Is it a good idea to carry a backup gun and does anyone carry one

BOUNTY HUNTER

BOUNTY HUNTER

BOUNTY HUNTER
HELLO EVERYONE JUST HAD A QUICK QUESTION. Is it a good idea to carry a backup weapon and if so what is the most popular carry position for your backup gun? Thanks for your input :cool::cool:
 
It depends on where I'm going. Ordinarily I carry a RMR G-17, 2 extra Mags, a Spyderco endura folder, a Cross pen, and a Todd Foster "Coin Purse" Sap so I always have a back-up of one sort or another. When going to certain areas I will also take my Sigg P290RS in a pocket holster. I also have an Ayoob "De-jammer" on my car keys.
 
Sometimes when working late. My daytime pocket primary will become my back-up on a crossdraw. On my strong side 3 o'clock open carry style goes the big boy.
 
One EDC gun is usually sufficient for my needs. However, anytime I absolutely have to travel to North Las Vegas (the murder/drug capital of the Vegas valley), I slide another 9mm in my 5.11 vest holster for a backup.
 
I carry a BUG (Taurus® Mdl 85SS2UL 38 Special) ALWAYS. Depending upon the season of the year, and the weather; it is carried..........
• Left front pants pocket
• Left coat/jacket pocket
• Inside left breast pocket of coat/jacket
• Galco® Ankle Holster
 
It appears that I am in the minority with my opinion. No you do not need a backup gun as a civilian. The chances of you needing your primary weapon is so slim its funny, so whats the chances of you needing a backup gun? Probably about the same as the easter bunny and santaclaus being real and having a baby.

I carry daily. But honestly, 2 guns, pepper spray, a baton, handcuffs, taser, bullet resistant vest, tactical pen, f-16, grenade launcher.... You must live in a rough neighborhood guys.

You are not a superhero, your only job is to get out of a situation if you can. And if you cannot, to protect yourself and your family. If you cannot do that with 1 gun you need to reconsider your abilities.
 
Food for thought....

Mechanical failure can occur at any time rendering your primary unusable or... require precious time to "fix" it... and having a back up that works ... well... works.

It is possible for your strong hand to be unusable so you can't reach/get to/or for some reason (broken hand, slippery with blood) unable to draw/operate your primary and having a back up carried so it is available to your weak hand could save the day.

For some folks, depending on where the back up is carried, going to the second gun can be just a tad faster than a magazine change. And going to a second gun that is already loaded cancels out the possibility of dropping the full mag............

I've never heard of anyone saying they had too many guns after being attacked but I have heard of folks complaining the gun they did have "jammed"....

But this much is for sure...

If one waits until they think they will need a second gun they just might end up wishing they had that second gun because........ no one can ever tell when crap will happen or how big a pile it will be. Times have changed... bad guys have cars and don't stay in the bad part of town.
 
Austin said:
It appears that I am in the minority with my opinion. No you do not need a backup gun as a civilian. The chances of you needing your primary weapon is so slim its funny, so whats the chances of you needing a backup gun? Probably about the same as the easter bunny and santaclaus being real and having a baby.

I carry daily. But honestly, 2 guns, pepper spray, a baton, handcuffs, taser, bullet resistant vest, tactical pen, f-16, grenade launcher.... You must live in a rough neighborhood guys.

You are not a superhero, your only job is to get out of a situation if you can. And if you cannot, to protect yourself and your family. If you cannot do that with 1 gun you need to reconsider your abilities.
Click to expand...

Most of us realize that we're not superheroes. Personally, I don't carry a backup gun, but the thing is, as long as they are obeying the law, what difference does it make? It's a personal decision, and if it makes some people feel better, then more power to them.

So if you can't get the job done with 1 gun, you should reconsider your abilities? If that's the case, I know a lot of cops who should be looking for other employment.
 
Austin said:
It appears that I am in the minority with my opinion. No you do not need a backup gun as a civilian. The chances of you needing your primary weapon is so slim its funny, so whats the chances of you needing a backup gun? Probably about the same as the easter bunny and santaclaus being real and having a baby.

I carry daily. But honestly, 2 guns, pepper spray, a baton, handcuffs, taser, bullet resistant vest, tactical pen, f-16, grenade launcher.... You must live in a rough neighborhood guys.

You are not a superhero, your only job is to get out of a situation if you can. And if you cannot, to protect yourself and your family. If you cannot do that with 1 gun you need to reconsider your abilities.
Click to expand...

Sometimes, but not often, I will carry a BUG. I always carry at least one spare magazine.

Better to have more that I may need - much more - than to ever, on that worst of days, need more than I have.
 
Now I have to stand corrected on one item that I did not consider. In case of a real mechanical failure it would be a great thing to have a backup gun.

I am still not going to carry a BUG and dont think it is needed for civilian uses. But that is a very valid arguement and I have to give credit where its due. Good point bro.
 
memphis_raines said:
Most of us realize that we're not superheroes. Personally, I don't carry a backup gun, but the thing is, as long as they are obeying the law, what difference does it make? It's a personal decision, and if it makes some people feel better, then more power to them.


So if you can't get the job done with 1 gun, you should reconsider your abilities? If that's the case, I know a lot of cops who should be looking for other employment.
Click to expand...


Guess multiple bad guys don't exist in your world... [FONT=arial, sans-serif] Or you can't get into a bad crowd of folks......[/FONT]
 
I think it all depends on your surroundings. I am fortunate enough to live in an area where I feel relatively safe and believe the chance of needing a BUG is incalculably low. I increase my chances of my EDC working every time by regularly shooting and cleaning it. If an area concerns me enough to need a second gun I don't go there. My back up is situational awareness. Having said that if you feel safer with all that added protection then that is what you need to have. The whole idea is to be able to protect yourself and your family in the situation you are in at the time not to worry about what others think about it.
 
spdracr39 said:
I think it all depends on your surroundings. I am fortunate enough to live in an area where I feel relatively safe and believe the chance of needing a BUG is incalculably low. I increase my chances of my EDC working every time by regularly shooting and cleaning it. If an area concerns me enough to need a second gun I don't go there. My back up is situational awareness. Having said that if you feel safer with all that added protection then that is what you need to have. The whole idea is to be able to protect yourself and your family in the situation you are in at the time not to worry about what others think about it.
Click to expand...
And it would be wise to have the toolS needed when it is necessary to protect yourself and/or loved ones.

I mentioned this before and I think it bears mentioning again....

Please consider that a second gun accessible to your other hand would be useful because...

There is no guarantee the hand you normally use to draw and fire your gun will be available for you to use. You may be busy trying to fend off an attacker with your hand(s)... the attacker might have slashed your hand with a knife and all the blood makes your hand too slippery to hold the gun or the slashed tendons might make your hand completely useless... or the attackers broke your hand.

Yes, I know situational awareness should prevent anyone from getting that close but even with situational awareness people still get within attacking distance. And there is no guarantee you will be able to recognize who is a threat either since not all attackers wear saggy pants and gang tattoos... some dress nice and act normal until they are close enough to attack.

But then it's all a personal choice for each of us. But the wise person considers all the possibilities and prepares for the worst to the best of their ability.
 
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