Why Do You Need High Capacity Magazines?

Following up on our Why Do You Need an Assault Rifle post, today we discuss high capacity magazines. Why do you need them?

First off, let’s make sure we’re all on the same page. Most gun control legislation currently being debated wants to, among other things, limit magazine capacity at 10 rounds. To people who aren’t familiar with firearms and their use in self-defense, 10 rounds often sounds like a lot. To these people, high capacity means anything more than this seemingly arbitrary 10 round limit, when in fact, the “high capacity” label is erroneous.

For example, I carry a Glock 19, which is a 9mm handgun with a standard capacity of 15 rounds. That is, the magazines that come standard with the gun each hold 15 rounds (unless you live in a neutered state). They are not high capacity magazines. A high capacity magazine for a Glock 19 would be a 33 round magazine, which isn’t very practical for day-to-day concealed carry, but makes for a good time at the range (for the uninitiated, less reloading = more fun).

Second, it’s again important to point out that need is both irrelevant and relative. Irrelevant because the Second Amendment says nothing about having to justify a need, and relative because everyone classifies a need differently.

Reasons

I think this discussion is important because it not only pertains to the current gun control debate, but it also pertains to concealed carry and home defense. The question can be asked this way – is a revolver (which hold 5 or 6 rounds typically) good enough for concealed carry and/or self-defense?

To better illustrate the points I’ll make, watch this short video about a recent home invasion involving a woman who defends herself and her children with a .38 revolver.

Video Illustration

Analysis

If you watched the video, you should already see where I’m going with this. This woman is not only a hero, but she’s also lucky. She shot the guy 6 times, emptying her gun, and that was only enough to psychologically stop him. This distinction is important: her attacker lost his will to fight, not his ability to fight, as is evidenced by the fact that he was able to get up and run away.

Had he chosen to continue the attack, she and her children might not be alive today.
Had there been multiple attackers, she and her children might not be alive today.
Had she missed, she and her children might not be alive today.

These are just some of the reasons for “high capacity” magazines. To those of you who carry a gun for self-defense, or have a gun for home defense, the above story should also illustrate some points to you about carrying a reload and what types of guns you should choose. Perhaps a future post.

The bottom line is this: limiting magazine capacity to 10 rounds limits my ability to effectively defend myself and my family.