Making Do With
Fewer Rounds
When Meaningless Laws
Reduce Round Count, Strategy
Needs To Be Revised
When capacity is low, spare ammo and speed reloading capability become all the more important.
Here we have S&W Model 629 .44 Mag with HKS speedloaders.
** First Published in the June 2013 issue of GUNS Magazine. New York gun laws are constantly changing. **
The January 2013 sandbag job led by then New York Governor Andrew Cuomo had a profound impact on the law-abiding gun owners of the Empire State, and sent a chill through their brothers and sisters nationwide. Bypassing the 72-hour debate requirement for new laws under the New York constitution, it was so poorly crafted that none of the lawmakers who drafted it or voted for it had even thought to allow for police, National Guard, or armed security in the state. Within a week, some 60 amendments were reportedly awaiting consideration at the State House, including one that would decriminalize the cops.
New York’s long-standing state-level “assault weapons ban” had already limited New Yorkers to 10-round magazines. Now, meaningless feel-good legislation limited them to seven cartridges per magazine, no more than eight rounds in the gun total, until further notice.
What do you do when you’re the one in that situation, with a family to protect at home, and hopefully a license to carry concealed in public?
Glock 17 magazines: standard capacity 17-round on left, reduced capacity 10-round on right.
The history of the 1994-2004 magazine ban showed us one alternative: If you have to protect yourself with fewer rounds, switch to something with more powerful rounds to compensate. It was during that decade that we saw the rise of what the antigunners disdainfully called “pocket rockets,” small handguns with low capacity but more potent calibers. It was that decade which saw the introduction of the Baby Glocks in 9mm, .40, .357 SIG, and .45 ACP; the single-stack Kahr pistols the size of old .380s, but chambered for 9mm and up; and the rise of the 5-shot .357 Magnum revolvers built on little .32-size frames.
Strategies
“Spray and pray” or “hose the foes” was never a sound strategy, even with higher capacity handguns, and it’s all the more hopeless with a severely limited ammunition reservoir. A law born as a knee-jerk reaction to the murder of the helpless never took into account the fact that when the time comes to stop those violent murderers, they are likely to be in such a state of rage that one or two bullets are unlikely to stop them unless the shots are perfectly placed. That reality does indeed make powerful cartridges all the more important.
It also means that the old gunfighter’s aphorism “speed’s fine, but accuracy’s final” must come again to the forefront. Have a gun whose sights you can aim with. Invoke another bit of wisdom invoked by gunfighters from Wyatt Earp to Texas Ranger John Hughes to Bill Jordan: “Take your time, quick.” Accuracy of fire vs. volume of fire is no longer a debate when volume of fire has been taken away from you as an option.
Spare ammo will be all the more important. I see nothing in the New York law that limits the number of 7-round magazines you can have available. From WWI through Korea, American troops with 1911 .45 autos and a couple of spare 7-round mags were considered the best-armed handgunners on the battlefield. Still, there was a reason any serviceman issued a .45 was issued two spare mags to be carried with it.
Small-frame “baby Magnum” .357s rose in popularity during the Clinton ban.
Here is the subsequently introduced S&W 340 M&P.
Backup gun? I think it’s a great idea no matter how many rounds you’re allowed in your primary handgun, and all the more important if you’re limited to a low-capacity gun. Unfortunately, my understanding of the NY State permit system is that the issuing authorities limit you to specified guns. If you are one of the fortunate ones to be licensed in New York City, your carry permit will have one gun on it to start; you may, later, try to go through hoops and get a second, and that’s likely to be it. But, if you’re carrying both when you need to defend yourself, both guns (having been present at the shooting) will likely be taken into evidence and remain there for some time. It will take a while to get another gun listed for your permit, and if the bad guy’s gang-banger buddies are looking for revenge, it’s a lousy time to be without something you can carry to protect yourself.
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