice.

What is everyone’s thoughts on carrying a 5-shot .38 snub nose for primary concealed and carry during these modern times? Is it “enough gun” for the task at hand?

-JCF
Click to expand...

Lots of people will have opinions on this either way. Mine is pretty simple.

Today there are more choices than ever before in what is available to carry. It really wasn't all that long ago that revolvers were the standard carry for law enforcement pretty much everywhere in this country. The big shift to semi-automatic handguns for LEO's started in the very late 1980s to early 1990s.

So revolvers were definitely recognized as being capable of "getting the job done", as it were, with the only real debate being around the caliber and not capacity. Semi-autos upped the ante on the debate largely due to capacity.

The first rule of self-defense with a gun is "have a gun". All else follows this. And no matter what a person chooses, there will ALWAYS be somebody out there who will poo-poo it for some reason.

And finally my opinion:

Your revolver certainly meets that requirement. The caliber is sufficient and credible self-defense loads are available in that caliber. If you are proficient with it and it carries comfortably for your purpose, then it's perfectly acceptable.
 
.38 Special said:
*I use "almost" in the last example of out of good manners more than anything. I continue to be unaware of even a single instance of a CCW man needing to reload during a gunfight in public.
Click to expand...
Just food for thought. The fact that it's hard to find an example of someone reloading during a gunfight means that people probably don't reload often during gunfights. That doesn't necessarily mean that it wouldn't have been useful, just that it didn't happen. Might have not happened because they didn't have the option.
 
I have carried guns for self-defense when and where legal since 1963. I have yet to use one round. Five rounds is enough unless you need six or more.
 
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