Second Strike Capability - Is It Necessary?

[sslater]

I've been participating in this forum for several months and have noticed that many of the members are VERY experienced "concealed carriers".  Not surprising considering the R9 is one of the best carry guns ever produced.

My question:  How do you feel about the need for second strike capability in a carry gun?  

I consider second strike a key necessity in a carry gun.  But I've been told by several "certified" firearms trainers that good training makes second strike capability a minor feature. "If you train properly and frequently, you will automatically do a Tap-Rack-Bang drill in the case of a failure to fire."

My response to them has been, "Wrong!  Even the best-drilled shooter is liable to pull the trigger a second time in a life-or-death situation because that's the natural reaction.  Then a well-trained guy will run whatever F-T-F drill he's been trained to do."

Apparently, the Rohrbaugh team agrees with me because the R9 will restrike with each pull of the trigger.  And what a smooth trigger it is!  Best of any pistol I've owned.  

I suppose if I was a professional firearms trainer I would get enough live-fire practice to automatically Tap-Rack-Bang in the event of a misfire.  But I can't practice that much.  Each trip to the range is a 40 minute drive each way, $12 - $15 / hour of range time, lots of $$ for ammo and supplies, etc.  
Dry Fire practice at home is great for trigger control, but probably reinforces the instinctive restrike reflex in case of a real failure.  Last spring I sprung for a Beamhit 190 Pesonal Marksmanship Training System.  Great fun, good marksmanship practice, but not live fire so not useful for F-T-F drills.  

sslater

[theirishguard]

The F-T-F drill is very useful but it needs to be muscle memory. The second strick is very nice to have.   Tom

[R9SCarry]

Steve - we all practice only as much as time and circumstance allow.  I doubt for most it is ever ''quite enough''

My R9 is rarely primary because i am lucky enough to manage SIG most all the time but - many a time R9 is BUG - pocket or ankle - and if a failure drill is ineffective on SIG then sure as heck I am going for R9.

May be too late of course but I am inately aware of Murphy's influence and so - if std drill does not work then BUG it is, as quick as I can.

Hope of course never to have to really test this out!

[Aglifter]

I think I like the second strike feature -- can't see why not to have it -- Under stress, people revert to habit -- good habits, and that happens, bad habits=bad happens -- basically you start losing the ability to reason -- I always used this in competiton where I tried to relax if it was an event where I had bad form, and psyched up if it was automatic -- the main problem for CCW, is that not many of us have the time and the facilities to develop habits -- e.g. I don't know what a tap-bang-rack drill is -- unless you mean grab the slide and clear the round.

[R9SCarry]

For me the ''tap - is followed by the bang - to shove slide fully forward - if a problem is lack of round into full battery - but that of course only when slide all but fwd but not quite.  If a stovepipe then that is way more trouble and is obvious.

That (bang) if failed means a required rack -  racking slide back vigorously and slingshot new round - hoping that an FTE will come out and new round chamber.

Others may have different interpretation and mine may not be the accepted one - not sure.

[sslater]

Aglifter:
The reason not to have second strike capability is $.  The mechanism is more complex and trigger pull is heavier.  Except the Rohrbaugh.  Those guys are geniuses!!

You have the idea on the Tap+Rack+Bang drill.  You're supposed to tap (smack it smartly) the bottom of the magazine to make sure it is seated, rack the slide while rotating your hands so the ejection port gets an assist from gravity in clearing the jammed / defective round, and fire the gun (T-R-B).
 
I don't get enough training time to make that second nature.  (Have found myself on the range looking stupidly at a stovepipe jam - more than once.)  And I don't think dry fire practice at home helps much because you are not expecting a real failure to fire.  I guess you could practice at the range by slipping dummy rounds into your mags.  But at $15 / hour I want to be throwing lead downrange, not dumping dud rounds on the range floor.  The range owners don't like it either.

That's why I want second strike capability on any gun I'm
going to carry. What I can't figure out is why so many police departments carry Glocks.  Glocks are probably the most reliable, least expensive guns on the market.  But they have no second strike capability & many police officers don't put in much range time.