Second gun vs backup magazine?

If I bought in to the "two is one and one is none" on everything, I wouldn't be able to walk or move.

I carry one handgun with one spare magazine.

However, if someone wants to carry a backup, more power to them. I'm all about choices.

Ive taken to carrying one of my NAA's in my pocket with my wallet. Its really not there as a back up to my 17 though. I still carry a spare mag for it, and Id probably have the 17 reloaded before I even got the NAA out.

I do on occasion still carry a 26 along with the 17, but anymore, its more there for my wife, or someone else Im with that doesn't want to bother carrying their own, but for other reasons too, depending on the circumstances. I did carry it on a pretty regular basis as a BUG, for a number of years though.

Even with it as a BUG, Id probably still just do a quick reload, as that's what my brain is primarily programmed to do.

I only carry a spare mag


Edited: misunderstood OP

I suppose it depends on the gun. If it's sizable gun, I'd rather have the extra magazine. A little gun, it may be easier to carry the extra gun.

I happened to watch this video with Clint Smith the other day. At about the 12:15 mark, they talk about carrying two small revolvers rather than a speed loader for one.

Really tough to say and you have to find what works for you. I have carried the NAA .22mag alone when walking my property for snakes as well as with something else when off my land. Have carried 2 full size firearms at times or a full size and the NAA or a Beretta 21a (when only Seacamp made a large caliber option). Now, I am usually a J-Frame guy with a speed strip.

I have rambled. To your question. I have done both and more than likely now will do a spare mag. Have a speed strip for the J-frame but you didn't list that option.

For the most part I carry my primary CCW and a spare mag. It's what I feel the most comfortable with in terms of doing a quick reload versus trying to get to a back-up gun into action.

The holster for my primary is an IWB and doesn't have storage for an extra mag. I carry a small pocket 380 as well. Not so much for extra rounds but more just incase there's a failure of the 45.

I much prefer a spare mag or two vs carrying a second gun on my person. Just my preference. I can see the tactical utility of a BUG, especially for an LEO but for me, I don't really see how the added bulk of a hold out piece is advantageous over the expediency and convenience of a spare magazine except for a few very unlikely scenarios.

I always have a BUG though, I've always carried a baby glock on my person with a spare mag and my edc travel pack that's with me always has a full size duty frame handgun in it. Also a couple spare mags with that too. I consider that suitably armed and don't really feel the need to carry 2 on my person.

3Crows said:

I do not even carry a spare magazine. I am not a LEO nor do I put myself in places where I might be involved in a gun battle.

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I don't either, I mainly carry because I like to, I like guns and am comfortable with them and if the day ever comes, which it won't, but if it does I'm pretty certain I won't wish I decided to carry more than I do. Ever watch a movie and see a scene that makes you sick to your stomach and all you can think is "man if he was carrying, the bad guy wouldn't even know and the good guy and his wife, family, etc wouldn't have to die right now". They aren't likely scenarios, for sure they are 1 in a million, but what's haunts you is the knowledge that the stuff does happen and is happening to somebody right now as we are talking. Not to say everybody needs to go walking around armed to the teeth. Watch the highway scene in "Nocturnal Animals". That's a good scene to make an anti change their tune....

I carry an extra mag for two reasons.
One: Magazines fail, so a spare keeps my whole weapon system from going down because of the highest failure rate item
Two: Although I’m not planning to take on Daesh, it doesn’t take too many bad guns in a “normal” urban encounter to run you dry — especially when you factor in the impact of (real) adrenaline on your hit rate.

So my current set up gives me 30 rounds...and I’d rather have too many than not enough.

Spare mag for me, I'm assuming you're thinking of the NAA in a pocket and, personally, I'd rather (and be faster doing) get my main gun back in action over trying to dig a small gun out of my pocket.

As a BUG in addition to a spare mag, sure, I've kinda thought about something like that too but my pockets are pretty full already, I'd have to shift my wallet and phone and I'm a creature of habit and like everything in a consistent place, change would really bug me for a while.

Sometimes I'll forego the spare mag since I always have a knife. I've considered not carrying a gun at all in favor of a knife but I guess I've been carrying too long and like guns too much to stop now. For those that don't carry daily, or at all, or don't like carrying on their person because of fitment issues or whatever, I think a good quality defensive knife is a good answer to that problem.

An extra dozen 9mm for the SIG vs five .22s out of a one inch barrel? No contest.

I carry my S&W EZ 9 with 2 extra magazines for CCW.

When I shoot competitions I have my Volquartsen Black Mamba and my Ruger Mark IV 22/45 Lite just in case the BM starts giving me fits.

I always take 2 guns with me to the range. You never know when your primary will crap out on you.

A .22 isn't a suitable SD caliber.

