Average Firefight Rounds

[indiana18]

Hi,
Does anyone know if there is/was a study that shows how many rounds a gun owner on average shoots in a real personal defense situation? The reason i ask is i have glock mags combined to about 350 rounds. So i'm thinking i'm good on the home defense front. Range shooting is another thing, but what are your thoughts on me buying more mags. I want to, but maybe i have enough and should not.
Thanks,

 

[TWalker]

How are you carrying 350 rounds? It should be more than enough for self defense situation. If you find yourself in a firefight at your house you should probably fight your way to a rifle. And body armor.

 

[jbrooks19]

Only need one bullet.. I call it the Barney Fife.

One well placed shot is all you need, BOOM headshot! Done.

I'm not saying not to carry only one round but sheesh... 350?? And your worried about it not being enough?

 

[indiana18]

How are you carrying 350 rounds? It should be more than enough for self defense situation. If you find yourself in a firefight at your house you should probably fight your way to a rifle. And body armor.

I don't carry the 350 outside the range or house. I only have 2 clips of 15ea during conceal carry. Maybe i'm just too paranoid about home situations or overthinking things. I do have an "AR", so yes, i could find that. I never been in one of those situations, just thinking of possible civil unrest type of senarios.

 

[Slawburger]

If you fire 350 rounds and they are still coming then they were going to get you anyway. I think you are fine on mags but if you want more, its your choice.

 

[indiana18]

If you fire 350 rounds and they are still coming then they were going to get you anyway. I think you are fine on mags but if you want more, its your choice.

Thanks,
I thought that too, if i'm firing that much there is a mob, but an unarmed mob would not come at me without guns, and if a mob have guns, my 1 gun wouldn't get me very far. Thanks for allowing me to think this "out load" so to speak. Have a good one.

 

[TWalker]

I don't carry the 350 outside the range or house. I only have 2 clips of 15ea during conceal carry. Maybe i'm just too paranoid about home situations or overthinking things. I do have an "AR", so yes, i could find that. I never been in one of those situations, just thinking of possible civil unrest type of senarios.

No such thing as paranoid, just aware. For your civil unrest scenario. I would suggest building a game time setup. Set your body armor, chest rig, ear pro, helmet, rifle, and whatever else, somewhere you can get to if things get that rough.

 

[churchmouse]

I don't carry the 350 outside the range or house. I only have 2 clips of 15ea during conceal carry. Maybe i'm just too paranoid about home situations or overthinking things. I do have an "AR", so yes, i could find that. I never been in one of those situations, just thinking of possible civil unrest type of senarios.

He said "Clips"........................

Seriously.....defensive scenarios can be ran so many different ways. If and when is another story. Shot placement, all about shot placement. Pray it is always just a thought and never a reality.

 

[GIJEW]

Sounds like you've got plenty of glock mags. If you're thinking about riots etc., how many AR mags do you have and what are you going to carry them AND you're glock back-up-gun on?
btw when I was in the Israeli infantry 315 rnds was the standard load. 350 rnds all loaded into mags ought to get you 1/2 through a "die hard" sequel.

 

[indiana18]

Sounds like you've got plenty of glock mags. If you're thinking about riots etc., how many AR mags do you have and what are you going to carry them AND you're glock back-up-gun on?
btw when I was in the Israeli infantry 315 rnds was the standard load. 350 rnds all loaded into mags ought to get you 1/2 through a "die hard" sequel.

Right now i have 8 30Round PMags. With 15 on backorder. I have several holsters so i could carry maybe 4 hand guns. I'd take a back pack or something for all the stuff, but will eventually get a chest rig etc so i could have everything on me.

 

[Robjps]

Sounds like you want a war load? 7-9 Pmags 3 normal size glock mags. I hope you are not serious about 4 handguns.

More is always better but you cant carry all that stuff. If some Rodney King scenario is what you are worried about id sell a handgun buy a plate carrier and plates.

 

[cTEKs]

And I thought carrying a combined count of 45 rounds on a daily basis, 75 while driving, was sufficient. Guess I need to rethink this...

 

[LuckyOne]

I agree with the statement that a handgun at home is only a means to get to your long gun. With that being said, you have way more than enough mags. With that many mags I would look into a carbine that would accept them as well.

