Second Strike Capability? Much Ado About Nothing...

Where all the big hullabaloo over so-called second strike capability got started I’ll never know but I’ll bet it was from some wannabee guru trying to make a name for himself, sell magazine subscriptions, or both. Hell, I see it all over the forums, usually mentioned by some self-proclaimed expert attempting to demonstrate his vast knowledge.

Granted, the following is simply my opinion, I'm not trying to tell you what to do. Nonetheless, of all the considerations that go into choosing a handgun, this would be the last one on my list. That’s assuming it’s on the list at all. FYI, it’s never been on my list and here’s why.

First of all, when I’m going to use a firearm, in this case an automatic pistol, for serious work, I test it thoroughly, with the magazines and ammunition I am going to carry. At least one hundred fifty to three hundred trouble free rounds is generally my criteria. This especially if it’s a brand new handgun which may need a bit of breaking in.

Side note, I believe this is where the older, all steel, automatics got their bad rap for reliability. People bought them and never broke them in properly. I’ll leave it here because there’s more to it than just that and this subject could be a long post in and of itself.

Second, I normally use quality, proven, ammunition for both practice and carry. Not necessarily designer, boutique, or so-called hyper ammo, just good, basic ammo such as PMC, Remington, CCI, Winchester, and so forth. Granted, I don’t shoot as much as I used to, nonetheless I honestly can’t remember the last time I had an FTF due to an ammo failure (from a center-fire cartridge).

Third, if you’re in a serious situation and your gun doesn’t go bang when it should, why screw around attempting to fire it again? There could be many reasons as to why it didn’t go off, just go straight to a tap, rack, bang*, and be done with it. What would you do if you had a second strike capability and it didn’t go off the second or third time you pulled the trigger? So, why waste the time in the first place?

Thinking about this, of the pistols I bet my life on, none have a second strike capability and it doesn’t concern me in the least. Yeah, second strike capability, much ado about nothing...

* reference this thread for more on tap, rack, bang: Cycle Interrupted By Erick Gelhaus post #4

Addendum: I should've added that one nice feature of a pistol with so-called second strike capability is in performing dry fire practice. I freely admit it becomes a PITA to work the slide for every trigger pull on a pistol without it. 

Likewise, I should've stated that I would not, intentionally, rule out a handgun simply because it does have second strike capability. As for me, second strike capability is really a non-issue one way or the other. That's my take on the subject.

Take care and stay safe,

Joe Doakes aka Kilogulf59
Integrated Close Combat Forum

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Please note: prior to commenting or passing judgment, either in a positive or negative manner, I suggest you read About Joe Doakes’ Place and the Disclaimer assuming you haven't already. Thank you.