Is Nine Rounds of .45 ACP Enough?

Is 9 rounds of .45 ACP Enough for Defense?

  • Yes

    Votes: 112 91.1%

  • No

    Votes: 11 8.9%
  • Total voters
    123
  • Poll closed .
Status
Not open for further replies.
There ARE some fairly large LEO shooting data bases. NYPD, LAPD, LASD, Etc. These numbers may oy may not be applicable to civilian SD shootings.

The “3 at 3 in 3” that is banded about so often is utter garbage. No data to draw that “average” from.
Click to expand...

If there are databases, then how is there no data to ever draw that from? You're contradicting yourself. I totally grant you that it may in fact only relate to LE.

1 round is enough, if the man shooting is very cool and very skilled.

Focus on the skills. Not the tool.
Click to expand...

I shoot 10k rounds of pistol a year. I train at least 6 times a year with instruction from people with both military and LE background at a school that is fairly well regarded. I focus plenty on the skills. The notion that all I might need is 1 bullet is laughable. I have watched people in force on force scenarios miss each other at distances of across a 20x20 room when I had previously watched those people burn the 9 and 10 rings out of targets at those distances. I can bring up any number of stories of veteran officers even with shooting backgrounds miss the combatant or be in the unfortunate situation of hitting a non fight ending part of the body. When you’re under stress making that critical shot is a battle. Having more opportunities to make that critical shot is invaluable.
 
Last edited:
If there are databases, then how is there no data to ever draw that from? You're contradicting yourself.
Click to expand...

No im not. There are no data bases of civilian SD shooting to draw an avg from. The LE data is not exactly germain to the civilian shooting.
 
You clipped the last part of that paragraph, so I'll repeat it:

I totally grant you that it may in fact only relate to LE.
Click to expand...

Given the lack of civilian data, as you say, the best we can do then is use the data available. If your argument is that's a big caveat, okay. I'll make sure to point out that caveat when I use it going forward and I can edit what I have above to include it.
 
I added a +1 grip extension to my Mod 2 .45 flush mag, but I carry it with the 13 rounders anyway. 13+1 and two more 13's on me = 40 and easily carried.
This .45 is hard to beat.
 
Last edited:
The only time you can have too much ammo is if you are on fire or drowning.

Never heard a guy after a shooting exclaim, "Wow, I had too much ammo."
 
The only real answer is that it is unpredictable, and that answer is valid regardless of caliber. Good guys don't always win. All we can do is tip the odds in our favor as much as we are able. A person who carries 9 round of .45 is better armed than the vast majority of people, but so is a person carrying a mini revolver in .22 short, honestly. All of us have to find our comfort level. It occurs to me, though, that if you posted a poll for strangers on the internet to advise you, you may not be comfortable with what you are carrying.
 
Well, I have both a 1911 and a NAA mini in 22S. I suppose if I carry both, I will be safe from all possible contingencies.

Tailgator has it right and we have discussed this into the dirt. You carried enough ammo if the ammo enabled you to survive. If you didn't because you didn't have enough ammo, well - you didn't have enough ammo.

As stated here repeatedly, the average isn't what always happens. Your decision is based on YOUR risk tolerance.

If you want to spout the average, be the person who says that 5 is enough (please write Gov. Cuomo of NY supporting his gun ban laws).

If you think about the following from Marty Hayes:

We don’t train for the average, we train for the anomaly.
Click to expand...

you think about what is a reasonable level farther along the risk/carry continuum.

A reasonable solution for many is a quality semi pistol with a reload. With a higher capacity gun (say a Glock or M&P), one reload may suffice. For the lower capacity semis - two. Is a 1911 a one or two extra gun? Your choice.

Since there is no absolute answer - you have to make the call based on your risk tolerance.

The two modal spots seem to be a pocket J frame and maybe a reload or a pocket 380 with a reload vs. the bigger semi with one or two reloads. Take your choice.

I've said this before - you need to try the gun in a dynamic situation. Try the J or pocket semi in an IDPA match or some well done tactical class. Shoot the semi in the same. Compare and contrast. So if you carry one or the other, you know the limitations.

Shooting at a B-27 on the square range at 3 yards - that's fine but not if you want to truly be up to speed for the upper ranges of the risk continuum.

Now, plenty of untrained folks save their bacon close up with small guns and few shots. Studies show most people can hit a target close up. Farther away, multiple shots, gun malfunctions - need to practice. Most folks don't. However, most DGUs have no shots fired.

Your choice for this endless question.
 
9 rounds of any handgun round is not enough when facing 10 attackers.
Click to expand...

And 30 rounds in your AR or AK isn't enough when facing 31 attackers!! :rolleyes:

Posit any situation you want, they are all possible, though some are less likely than others.

One of the less likely situations is a civilian self defense shooting with multiple attackers who are all committed to fight to the death. Banzai charges and human wave attacks are not part of ordinary life in the US as far as I know.

Do you honestly think that if you dropped 9 (or 30) that #10 (or #31) would keep on coming?? If so, fine, plan for that. I would recommend an all steel handgun, so that when that last fanatic gets to you, you have a serious chunk of steel to hit them with!

I once knew an LEO who was a great shot, won state matches and competed nationally with his group. At one point, he wound up facing an armed bad guy at a range of 6-8 feet. Both men fired their pistols dry, neither one hit the other!!! At that point, the bad guy gave up and surrendered.

Did the LEO have "enough" ammo? Apparently, in that case, he did, even though he didn't hit his target.
 
44 AMP said:
Do you honestly think that if you dropped 9 (or 30) that #10 (or #31) would keep on coming?? If so, fine, plan for that. I would recommend an all steel handgun, so that when that last fanatic gets to you, you have a serious chunk of steel to hit them with!
Click to expand...


That's funny. But isn't that the norm for the TV/movies? Waves of bad guys unfazed by the mountains of bodies of their dead comrades. If you see it on TV/movie it has to be true :)
 
Every situation is different, people are different. You never know how somebody is going to react but I've seen three armed so called tough guys run like hell at the sight of a Colt SA revolver pointed at them and cocked.
 
Part of the reason to carry one or more extra magazines is in case you have a magazine failure, which is not unheard of.
 
In most normal self-defense situations, nine rounds of .45acp should be extremely helpful. We can't say "enough" because we can't predict the future. What we do know is that more ammo and more power can both be helpful. I think nine rounds of .45acp is a good balance of those two factors.

Since I can easily get 3-5 more rounds of .40 S&W or .357 Sig in a lot of packages, I feel like that is a better balance. It doesn't stop nine of .45 from being good or anything. I just like it better.
 
I voted yes, as I usually carry a 7+1 9mm with a spare 7 round magazine.

In my mind there will always be a trade-off between being fully prepared and finding what is actually realistic to carry on a daily basis.
 
The idea of a trade off is what folks have been saying (who are sensible) for years.

That's why the number question is somewhat silly after all this time. We understand the trade off analysis. The problem is always when some '5 is enough' person starts ranting
that those who carry more are nuts and vice versa for the three mag and BUG folks.
 
Yes, just in case of magazine failure.

manta49,
How many rounds or extra mags do you carry in the U.K.??
Click to expand...

My Sig Sauer P226 has a 17 round mag so one extra mag, there are no mag restriction here unlike some states in America. PS How many do you carry. ?
 
Last edited:
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top