Do you carry more than one?

[elkhuntingfool]

Just curious. I only carry a PT145 - but in recent discussions I've found that others carry more than one handgun.

What are your reasonings for carrying more than one? I guess since I live in a small town in Utah I've never really thought about the need for more.

Thanks!

 

[22-rimfire]

Mostly law enforcement folks carry a backup. For civilian purposes, I don't see the value of all the extra firepower when you aren't likely to need any in the first place.

 

[TT]

For me the second gun is not for additional firepower, it’s in case the primary gun quits.

 

[CZ223]

There has been much discussion about backups on this board before. It seems that a lot of folks do, I don't. I have thought that I would like to try it but it seems like too much hassle. I carry a glock 23 so the obvious backup would be a second G23 or or the smaller 27. I do have a 32 which is the same size as the 23 but not the same caliber so I just have not bothered. I do usually have a second gun in the truck when I am wearing. I would love to get a chance to try an Allessi ankle rig for the Glock. If it felt good I would go for the G27.

 

[mljdeckard]

There are a couple of ways to look at this.

First, +1 to carrying a spare in case the first one malfunctions. It's the same reason it's a good idea to carry a spare magazine. If one bad thing can happen, (getting attacked,) another bad thing can happen. (Your weapon counld malfunction or get somehow unable to defend you.) Because the whole idea is preparing for the worst, and redundancy is a good thing if you are taking defense seriously, I will never mock someone for carrying backup.

However, keep a couple of things in mind. You must be 100% accountable for the placement and concealment and safety of your weapon at all times. If you think this is no big deal, try it with a single gun for a while. (In my state, it's not even required that I keep it concealed, and it's still a trick.) Now multiply this by two.

A lot of things affect the literal helpfulness of a second gun. Is it placed where you can get it, strong or weak hand, is it uncomplicated enough you can use it under the absolute worst of circumstances, does it use the same magazines, or at least the same ammo as your primary weapon, DO YOU TRAIN WITH IT JUST AS SERIOUSLY AS YOUR PRIMARY WEAPON?

For me, a pistol is something you use to fight your way back to a rifle. I THINK, a spare magazine, a good flashlight, a cell phone at least 40 hours of higher pistol training, and A RIFLE BEHIND THE SEAT are all more important than another pistol. IF YOU DON'T REALLY KNOW THE FIRST ONE, DO YOU REALLY NEED A SECOND ONE?

 

[James NM]

I would if I could but I can't.

New Mexico only allows for one concealed carry gun.

 

[22-rimfire]

Good point. Never thought of that.... wonder if it is the same in my state? I'm not going to carry a bug so, the question never really came up.

Folks like to say things like the handgun is there to allow you to get to the long gun. Well, unless I'm at home, I'm not going to fight anyway if I can make a quick exit. Depending on the situation, I might make a quick exit at my house too if I was severely outgunned. You make your decisions and then you have to live with it.

 

[Jorg Nysgerrig]

For me, a pistol is something you use to fight your way back to a rifle.

How many self-defense situations involving gunfire last long enough to go back to a vehicle and get a long gun?

 

[christcorp]

Paranoia! It's that simple.

 

[BullfrogKen]

The only times I've carried two are when I carry the Colt revolvers.

Because revolvers are hell to reload in a fight.

 

[mljdeckard]

It doesn't matter how many defensive situations actually turn out that way. What matters is that you have actually thought out all possibilities. If you are serious about personal defense, you must think out a confrontation to conclusion.

I had abandoned the rifle behind the seat until this past winter when a man carrying the same gun I carry, in a place I have often carried, stopped a killer before he could do more damage. He didn't have a spare magazine. HE WAS LUCKY. If he had faced two gunmen, he would be dead.

Most people hit by a handgun run away. I have to make sure that if they are still running around, they don't get any closer to me.

Of course, all this remains hypothetical until I come home from the PRK.

 

[ArchAngelCD]

I don't carry a BUG but I'm not in Law Enforcement. Many people who are forced into going places they normally wouldn't (like for work) should probably carry a BUG but I don't feel the need.

I agree with the above post that a handgun should be used to fight your way to a rifle. The handgun on the nightstand is there to get me to the safe and my shotgun.

 

[Jorg Nysgerrig]

I had abandoned the rifle behind the seat until this past winter when a man carrying the same gun I carry, in a place I have often carried, stopped a killer before he could do more damage.

Are you talking about Trolley Square? You're going to go out to a vehicle, get a rifle and clear the mall by yourself? Or were you going to set up outside the mall and pick them off? You should post this plan over and S&T to get some feedback from the BTDT types.

 

[bpisler]

Yes i do.revolver on the hip and a KT P-11
in a front pocket.I also carry a speed strip
reload for the revolver in the other front
pocket.It's easier to go to the BUG than
to try and clear a malfuction with the
primary carry gun.

