[Shane]

I recently ordered a Ruger GP 100, model KGP 160 (SS short shroud 6" barrel). I already have the same model, but I wanted a second since Ruger discontinued it and its my favorite revolver. Anyone else buy duplicates of a gun, i.e. same model, finish, and barrel length?

[C.R.Sam]

Yup.
I breed em.:D

Sam

[Walosi]

Hhhhmmmmm....Any puppies for sale :D

[Old Fuff]

Like Sam says ........ If you really like something duplicates are O.K.

Some call them "matched pair's."

[Standing Wolf]

There's no such thing as too many Pythons or High Standards.

[444]

Of course.

Especially on the critical stuff like you carry gun, or you competition guns. Anything happens, like a part breaks you have a back up.

[C.R.Sam]

444 has the proper serious answer.

Sam

[SnWnMe]

Oh, of course, a spare for unforseen happenstance. I think I shall print out this thread and show it to my waif. Then maybe she will approve getting a twin for one of my guns.

[444]

I wouldn't even think about attending a shooting school where I took vacation time and spent somewhere around $2000 for tuition/ammo/travel/boarding..... without taking a back-up gun that was very similar to my primary. What would you do if your gun went down on day #1 ? Sure you can carry spare parts, or maybe the school has a gunsmith on site, but this all takes time that you are supposed to be getting the training. I have only had to use my backup once. I had a malfunction, cleared it and found that the bullet had come out of the case and filled my action with unburnt powder. Gun wouldn't run reliably. I ran to my truck and got out the back-up which I shot until lunchtime when I could clean my primary.
When I was shooting IPSC semi-seriously I was firing sometimes 1000-1500 rounds a week. After awhile I pretty much always had one gun down with a bad extractor or ejector. I wasn't making a lot of money and sometimes had to wait until next payday to order parts. So, I had a backup gun. I switched back and forth between the two constantly.
I recently took a pistol class and discovered that my primary gun was having problems due to wear. Luckily I had a back-up and a back-up for my back-up. I had the on site gunsmith replace some stuff on my primary on day one of the class and was able to use it for the remainder of the class.
Two years in a row I went elk hunting and had a sight failure on my primary rifle during my final zero check days before the hunt. Yes, I since went to a different sighting system after the fact, but, I had a back-up and got my elk both years.

[BigG]

Yup, it just makes good sense. ;)

[Double Naught Spy]

I liked the reasoning offered by Clint Smith for owning duplicates. If you have a gun that is as you like it with whatever features, then get another just like it. One serves as a spare should the other end up needing to go for repairs. If you are in a shooting with your favorite gun, you may not be able to buy a replacement during the pending investigation and so you will have the replacement already and it will be set up just like the one taken.

I don't have any exact dupes, but I do have 3 carry 1911s, each a different size, and they are all set up with the same basic features/controls. Switching out guns does not entail any major changes. They all work in the same way. The big differene is that two have smaller frames and that isn't a problem.

[hillbilly]

Buying duplicates is the sure sign that you may have a problem.....

I can quit buying guns any time I want to.....I just DON'T WANT TO QUIT YET!!!!!!!!!!!!!

heh hehe heheheheehehe uh uuh huhuh huh huh ................

hillbilly

[FPrice]

I have always believed in buying a duplicate gun for something you use for self-defense or for competition. That way if your primary gun is unavailable, then you have an identical back-up.

The caution here is that duplicate guns do not always shoot in the exact same manner and to the same POA. However, they should be close enough so that with only a very little preparation you can be back shooting agin.

[RWK]

Yep, me too (or, in this case, is it "two"):
1) Two Ruger KGP-141s
2) Two Smith 627 (five inch, full underlug)
3) Two Springfield 1911A1s (ArmoryKote TRP and stainless Loaded)

[PzGren]

Surely, I buy duplicate guns, I have two sons. Shall they fight over them one day? That would not be fatherly!

No, a man has to sometimes be unselfish and make certain preparations at a little expense ( and great pleasure).

[Double Naught Spy]

No, duplicates may not shoot to the exact same POA and so you might have to make an adjustment for that to happen. With that in mind, you are more likely to have two of the same model of gun shooting to the same POA than you would with two different models of guns.

[ajacobs]

I have atleast 12 guns that I have duplicates of. And it is not becuase I have two hands.

[10-Ring]

Not exactly duplicates, but very similar. I have 4 HK USPs; 2 45 acp & 2 9 mm. I haven't gotten all the onesies yet in my wheelguns to start working on duplicates :D

[MR.G]

I have duplicates of my favorite guns.

[uglygun]

AR15 crowd has been doing it for years and those guns aren't even discontinued :p


I know they aren't exactly the same but they are close enough, I currently have a 27-2 with 4 inch barrel and I'm holding out for either another 27-2 with 4 inch barrel or hoping that I can find a 28-2 with 4 inch barrel.

Gonna grab one or two in 6 inch offerings as well if I can find them.

[Snake Eyes]

I have FOUR exact copies of my primary carry gun.

My thinking was: 1 for carry, 1 for IDPA and 1 for a spare. Then the fourth one showed up on auction for less than I'd paid for any of the others. So I exercised the sound financial principle of cost averaging.

