Have you ever NEEDED a High-Cap Mag?

The only problem I see here is the psychological devaluation one might experience in each hi-cap shot. Heck, if my gun topped out at five rounds, I'd make pretty damn sure that I aimed true the first time. I would feel I didn't have that many to squander.
 
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dks - you would shoot a guy because he was poking you in the chest with his finger????
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Maybe you didn't read it right. Of course I wouldn't shoot somebody for merely poking me or verbally abusing me. But I said "had the situation really turned ugly and I couldn't escape....." which obviously meant had he no longer felt content to merely poke at me and had turned physically violent, and I had no way out.

The funny thing is, a lot of armchair attorneys will say "just walk away before it gets to that point". Sure thing! Problem is, how fast does somebody go from being merely irritated at you to turning violent? I can be standing at a bus stop minding my own business, with somebody picking on me. Seconds later he gets really pissed off and starts pounding on me. Should I have walked away beforehand? Sure, had I known he was going to do that. However I get cussed at all the time just for being in somebody's way, and so does most everybody else. You never know when someone will go from simply flipping you the bird to actually attacking you. But unless you want to avoid people and society altogether there's really not much you can do to prevent it.
 
DSK, wasn't he pissed because you were ignoring him? I live in a big town, with lots of street people. I get approached all the time. But I found out that if you don't alienate people (for whatever reason) they usually are mellow. A simple "no man, sorry I can't help, have a good evening" probably would have gone a long way. Never hurts to be polite.
 
He was drunk, so who knows. I'm not a psychologist so I'm not sure what's the best way to handle drunk or mentally ill street people. Maybe some of the LEO's on this forum can shed some light on what usually does and doesn't work.
 
How 'bout you go and buy yourself a nice, shiney new Corvette... Then, we're gonna PLUG UP two of your cylinders, because after all, you don't NEED to go over 70 miles an hour EVER, and STATISTICALLY, you'll be doing 35 - 40 most of the time ;)
 
Absolutely

I work for a northeast financial services company, and have had the distinct displeasure of being robbed twice. One of those occasions, the bank robber had just murdered someone a week previous with the same weapon he used in the robbery, an ingram mac-10. 9mm machine pistol. I was crouched behind cover
with my S&W910 ready to go. As luck had it the situation ended with out any shots fired. My pistol has adjustable sights wears a set of hogues, and regularly prints 2" at 25 yards and I could have put him down. But the thought of having to slug it out with him, sure made me wish I had more availbe that the ten rnds that were in my Klinton mag. after all he had 30rds, and full auto. In my humble opinion the difference in power between 45 and 9mm makes no difference if you cant hit your target and why take less ammunition to a gun fight. It all depends on what you worst fear is not having enough power to stop your target, or not having enough rounds to finish the fight.
 
Consider the statistics
What are the odds that:
1. You will EVER be in a gun fight in your life.
2. You will be in a gun fight that requires more than 7+1 rounds.
When talking statistics #1 and #2 aren't all that far apart.
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And if i've already been struck by lightning TWICE in 5 seconds, what are the odds that it'll be THREE times?
If i've met #1 and #2 in your statistics, that means that ole' Mr.Murphy has already kicked me twice, maybe he wants just one more shot at me.
I'll keep my P99 w/16+1, just in case this "aint my lucky day"
:D
 
Did I miss something, or did everyone who answered yes either give NO details of how they needed them, or admit it was only for some type of competition?

I put the +2 mag extensions on my G21 mags almost immediately when bought, so they were 15+1, then holstered my Colt and felt alot better.

You carry the most what you're the most comfortable with. No slam on the Glock. Its a great backup to the Colt...But then again, so is a 5-shot Bulldog. I think there's a psychological thing that screams 'apply marksmanship fundementals' when you know you dont have a bottomless mag.

That said, I think I'll order a 10 round mag for the Colt and use it as a glovebox spare... :D
 
Sven

He got what he wanted and left quickly. The police caught up with him two days later. He took two hostages, and after an eight hour stand off he surendered wit no shots fired. The police gave in to his demands for a botle of cognac, and he gave up. He was charged with murder, and fedral felony armed bankrobbery, interestingly enough, The arresting leo (who i'm friends with) told
me that he'll do more time for the fedral robbery charge than he would have for the murder. Oh well, hes off to the fedral system.
 
I have needed a high cap mag, but not in a self- defense situation. Pistol stage with 38 targets. I had 5 10-round magazines. One target left standing, ran completly out of ammo. I bet I could have nailed it with my 52nd shot.
 
