{"id":109685,"date":"2019-05-09T16:10:35","date_gmt":"2019-05-09T20:10:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gunsamerica.com\/digest\/?p=109685"},"modified":"2019-05-09T16:10:35","modified_gmt":"2023-08-31T17:38:59","slug":"how-many-rounds-you-need-carry-gun","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/how-many-rounds-you-need-carry-gun\/","title":{"rendered":"Here\u2019s How Many Rounds You Actually Need In Your Carry Gun"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Here\u2019s
The SIG P320 M17, chambered in 9mm, comes with 17-round magazines. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Do you want to know how many rounds you actually need in your carry gun? The correct answer is you won\u2019t know until after the fact, I\u2019m sad to report.<\/p>\n

Every defensive gun use situation is different. Millions of variables to consider, everything from the distance to target, number of attackers, caliber of weapon to the expertise of the shooter, etc. etc., etc., all play a factor. Trying to prescribe a universal round count, a one-size-fits-all for every concealed carrier, is, therefore, a fool\u2019s errand. Telling you that you need \u201cx\u201d number does you no good because you may only need \u201cy\u201d or you may actually need \u201cz.\u201d You won\u2019t know until the threat is eliminated.<\/p>\n

With that said, this week, I came across an article by a brilliant writer<\/a> and 2A advocate from the Cato Institute, Matthew Larosiere<\/a>, that postulated that 12 was the minimum number of rounds a novice cop should have in his sidearm to reliably put down a violent attacker.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s important to consider the realities of defensive gun use, which occur hundreds of thousands, or even millions of times per year. Someone who finds their home being invaded didn\u2019t plan the encounter,\u201d Larosiere wrote in his article \u201cA Defense of Assault Weapons<\/a>,\u201d published by The Orange County Register.<\/p>\n

\u201cEven law enforcement officers have a 39 percent probability to hit a target in a high-stress situation,\u201d he continued. \u201cThis, combined with the fact that each hit with a handgun or intermediate cartridge has only an approximate 22 percent chance to stop the target, explains the need for larger magazines. From this, we can extrapolate that a novice law enforcement officer (likely more experienced than the average American) would need about 12 shots to reliably stop a single attacker.\u201d<\/p>\n

I reached out to Matt to get his sources for those percentages. Numbers were plucked from a 2015 study by the International Journal of Police Science & Management<\/a>, which found hit probability for novice shooters, intermediate shooters and expert shooters at typical engagement distances (3 to 75ft). Per the study:<\/p>\n