TTAG commentator Kevin A. read our post on the Garland, Texas terrorist attack (Garland Texas: Attack of the Assault Rifles! Or Is That Assault of the Attack Rifles?) and added “#terroristlivesmatter.” Smart ass. “Seriously though, I’m buying a 1911 in .45ACP now.” To which TTAG commentator/cop Hannibal replied “So when you see an incident that had two attackers with maybe 30-round magazines you decide to go with something that holds 8 rounds?” Yup, here we are again, squaring-off in ye olde caliber vs. capacity battle. My take . . .
It doesn’t matter how many rounds of what size you carry as long as you adjust your strategy accordingly.
Thirty-eight caliber five-round snubbie? Run-up to the bad guy, stick it in his or her ribs and pull the trigger. Or take a couple of quick shots at bad breath distance and run away as fast as you can. Striker-fired high-capacity nine? Let loose a few rounds now (aimed suppressive fire?), a few rounds later (where needed) and precision shots as and when. Eight-round .45 caliber 1911? Take aimed, precision shots from the word go. In all cases, carry a spare mag.
Which one’s “best”? Different challenges favor different platforms. Walking to a car in a cinematically scary parking garage? Snubbie in your jacket pocket, ready to fire. Terrorist attack? High-cap nine. Hostage situation? 1911. Which is not to say an armed self-defender couldn’t use any of these guns for any of these situations. Just that some are better suited for certain scenarios that others.
If I had to choose one gun to rule them all, it would be the 9mm 10+1 FNS-9c, with the 15-round backup mag. Small enough to conceal, capacious enough ammo-wise for just about any scenario, and enough precision to make medium distance shots eminently doable. But, as they say, if I knew an attack was coming, a rifle would be my only choice. Anyway, how many rounds do you carry? Do you vary your carry piece according to dress and environment?