 

[PriestEG]

Hi,
Does anyone know if there is/was a study that shows how many rounds a gun owner on average shoots in a real personal defense situation? The reason i ask is i have glock mags combined to about 350 rounds. So i'm thinking i'm good on the home defense front. Range shooting is another thing, but what are your thoughts on me buying more mags. I want to, but maybe i have enough and should not.
Thanks,

I think your combining two totally different situations. in your title you ask "average rounds in a FIREFIGHT", then you go on to talk about personal defense situations. IMO those are apples and alligators your talking about

i searched and wasnt able to find any empirical data by the fbi, govt. about average number of rounds fired during a civilian self defense situation (defense of: mugging, armed robbery, intruder, car jacking etc) but from the info i read about self defense shootings, it seemed to be around the 4-8 rds. Just long enough to neutralize the threat allow for escape and evasion of the situation.
A firefight, like a true military type engagement is a much different story. when squad automatic weapons such as m249 or m240 are used for suppression to allow for "shoot move communicate" concept of war to unfold, one marine can go thru upwards of 1k rds in a few minutes, and rifleman using 2-5 hundred in an engagement.

now the glock for a civilian self defense situation, the 2 or three mags you carry would be plenty. in a military type firefight, take your glock and put it away because that is when a rifle is required. If your concerned about a military engagement, as posted before by others you need to have you main battle rifle, chest rig and your 12-25 mags ready to go.

 

[the1kidd03]

There was a study conducted on this site SOMEWHERE that I have been unable to find since. It was by an instructor if I remember correctly and in his study he cited documented LE and defense shootings.

He broke out the numbers based on how many shots it took to stop the threat across what types of guns/calibers, how many were actually "one shot stops", and their effective percentages. I remember that between handguns there was little to no difference. Shotguns outperformed BY FAR in terms of "one shot stops," but nearly all of the handgun shootings required multiple shots.

I've looked and looked and I have been unable to find it. It was several months back. If you find it post it back here please.

 

[Tin Cup]

Only need one bullet.. I call it the Barney Fife.

One well placed shot is all you need, BOOM headshot! Done.

Do you carry that in your pocket or do you carry it in a magazine that you then insert into the gun when needed?

 

[Hiserman79]

If while in my daily routine and shtf I've only got rounds if I need more than that to escape or neutralize the threat it's a wrap, the fat lady has sung. Just someone please take my gun from my warm hand so the government can't pry it out of my cold dead hand.

 

[the1kidd03]

Found it elsewhere on the webs....
This is what I remember reading
An Alternate Look at Handgun Stopping Power

 

[cosermann]

...Does anyone know if there is/was a study that shows how many rounds a gun owner on average shoots in a real personal defense situation? ...

The most recent statistic I've seen from police shootings, which I'd roughly compare to personal defense shootings, is an average of 8 rounds. [1]

This has risen a bit over the years.

The switch from revolvers to semi-autos caused a some of the rise, and the rest was caused by changes in handgun training and tactics.

Firefights, home defense, "seiges," etc. are all entirely different animals.

You already have more pistol mags than most people would recommend as a minimum. Mel Tappan used to recommend a minimum of 6 per defensive handgun. However, if you train a lot, factor in wear and tear on training mags, and the possibility that the government may ban standard, full capacity factory magazines, I wouldn't blame anyone stocking more. Two entirely different questions are: 1) How many mags do I need assuming I can always go to the store and buy more if needed?, and 2) How many mags do I need if these are the only mags I'll ever have for the rest of my life? Different questions. Different answers.

[1] Police Policy Studies Council - http://www.theppsc.org/Grossman/Farnam/NYPD.htm

 

[indiana18]

Good Insight. Yes, I agree that I may have been confusing the 2 types of situations. Personal Defense when i'm out and about and Longer Fire fights. I learned from this post that really, hand guns are more for personal defense low rounds to get away if out on the town, and if at home use the AR. By the time the Backorders come in, I'll have about 25 PMags, so I can at least fight my way out of the house with the more powerful AR for a decent amount of time and get a way if i can't get them by round #500. I do have a house that is a bit "u" shaped so i have 3 "stations" at my house so that depending on where/which door someone might come in, i'd have a Glock (Main) and a 38 (for a Jamming backup) where i could get to it. I have a 33 Glock rounder for each station, plus the 2 standard mags, so I'm thinking I'm good to go really. Thanks for the study link.