WPost Stephen Hunter: Why 33 rounds makes sense in a defensive weapon

[RamboLiberal]

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What's often lost amid activists' carping is that the effect of the notorious extended magazine does little to improve the pistol's lethality except in extraordinary circumstances, such as Tucson. Neither Seung-Hui Cho, the Virginia Tech mass murderer, nor the alleged Fort Hood killer used extended magazines in their rampages. America's first gun mass murder, when Howard Unruh killed 13 people in 1949, was committed with a Luger.

In fact, the extended magazine actually vitiates the pistol's usefulness as a weapon for most needs, legitimate or illegitimate. The magazine destroys the pistol's essence; it is no longer concealable. Loughner allegedly wrapped the clumsy package in a coat for a short distance, but he could not have worn it in a belt or concealed it for an extended period. It had really ceased to be a pistol.

That's why extended magazines are rarely featured in crime - and that awkwardness spells out the magazine's primary legitimate usage. It may have some utility for competitive shooting by cutting down on reloading time, or for tactical police officers on raids, but for those who are not hard-core gun folks it's an ideal solution for home defense, which is probably why hundreds of thousands of Glocks have been sold in this country.

Particularly in rural Arizona, given the upsurge in border violence, it's likely that residents feel the need to defend themselves against drug predators, coyote gunmen or others. Yes, they can use semiautomatic rifles and shotguns, protected by the Second Amendment and unlikely to be banned by local law, but women generally don't care to put in the training needed to master them. Nor can the elderly handle them adeptly.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/02/04/AR2011020406709.html

For a gun writer I'm surprised Hunter doesn't make a more compelling argument. I find this particular argument he cites a bit idiotic.

[OneTenthofOnePercent]

1. Odd as his argument may be... his "explanation" of needing 33 rounds is every

bit as much conjecture as others' "reasoning" of why he requires 10 rounds.

In the end, in a situation where I might need to use a firearm, I can't see the logic in deciding to be content with a firearm or magazine that greatly reduces the total number of available rounds. I think it would be very similar trying to tell someone why they only need a 16oz fire extinguisher in their house instead of a more standard size.

I don't see the reason "ten" has been decided upon to be the limit. Logically, I think a standard capacity (non-extended mag) mag limit would be a more tactically attainable position to lobby for rather than a 10 round limit... very few people have extended pistol magazines but almost EVERYONE with a handgun has standard length magazines (15-18 rounds).

[tularetom]

5. WTF did he care about concealment?

He was gonna fucking shoot people. All he had to do was keep the weapon hidden until he got to the site.

Once he started firing the concealability of the pistol became a moot point.

There may be a valid argument for the use of extended capacity magazines but sadly this ain't it.

In fact, bullshit like this harms the case for Second Amendment causes.

[bluerum]

2. Damnation by faint praise? I find law enforcement needs legitimate. I might

even buy a home defense use. Recreational shooters? I guess. If you can afford to burn $10 - $20 in seconds. Not sure what pistol competition uses/allows extended magazines.

[OneTenthofOnePercent]

3. USPSA & IPSC does.

[RamboLiberal]

4. USPSA (IPSC) one of the biggest handgun & 3 gun competition

Where stages often run 30+ rounds.

[benEzra]

6. Pretty much all pistol competitions allow standard 15-19 round magazines,

and some IDPA/USPSA/3-gun classes allow extended magazines. There are also classes for low-capacity single-stack and CCW guns, i.e. Limited-10 class in USPSA.

The more relevant discussion is carbine matches, IMO, since carbines would be far more affected by McCarthy's proposed pre-Civil-War 10-round limit than handguns would be. I shoot USPSA carbine, and I use 30's and 20's exclusively; a 10 round .223 magazine is so tiny that it barely protrudes from the magwell.

[bluerum]

7. I was thinking along the lines of NRA pistol match courses. 10 rounds per target.

[benEzra]

8. Ah, "Conventional Pistol" or "Bullseye."

I had to look that up; I've never actually seen such a match in person (though I understand that it is one of the Camp Perry events), but have seen a couple on TV, and I believe that Olympic/free pistol is comparable. I think they were probably more popular among the shooting public prior to rise of practical pistol in its various forms in the 1960s/1970s.

I have shot a "conventional" rifle match once, but it was not an ISSF-sanctioned event.

[bluerum]

9. Yes. Bullseye. .22 and centerfire. Slow, timed and rapid fire.

[Straw Man]

11. Bullseye/Conventional has 5-round courses of fire.

The full match is 30 rounds, but there are never more than five in the pistol at any one time. In slow fire, you load the first five on the range officer's command and then the second five whenever you're ready. In timed and rapid, you follow the RO's command both for the initial load and the reload.

This is based on my experience with the .22 rimfire "gallery" event. I don't know if the same is true for centerfire.

[benEzra]

12. Looks like it depends on the match, with 10 being most common?

http://www.shootingwiki.org/index.php?title=NRA_Conventional_Pistol

[RamboLiberal]

13. IDPA since it started during era of the ban

Limits the rounds in the mag in SSP & ESP to 10 rounds + 1 in the chamber. You can use your mags that come with your gun you just have to download to 10. And your gun with mag inserted has to fit in "IDPA Box" so you can't have the 30+ round mags.

[PavePusher]

10. Ummm, unless you are trying for speed-records...

you're not going to go through ammo any faster... you're just not going to have to take loading breaks as often.