Shots Fired

One of the unsolved mysteries from season 1 was who is the shooter that initiates all out hostilities between the Mallers and The Tower, so I figured it should have its own thread in the current format.

I am relistening as a prelude to Season 3. I hear five shots. There is the classic .45 semiautomatic. A semiautomatic would be consistent with the relatively high rate of fire, but I think that it carries 7 rounds. From the high rate of fire we have either a very talented shooter able to engage and neutralize multiple enemies. Alternatively, we have an inexperienced shooter that is doing more of a spray and pray.

But why 5? Maybe someone else can listen and correct me and claim six or seven shots. In chapter 2, Riley shows Michael a pistol she found (Chapter 2) and I she says Colt45. That is not a lot of info. It is kinda like saying I found a car. It is a mercedes diesel. We know the make of the gun "Colt" and its fuel / ammo .45.

But, maybe it is a revolver. Imagine a classic "cowboy" gun. A six shooter. Because of the fear of snagging the hammer on something and the gun accidently going off, one round is left out. It is sometimes called the "Cowboy Load" or five beans in the wheel. This is pretty esoteric, but this gets at the question of why five rounds. So, in summary

Riley finds a Colt .45 (we have no info on revolver or clip)
I think I hear five rounds in Chapter 12 to initiate the war
The "Modern" (it is still 100 years old) clip-fed carries 7 rounds
The revolver is a six-shooter, but is often only loaded with five beans in the wheel...