No.

Since I carry a six shot revolver much of the time, with a single speedloader in reserve, I don't feel the need for an endless supply of rounds.

Not that the Clinton magazine law doesn't offend me, you understand. It's an idiot's solution to the wrong problem.

Still, were I faced with more than three adversaries, I feel it very likely that evil-doer number four or five would get me about the time I got number three. Unless they're a pack of undisciplined ninnies; in which case my six shooter will more than likely suffice.

The most people I've ever faced at one incident who might have gone hostile was three. (The situation did not evolve into deadly force.) The revolver I was carrying did just fine; and would have done the trick if I did mine.

Also, I have small hands, so I prefer the control I have with a single stack magazine. They just work better for me.

I fear the addition of rounds gives many folks the impetus to replace marksmanship with volume of fire. So it would seem from what I've seen, anyway.

Please note, I am answering this as asked. Need has nothing to do with artificial limitations.
 
Excellent thread

I'll be honest, I've never needed one at work or otherwise, but when I started to get smart about such things as banned magazines, I decided that "get them before there are no more" is a good policy.

Will I need one? I hope not, I'm still torn between 4 handguns as a carry choice, and I need to get my permit before I can do some empirical research! :)

It seems to me that many people switched to or chose outright a 9mm as a carry weapon due to the high capacity. The fact that many police departments and militaries still use the round, as well as the fact that they are not limited to 10+1, tells me that there has been some thought put into arming people with the maximum amount of rounds in a particular package. If you can legally carry a weapon for self-defense in according to state, local, and federal laws, then why can't you make the most of your firearm? The fact that militaries and government agencies are able to use the 9mm to its fullest potential (i.e. high-capacity mags) but normal citizens have to buy "preban" mags is what upsets many folks, I believe.

As far as recent stories, does anyone else recall a story about a South African security guard who had a gunfight during a robbery attempt, killed the attackers, then was involved in a second gunfight outside of the establishment, killing them as well? I seem to recall this as being in a major publication.
 
Yes, I need them. I need them because this is supposed to be a free country. I need them because it is my right as an American to own them. I need them because the Government is not supposed to have any priviledge over the citizens.

As far as, ever having my life depend upon them. I hope not in the same way that I hope never to have to depend upon a single stack mag to save my life. It is not something that I want, but why try and rationalize my freedoms away. To say,
"you little runt civilians will never need this many rounds, so you can't have them" is taking away my rights piecemeal. I don't buy it. Why roll over and accept it when I can fight it and protect my rights. If a high-cap mag ever did save my life, I'd be awfully grateful that I did.
 
Robert Waters book "Best Defense" covered several incidents in which multiple standard mags were used. One instance had a gentleman go through several 15rd mags with a CZ75 because the multiple perps were far away and took cover behind a car.
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Hmm. The perps were far away, and behind cover. Pardon the monday morning quarterbacking, and clearly I don't know the whole situation because I wasn't there, but he probably should not have still been shooting at them, unless they were a clear and present danger to someone else. Just my (unsolicited) opinion.

Agree with other posters here: 1. NEED has nothing to do with it, and 2. Standard cap mags do not cause spray-and-pray tactics. Lack of training and confidence does.
 
yup!! I used to live in gang punk hell!!! My room mate and I were the only Guaros there!!! These fine people traveled in packs of at least 10. More like 15!! You bet I carried at least 46 rounds with me every time I went outside!! Some times I carried a "New York" reload as well!! (G26 backup to the G19) Moreover, the GP's knew it and as a result, left us alone. As it turns out, the desire to live over rules the desire to get "Los pinchy Guaros"!!!!! ;)
 
"Hmm. The perps were far away, and behind cover. Pardon the monday morning quarterbacking, and clearly I don't know the whole situation because I wasn't there, but he probably should not have still been shooting at them, unless they were a clear and present danger to someone else. Just my (unsolicited) opinion."

If he is attempting to get out of there and there were multiple badguys behind cover, I'm assuming he was using volume fire to pin them down so he could escape. Makes sense to me.
 
The gent in that incident was trying to drive away multiple perps who downed a cop and were about to kill him. Personally, I consider the standard magazine issue to both a practical and a phylosophical problem.
 
Your question is along the same lines as "Have you ever NEEDED a handgun?"

It depends on what the limit is for "NEEDED".

Has my life ever been on the line and I "NEEDED" a handgun or a full cap mag?
Thank God no.:)
And I hope I never do.
 
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