That being said, with most folks complaining about size and weight, two LCP's are not lighter than my G26 with a spare mag.

That thought process continues with size.

This is another one where there really isn't a "wrong" answer, it's all up to personal preference.

A spare magazine will certainly give someone not only extra ammo, it'll give them an option in case the one in the gun acts up.

Two guns also allows for extra ammo plus offers another gun in case the first gun acts up. (In the case of the 2" revolver, it allows for a quick "New York Reload" when the first gun goes dry.)

Again, it is all up to the individual. For me, it's a spare mag.

Stay safe.

I found that an extra Glock 17 magazine doesn’t work for me. It’s like carrying a brick and is easier for me to deal with if it were just attached to a gun, in a holster.

I carry a BUG because I found the perfect holster and location on my body. It is basically zero hassle for me so there’s no reason not to carry the BUG.

Will I ever need it? 99.99% chance I’ll never need it or my primary weapon. As the old saying goes; it’s not about the odds, it’s about the stakes. And again, my BUG setup is very convenient and no hassle.

When I'm out and about locally I'm comfortable with a J frame and 1x speed loader. Outside the normal areas I frequent, and depending where I'm headed, I may carry my S&W Shield or FN Seven each with an extra magazine.

If your NY reload is an NAA mini, you may just want to get that spare magazine.

Minis are pretty slow to deploy. Slower than a reload of a magazine fed semi auto for sure. Add that to the rest of their disadvantages and the only reason to carry one in that situation would be as a BUG....and that would be in addition to a spare magazine.

So, rely on one gun instead of two? While very unlikely, there potential is always there for a crippling issue to happen to the first gun, be it a squib, a kaboom, a broken firing pin, a split case or a case head separation. Those are things that cannot be fixed with a tap, rack, bang.

The backup gun is there for exactly those reasons and the benefits of it are pretty valuable such as an extra gun to arm another person, so it's possible that you could not only save your life, but someone else could save theirs.

It's said so much, but a reload during a DGU is practically never needed. That would lead one to question what the value of a BUG is, but I do recall seeing somewhere a guy in South Africa used an NAA to fight off three muggers and in the process his NAA blew up. Like, good thing the other guys robbing him started running as soon as the first perp went down with a shot to his chest otherwise Boer would have been dead meat.

That said OP, I would gravitate more toward a P32 than an NAA Wasp. I too thought NAA was the only option for a super tiny, small caliber, lighter recoil gun for deep concealment, but I recently got an H&R Young America .32 and man, for a design that's over 100 years old it is so superior to an NAA mini revolver and costs half as much. Very decent DA trigger too and it only weighs 8oz.

3Crows said:

I do not even carry a spare magazine. I am not a LEO nor do I put myself in places where I might be involved in a gun battle. I may carry a speed loader for a five shot revolver but if my Glock 19 cannot get it done with 16 rounds, well, I guess woe is me. I just do not see myself being drafted on the spot by LE to help engage a terrorist cell and since all in all I am a pretty decent shot, I just do not think I need extra guns, extra magazines or other such as that as a civilian minding my business and exercising some caution when out and about.

Now, if traveling the open road or a vacation road trip and especially after dark, I might have extra magazines . But otherwise, as my grandmother would say, "nothing good comes after midnight" and those are wise words, I try to be inside and home by the witching hour.

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^^^^^^^^^
Same here.
I was taught long ago that if you are in a situation where you have to reload or use your backup you have bigger problems than which one is best and finding an exit should be a far bigger priority.

I carry a primary (Kel-Tec PF9), a second (P32), and a spare magazine for the second. If I end up somewhere that I need even more discretion, I can stow the belt gun and keep the pocket gun.

I frequently consider ditching the belt gun altogether for daily carry, but then things happen in society that give me pause. If I do go that route, I will still carry the P32 with its seven-round magazine in place, and the ten-round magazine along as a spare. However, I'd likely also drop one of my NAA .22 revolvers (one is in LR; the other, longer one is in WMR) somewhere for weak-hand access, too.

I could not vote in the poll.

While we have our opinions and biases, it is good to remember that "what we were taught" is not necessarily "the final word".

Carrying is all about options. The first option, of course, is "to carry or not to carry".

If you choose to carry, then there's the question of "what to carry". Along with that comes "how to carry", "what caliber to carry", "what capacity to carry", and any number of other questions.

Taking it a step further..."extra magazines or no", "back up gun or no", etc.

The rock bottom of all this, of course, is the decision to carry itself. You cannot avail yourself of a firearm in defense if you have no firearm in the first place. Everything else represents a balance of what YOU think is "reasonable" and or "sufficient".

And what you think "reasonable" or "sufficient" should not be based on "what you were taught" on the subject however many years ago. It should be based on the realities of present day circumstances and how you interpret them.