The Firing Line Forums - View Single Post - A Real Life Example of "High" Capacity Magazines Being Needed.

2damnold4this · May 26, 2010, 10:49 AM

Not that it will change your mind since you've been given several examples that you dismiss for various reasons but here is another:

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/m.../ai_n27134440/

Rory Vertigan was a 27-year-old security professional working in Phoenix on March 26, 1999. He was leaving his office with a .25 caliber mouse-gun in his pocket when something told him to re-arm with something bigger. He did, putting on his G31, a full size Glock service pistol chambered for the .357 SIG cartridge. It was a decision he would never regret.

In a matter of minutes, Vertigan found himself witness to an appalling scene. A big white Lincoln ran through a stop sign ahead of him, pursued by a Phoenix police car driven with a lone, uniformed patrolman at the wheel. The fugitive vehicle stopped, and Vertigan watched in horror as the driver stepped out, drew a Smith & Wesson .357 Magnum, and fired several shots into the patrol car.

Vertigan didn't know it, but the gunman's bullets had fatally wounded Phoenix PD officer Marc Atkinson, a 28-year-old husband and father. As Vertigan came to a stop in his subcompact car, the gunman swung the Magnum in his direction. Snatching up his .357 Glock and transferring it to his left hand, Vertigan thrust it out the driver's side window and opened fire, point-shooting weak-hand only.

The gunman jumped back into the Lincoln to reload, then jumped back out to engage, and Vertigan, now out of his car and in a two-handed position behind his open door, opened up on him again. The suspect leaped into his car once more, threw it in reverse, and rammed it into Vertigan's tiny Kia.

Now lacerated by flying glass, Vertigan continued firing until his pistol went to slide-lock. He had no more ammunition, so he charged the ensconced gunman. The perp shoved his revolver into Vertigan's face and pulled the trigger, but it only clicked. Vertigan--six feet five, 300 pounds--grabbed the gunman and bodily ripped him out of the vehicle, disarming him and throwing him to the ground. At this point, other citizens came to his aid. Officer Atkinson was dead. Rory Vertigan had shot, wounded, disarmed and captured the cop-killer.

Vertigan Lessons

Chris Bird delineates several good learning points from this incident. Have enough gun. Had he been armed only with the single stack small-caliber pistol he started with, Vertigan might not have survived. Have enough ammo. If he'd been able to reload, Vertigan (who had only 14 rounds in his 16-shot G31, and ran dry) might have been able to finish the fight without closing hand-to-hand with his opponent and risking death. Bird learned the suspect had reloaded his .357 with three live rounds before he shoved the gun into Vertigan's face and pulled the trigger, the hammer falling on an empty chamber. Bird reports the heroic citizen "doesn't go anywhere now without extra magazines or a backup gun in an ankle holster."

May 26, 2010, 10:49 AM	#155
2damnold4this Senior Member Join Date: August 12, 2009 Location: Athens, Georgia Posts: 2,526	Not that it will change your mind since you've been given several examples that you dismiss for various reasons but here is another: http://findarticles.com/p/articles/m.../ai_n27134440/ Rory Vertigan was a 27-year-old security professional working in Phoenix on March 26, 1999. He was leaving his office with a .25 caliber mouse-gun in his pocket when something told him to re-arm with something bigger. He did, putting on his G31, a full size Glock service pistol chambered for the .357 SIG cartridge. It was a decision he would never regret. In a matter of minutes, Vertigan found himself witness to an appalling scene. A big white Lincoln ran through a stop sign ahead of him, pursued by a Phoenix police car driven with a lone, uniformed patrolman at the wheel. The fugitive vehicle stopped, and Vertigan watched in horror as the driver stepped out, drew a Smith & Wesson .357 Magnum, and fired several shots into the patrol car. Vertigan didn't know it, but the gunman's bullets had fatally wounded Phoenix PD officer Marc Atkinson, a 28-year-old husband and father. As Vertigan came to a stop in his subcompact car, the gunman swung the Magnum in his direction. Snatching up his .357 Glock and transferring it to his left hand, Vertigan thrust it out the driver's side window and opened fire, point-shooting weak-hand only. The gunman jumped back into the Lincoln to reload, then jumped back out to engage, and Vertigan, now out of his car and in a two-handed position behind his open door, opened up on him again. The suspect leaped into his car once more, threw it in reverse, and rammed it into Vertigan's tiny Kia. Now lacerated by flying glass, Vertigan continued firing until his pistol went to slide-lock. He had no more ammunition, so he charged the ensconced gunman. The perp shoved his revolver into Vertigan's face and pulled the trigger, but it only clicked. Vertigan--six feet five, 300 pounds--grabbed the gunman and bodily ripped him out of the vehicle, disarming him and throwing him to the ground. At this point, other citizens came to his aid. Officer Atkinson was dead. Rory Vertigan had shot, wounded, disarmed and captured the cop-killer. Vertigan Lessons Chris Bird delineates several good learning points from this incident. Have enough gun. Had he been armed only with the single stack small-caliber pistol he started with, Vertigan might not have survived. Have enough ammo. If he'd been able to reload, Vertigan (who had only 14 rounds in his 16-shot G31, and ran dry) might have been able to finish the fight without closing hand-to-hand with his opponent and risking death. Bird learned the suspect had reloaded his .357 with three live rounds before he shoved the gun into Vertigan's face and pulled the trigger, the hammer falling on an empty chamber. Bird reports the heroic citizen "doesn't go anywhere now without extra magazines or a backup gun in an ankle holster."