Two of the four are sitting in Ted Yosts' shop waiting to get the "1*" treatment. When I get them back, the other two go in. Ted has explicit instructions to make spend as much of my money as necessary to insure they all shoot same POA.

Just makes sense to me.

[boots]

2X p220 st
2X gp100 3"


manual of arms is same for each pair.

[Unisaw]

I am thinking quite seriously about getting a duplicate of my carry gun, a 2" SP-101. Is that a boring and predictable gun? Yes, and that's just the way I like it.

[Mike Irwin]

I have duplicate models, but different barrel lengths.

3 Model 19s, 2.5", 4", and 6"

2 Model 28s, 4" and 6"...

Looking for others, as well.

[YodaVader]

I have duplicate models, but different barrel lengths.

Yeah , this is the route I took as well - once owned three 686s - 2 1/2" , 4" and a 6". Was eventually going to add the 8 3/8".

[M58]

As above, for many reasons...
Two 3" M657s.

[Johnny Guest]

Hunting: Figure cost of the entire hunt, even locally, but ESPECIALLY if out of state - - - Licenses and permits, all kinds of travel expenses, vehicle tuneup and maintenance, that new pair of binoculars, all that stuff - - Why scrimp on just the one firearm? I don't do an exact duplicate, but usually carry along something similar - - Bolt action, scope type, similar-trajectory ammo. My pet loads for .338 WinMag and .30-06 have nearly identical trajectoriesand sight-ins, so up to 250--300 yards, I don't need to worry about where to hold. There are other combos which work, but that's the idea.

Competition: Already mentnioned by others.

Defense: Jim Wilson did a good article several years ago about similar type handguns for home defense. He wrote of standardizing on S&W K-frames stashed strategically about the homestead and vehicles. Works well, especially if you use same stock style. A Model 10, 19, 65, K-38, and so forth, all can have the same friendly 'feel" and operation in a stressful time.

Any revolver I have out of the safe works the same, at least for the first cylinderful. :p Same with auto pistols - - My Commander, an old Colt Government Model, a Sistema 27 in a certain drawer, and the OACP recently adopted by my wife - - These all work exactly the same. And if any of these is in the range bag or on the "to be cleaned" shelf, the substituted National Match or Browning High Power runs with the same manual of arms.

Much to be said for uniformity of operation - - -

Best,
Johnny

[LeonCarr]

3 identical Glock 17s
2 AR-15s (one 16", one 20"), both A2s
2 identical Winchester 1300 Defenders

I get duplicates because if you get in a jam, Murphy's Law will apply.

Just my .02,
LeonCarr

[Brian Williams]

A wise old TFLer, I do not remember who, once said you need to have 4 copies of your CCW
1 Shooter
2 spare shooter
3 smith @ the smith getting tuned or tweaked
4 stored off sight

run these through a rotation
Shooter goes to smith after X rounds for tweakin,
Smith gun becomes spare, shot occasionally to make sure of reliability
Spare goes to storage,
Stored gun become Shooter, with a great range session prior to sending old shooter to smith

My idea of the rotation but TFLer idea of 4 with one stored off site, that way(his reasoning) if you are in real legal trouble you can still have an accessable defense weapon.

[Matt G]

Our very own Art Eatman has a Colt Commander that he set up just perfectly for carry, back in the early to mid '80's. It's got a nice trigger, no sharp edges, good stocks and sights, etc. I was admiring it one evening (it's one of his fave carry guns), and asked how many rounds he'd put through it since setting it up nearly 20 years ago. "Oh, about 400," he answered.

Now, this made me boggle. I don't think that I'm breaking any news to y'all that know Art online that he lives on a mountain in the desert of Terlingua, in the Big Bend of Texas, and has his own pistol range about 15 yards off the back porch. (and a 100 yd range on the front porch, and a ~500 yd range about 50 yds off the side of the house...) Folks, there's those of us that talk about shooting a lot, and then there's those of us that live it. Art is of the latter breed, and his abode is a place shooting is not thought ill of. Add to that the high, dry desert air, and your target seems to stand out on top of your front sight with a special brilliant definition that makes you feel more confidant in shooting. I know that Art takes advantage of the bounty that he surrounded himself with. So why did his main carry gun have so few rounds through it after all these years?

"I got it the way I wanted it, and shot it enough to make sure it was reliable, and now I clean it and carry it," Art said. "Why beat it to death shooting it? I've got other .45's to practice with."

This made me snort and shake my head in disbelief at first. I've always lived by the philosophy of practicing most with your main carry gun. But I have an open mind and of course I respect the source, so I gave it some consideration. Why NOT spare your main arm the battery of thousands of practice rounds? After all, if history is correct, it was ol' Ely Whitney (of cotton gin fame) who brought us standardized gun parts back in the early half of the 19th century. There's not a reason in the world why you shouldn't be able to set up two identical pistols to shoot the same way, and label Pistol A as your carry gun, and Pistol B as your practice gun. While I know I've been referring to auto guns, I would think the principle would work as well with revolvers.

I've been trying to run this past my wife, but so far, no dice... ;)