 

[armed85]

I normally carry a J-frame Smith & Wesson .38 Special. It's small, lightweight, and fits in a pocket. If I need more punch I'll carry a semiautomatic or a .357 Magnum revolver on a belt holster along with my pocket revolver.

 

[Mad Magyar]

Trying to get to the best situation of "comforting & not comfortable" is
a full-time job for most of us....Many pistoleros left their wheelguns for the extra capacity firepower. Training & confidence in one's abilitities adds another variable with me.
Personally, I spend a lot of time & $$$ trying to get the "perfect fit" in terms of what caliber for my environmental/social situations & clothing attire for concealment: a headache.....

 

[Srigs]

I carry two 95% of the time.

Why? Three reasons:
1. If one breaks it is easier IMHO to pull the backup (I also carry a spare mag for my primary) - Murphy's Law
2. If your primary arm is out of action, the backup would be available to my left - Murphy's Law
3. Hand out gun to my wife in an active shooter incident in case I'm disabled

The old saying is, "Two is One and One is NONE!"

 

[mljdeckard]

In the Trolley Square shootout, the killer was alone. The defender DIDN'T KNOW he was alone. the police DIDN'T KNOW the defender was a good guy at first. You can't plan a confrontation that hasn't happened yet based on the circumstances of the last one. That is assuming.

To be serious about defense, one must make all preparation possible for any imaginable problem. You should have a phone, shoes you can run in, some water, first aid supplies, spare magazines, be in reasonably good shape. And while I might not carry a spare handgun on me, an extra in the car can't be a bad idea. You don't know how many people you will be confronting, where they will come from, or how they will be armed. Taking comfort in what USUALLY happens is assuming. That kind of situation at Trolley Square doesn't USUALLY happen at all. What if it had been a gang shootout in WV City?

And YES, I would have exited the building, secured my family, and left the scene as soon as possible, at all times being as well-armed as possible.

What is your definition of BTDT?

 

[Double Naught Spy]

I usually carry two.

Trying to get to the best situation of "comforting & not comfortable" is a full-time job for most of us....

Clint Smith used to (maybe still does) say that a gun is supposed to be comforting, not comfortable. I always took that to mean he didn't make a very good choice on either his carry gun or his method of carry, probably the latter. If your gun isn't comfortable to carry, then you have made some less than ideal decisions.

If you have the patience and exposure to guns and holsters, you can carry more than one quite comfortably.

 

[351 WINCHESTER]

I usually carry 2 k/t .32's. I'm not impressed with the .32acp round, even in h/p. Carrying 2 guns gives me the option of drawing right or left handed and should I run out of ammo or if the gun fails I have quick access to another.

If you feel the need to carry a handgun and can easily carry another, why not?

 

[Ala Dan]

Yep, formally in law enforcement I carry, train, and have qualified with two
handguns on more than one occassion~!

 

[peacemaker45]

Usually two, 1911 on hip, p32 in hip pocket. Occasionally, I'll add a second 1911, avail for lefty draw, if walking around, or in a kydex paddle set up for crossdraw, if driving.

~~~Mat

 

[mavracer]

most of the time its a seecamp or 442 in the pocket, add 605 or amt 45 backup sometimes

 

[PX15]

FWIW:
Normally I cc the largest capacity 9mm pistol I can. (of the ones that I own obviously).. It starts out with a 16+1 capacity Walther P99/AS.. Next choice in a smaller package is the Walther P99c/AS.. After that I have to go with a mousegun, which in the past would have been either my NAA Guardian (32cal), or KelTec P32..

Recently I purchased a Seecamp LWS32. I have found the Seecamp amazingly so easy to cc that I just carry it all the time. If I'm going out of my "comfort area" like on a trip or something I go back to the "more is better" concept, therefore one of the P99's.. Even then I will be cc the LWS32 also.




I just ordered my bride of almost 40 years her own Seecamp, so hopefully before too long we can both cc a LWS32 when we chose. (she can be the "backup" to my "backup".....)

Best Wishes,

J. Pomeroy

 

[rantingredneck]

For everyday carry it is my P345 in a Bianchi Minimalist belt slide. It rides high and tight and conceals easily under an untucked shirt. At times I will slip my NAA Guardian in a Ron Graham pocket holster in my pocket. This allows me to leave the primary in the truck if it gets blazing hot and uncomfortable on the hip (This is NC after all). I find myself doing this less and less since I got the P345. When my daily carry was a P90 or P89 there were times where the weight got uncomfortable and they stayed in the truck more than on my hip.

If I'm going out of town on an extended trip I usually CC one full size gun and pack another as a just in case. I will occasionally CC the mousegun as well in this case (or pack it for CC at my destination).