Backup Gun Choices (thinking small)

[NIGHTLORD40K]

There are quite a few usage reports of NAA minis. Can you find one where that happened? It's a typical cliche for small guns.

Many years ago there was a small gunshop in town here that was robbed. The owner/operator was alone except for a large dog on the floor and a Conyers Parrot on the counter. There was a 12Ga. pump under the cash register and the proprietor carried a .22 Mag. NAA in the old belt-buckle holster rig.
Apparently, the perp got the drop on the shopkeeper and he couldn't grab either weapon initially- then the Parrot reached out and took off a chunk of the bad guy's ear, distracting him long enough for the store owner to draw his NAA. He fired and hit the perp twice, killing him.
The dog just sat on the floor and watched the whole thing go down.
Ever after that, there was a sign on the door that said "FORGET THE DOG, BEWARE OF BIRD."

 

[JFrank]

I love these kind of threads’ I carry a good rifle a knife and a rope so if all fails I can hang myself.

 

[Armored farmer]

Google "standard manufacturing switchblade"

 

[vintovka]

/
Remington RM380, View attachment 1071624

View attachment 1071625

One of my largest regrets was not taking $20K and buying as many rm380s as i could. Two years ago they were $149 with 5 mags and free shipping. Now out of production and up to 400% more they would have been one heck of an investment.

 

[GBExpat]

So I was thinking a pocket pistol as a backup gun to my S&W 642 38 Special 5-hole revolver. BTW, this is for future preparedness as I don't currently carry. ...

Hhhmmmm ...

I began carrying 47 years ago and have never felt the need to carry a BUG. O'course, YMMV.

If, currently, I ever did I could just either carry my 9x17 P3AT in my PoliteSociety ankle holster (limiting my sudden mobility potential) or pop it in a big coat pocket (in its UncleMike's Sz1 pockets holster that I modded to hold a spare mag [see below]).

There are times during cold season that I will make a quick trip into "town" with a 5-shot .44spl CA Bulldog in each of the 2 main coat pockets. I guess that that could be considered as either a BUG example or, as I prefer to think of it, a New York Reload.

 

[vintovka]

Never thought about or carried until late 2020. Wonder why that was??????????

 

[Rexster]

One of my significant reasons for a second gun is to have an accessibility option, in case my usual weapon hand is not the best hand, to use, at a given moment in time, for whatever reason, to reach my primary gun. Another significant reason for me to have a second gun is that if my weapon hand is hit, during an incident, my primary weapon may become disabled, and/or may fall, out of reach. In neither case would I want a two-shot derringer to be that second gun. I consider a “great backup gun” to be a gun that I would willingly use as “primary” gun.

 

[Reinz]

^^^
Exactly the reason I carry two.

 

[aaaaa]

How quick is a New York Reload vs slapping another magazine into a gun? It may be that even with spare magazines, the NY Reload may be a better option.

 

[Rexster]

How quick is a New York Reload vs slapping another magazine into a gun? It may be that even with spare magazines, the NY Reload may be a better option.

Well, it depends. A lefty Milt Sparks PMK holster, matching my righty PMK holster, enables a very fast draw-and-fire of a second handgun. If the second handgun has to be dug from a deep pocket, or drawn from an ankle rig, well, that will not beat a mag being pulled from a belt pouch, and inserted into an auto that is already in-hand. Of course, reaching for that second gun, with one’s support hand, and firing it with support hand, will depend upon the shooter’s ambidextrous shooting capabilities.

In my case, I write lefty, and throw righty, and chose to carry at 0300, in 1983/1984, because drawing the then-mandated medium-large-frame revolver, with its heavy-contour barrel, from the then-mandated low-slung duty holster, was not unlike throwing under-handed. Long-stroke DA seemed ambidextrous enough, so, since then, I do not need to set my fork down, before drawing my “primary” handgun.

Not that I am completely ambidextrous. I shoot Glocks better lefty, probably because my “smarter” left index finger can better cope with the more-complex Glock trigger.

 

[nofendertom]

Never understood the practice of having the mag carrier attached to the holster. If right handed and carrying strong side, how do you reach the mag?
Wouldn't it be better to carry the mag on your opposite side?

 

[aaaaa]

Never understood the practice of having the mag carrier attached to the holster. If right handed and carrying strong side, how do you reach the mag?
Wouldn't it be better to carry the mag on your opposite side?

Makes sense, but probably a convenience factor to slap the holster into the waist band and you are done instead of two different holsters, one for the mag.

 

[vintovka]

Nice mod on holster wish i could do it for an rm380.

 

[CodeSection]

For decades my BUG was a Kel Tec P3AT....I always felt it wasn't ideal, especially in a .380. I retired it and bought a Sig P365. Currently, I'm carrying a P229 .40, and an XDSC .40 in a briefcase in addition to the P365 BUG. Once I finish going through testing a couple of P227s, I plan on retiring the XDSC .40 and possibly the P229 .40.

