Do you carry a back up gun?

Lately I've been carrying a Ruger p90 in addition to the j frame in my pocket. I love pocket carry for the fact I can already have my hand on it if i suspect trouble. The same goes with driving it's faster to draw the snub than the P90 under my t shirt and seatbelt. It all depends on the situation, which one I can access first. I can't consider either one a BUG right now it just depends. And besides, when the snub only weighs 12 ozs i see even less reason to leave it behind.

Its so hot now-a-days that I just carry my super light weight Ruger LCR with a 5-shot speed loader.

For me its determined by whether I am on the job or off, On the job its a 1911 right side hip and a Colt officers in sob position, Spare magazines for both, 2 for the 1911 and one for the in the back. All 45 and all Black Talon. I feel if it's serious that you carry, you need to carry fully prepared for all situations. Just in MHO PS off the job 1911 on the hip 380 Sphinx on the left ankle and 2 extra sticks for the 1911

On foot, I just carry a snub .38. It is so hot and you have to dress so lightly to survive that it is really hard to hide much. But the S&W Airweight makes a great pocket carry so I find I actually carry it 100%. Usually my wife is with me and she carries also so maybe she could be considered my backup ( as I am to her ). She is a dead shot with a revolver, so I know she is reliable.

In the vehicle, I keep a Ruger 9 mm single stack in the map pocket in the driver side door so I don't have to worry about drawing from my pocket with my seat belt fastened.

Carrying a BUG is a good idea. I realize I will probably get a lot of flak for this but, especially during the summer, it is tough to carry one concealed firearm, let alone two. I would love to hear good ideas on how to reasonably carry two firearms without having sweat pouring off of me during summer months due to excessive clothing.

I feel fortunate that I can carry anything at all other than a knife. My job does occasionally take me into places that make me nervous. Many of the people I deal with are felons or would be felons.

If I were really concerned about it, I would carry a bug and never look back. I'm no fighter. When you get tired of it, stop. It is a pretty free country. Tis my advice.

I have been CCWing for 25+ years and have carried a dedicated pocket-gun/BUG (front right pocket) almost that long.

I carry my primary 99% of the time that I am not in the office, but I carry my "BUG" 99% of the time, period. (Chalk that 1% up to the small amount of time I spend in courthouses and on military bases.) It goes into my pocket first thing in the morning as a matter of routine, just like my wallet or keys -- and comes out last thing at night, just the same.

I always carry a spare mag for any gun I'm carrying -- a magazine is usually much more likely to fail you than the firearm itself, and I don't ever want to suddenly discover that I am holding a very nice manually-operated single-shot pistol.

In the vehicle, I keep a Ruger 9 mm single stack in the map pocket in the driver side door so I don't have to worry about drawing from my pocket with my seat belt fastened.

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You're not worried about car break ins? I'm only 24 years old, and I've already experienced my car being broken in to. Granted it wasn't parked in the best part of town at the time, but still. Luckily the punk either wasn't as good at hot wiring as he was at jimmying car doors or he just didn't know how to drive a 5 speed manual. I just ended up losing maybe $20 worth of misc. stuff that was in the car at the time.

Depends on what you mean by back-up. I rarely have more than one gun on my person, but I usually have more than one gun within easy access - well, everywhere but at work. Then I just make do with extra loads.

Public libraries are kinda hinky that way.

I don't, but I don't make fun of people who do. When you have to draw to protect your life, it means that a lot of things are going wrong all at once. If your gun is going to fail for....whatever reason you can imagine, THIS is when it's going to happen. If we carry sidearms in the first place because we live in a cruel unfair world where bad things happen to good people, then it doesn't make any less sense to carry a backup.

The reason I don't carry one is practicality. If you have two guns, this means you have just exponentially expanded the permutations of things that can go wrong. Which gun do I grab, does it have the same manual of arms as my primary gun, should I reload my primary or grab the backup, you have to keep TWO guns secure at all times instead of just one, things like this. When I go to school, I have a bag of books, a laptop, a carry gun spare mags, a flashlight, usually winter clothes, knife, cell phone, Leatherman. Sometimes I'll go straight from school to take the kids shopping. I don't see myself REALLY needing a backup gun with all the other crap I take regularly.

I dont carry a BUG right now...but I probably will (Im thinking a 2 1/2" to 3" barrel .357....ankle carry).

Nothing wrong at all with a "New York reload" if necessary.

I don't, but I could.

Even in hot and humid weather, the Cabela's "Seven-Pocket Hiker" shorts that I wear have commodious front pockets. They seem designed for pocket-carry.

If you need long pants they have long pants with the same big front pockets.

So, I could easily carry a Smith 5-shot in each front pocket.

But I don't.....I usually stick with my Glock 26 and no extra mag in summer.

In winter there are all kinds of options.

No...

But I'm a very unlikely target.

I think anyone working in LE, security, or some high-risk occupation would be well advised to carry a bug, though.

I do a reverse back up, I always have a 340PD in my pocket, my back up is a USPc 45 or S&W 19 2.5 or HK P7M8

all those are backups to a rifle....or till I get to one

If you wear a heavy winter coat, it is pretty difficult to reach a belt holstered gun under it. A small gun in the coat pocket is always within easy reach. In this case, your backup becomes your primary.

I only carry a back-up gun when I am working..

Just curious

What type of practice drills do you guys use and what do you do with your shot out primary when you draw and fire your secondary?

I don't call someone paranoid who carries a bug. But I don't carry one. I do carry backup ammo. It seems most people who carry backup are more concerned about equipment failure than anything else... and I don't blame them.

If I was a cop sure, but since I am not, no I don't carry a backup. If I need a backup, I don't need to be there.

My main carry gun is a SA XD40sc,it holds 1in the pipe and 9 in the clip,with it I have 2 spare extended mags that hold 12rds each;I keep my XD40 on my person at all times;even at home. As for my back-up peice I carry a S&W 640-3 .357 magnum,along with 2 speed strips;that gives me 15rds altogether for my back-up. What I have listed here is the bare minimum of what I carry everytime I leave the house,no exceptions.

Couldn't cast a vote because I do not feel people who carry a Bug gun are paranoid.