@aaaaa, you may want to shoot the P365 to see if it will fit your needs. While it is not a .45, it is so easy to conceal in a pocket......

Good luck with your search!

 

[AzShooter1]

My backup is only a Walther P 22. I know a .22 is small but if I have to change from my 9 mm at least I have something.

 

[aaaaa]

For decades my BUG was a Kel Tec P3AT....I always felt it wasn't ideal, especially in a .380. I retired it and bought a Sig P365. Currently, I'm carrying a P229 .40, and an XDSC .40 in a briefcase in addition to the P365 BUG. Once I finish going through testing a couple of P227s, I plan on retiring the XDSC .40 and possibly the P229 .40.

@aaaaa, you may want to shoot the P365 to see if it will fit your needs. While it is not a .45, it is so easy to conceal in a pocket......

Good luck with your search!

The p365 looks pretty good and 10 round capacity. It is definitely a lot smaller than my S&W SD9 VE but larger than a Ruger LCP, which has less capacity.

 

[tinhorn]

I've been looking at the NAA Pug in .22 Magnum for a deep backup. A Kahr .380 is my every day every place pocket gun with a larger iwb semi.

I have a friend who is a long time county deputy sheriff. He ALWAYS has a NAA .22 magnum in his pocket for backup. He has had many more dangerous encounters than I’ll ever have, so I trust his judgment. And he is a gun guy and could carry whatever he wanted. He likes the simplicity and reliability of the NAAs. This is not to be taken as the last word on these minis for carry, just an observation from a civilian with police friends. Thanks.

I've acquired NAA 1860 Earl magnums with 3" and 4" barrels mainly because they look like miniature 1858 Remingtons. I took a pair of 4" NAA Earls to the range yesterday--one with a LR cylinder installed, the other a magnum cylinder. I came away thinking that, dang, these are REAL handguns weighing less than half a pound each. I didn't notice an appreciable difference in recoil between the LR and WMR, just a louder report.

Some scuttlebutt that I've picked up but never researched are that 1) A .22 magnum requires 3" of barrel for good performance, and 2) .22 magnum approaches 9mm or 380 in stopping power. What I DO know is that NAA LR guns use a smaller frame than the magnum guns, and that the LR frames are kind of a joke. The magnum-framed Earl I shot (with plow handle grips) was easy to grip, cock, and draw my next bead, once I got used to cocking with the tip of my thumb, and firing with finger tip instead of pad. (I haven't shot a magnum with birdshead grips.)

Me, I intend to further investigate the .22 magnum.

 

[LUCKYDAWG13]

I always carry a BUG in the winter it's my G48 under my coat my bobed 637 is in my coat pocket as primary

 

[aaaaa]

Well I got my BUG, a .32 ACP Seecamp. $450 used with original box, manual, spring, extra mag, and a IWB holster. This may actually become the main carry in some situations, and it certainly is easier to conceal.

 

[vintovka]

The improved Rohrbaugh based RM380 with golden talon (like) bullets seemed best for size and effect. Being DAO and having no safety whatsoever, seem ideal for BUG or even primary carry. Adding the finger rest. greasing the takedown pin and never slow cycling the action are recommended. As lamented before these were dirt cheap and now out of production.

 

[herrwalther]

I haven't felt the need to carry a BUG in many years. I had an AMT Backup that was old when I bought it, functioned well enough with ball or closed tip hollow points to carry as a BUG in an ankle holster. When I finally found my PPS M1 in 9mm, I saw no reason to have 380 guns anymore. Sold off them all and the ammo.

 

[jstert]

i suggest a bond arms derringer in 38sp, same ammo as o.p.’s primary ccw s&w642, for logistical ease. add some 38sp speedstrips to facilitate reloading either the revolver or derringer. or carry a naa mini revolver of your 22lr or wmr ammo choice but with better cv revision aftermarket grips.

i have both. my naa can go unobtrusively everywhere lawful.

 

[Jamie B]

Well I got my BUG, a .32 ACP Seecamp. $450 used with original box, manual, spring, extra mag, and a IWB holster. This may actually become the main carry in some situations, and it certainly is easier to conceal.
View attachment 1074787

Self defense calibers start with a 4

 

[MedWheeler]

^^ ...and there it is.

 

[aaaaa]

Self defense calibers start with a 4

That is a solid bit of advice. I would throw in the 10 MM and the .357 magnum. But even smaller stuff, 9mm and 380 ACP are not to be completely discounted for SD. Probably the best advice is carry the largest caliber you can handle shooting accurately and can conceal. And carrying a 40 and up is best if you are going to be confronted by a drug-hyped perp because those folks may only worsen on you if pinged with a small caliber.