BUG... really?

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For all I care, people can carry a dozen guns if they want. But realistically, I don't know why the average citizen would need to carry more than one.

The odds the average person will need to use one gun for self defense is extremely low and most won't ever need to use one for this purpose. In the rare instance you would need to use your gun in self defense, the odds it'd malfunction would also be low. So in the rare instance you'd need to use a gun in self defense and then top that with the rare instance it'd malfunction, the odds you'd then have time to pull out your BUG and defend yourself would be rather low.

But if you find yourself in the rare instance of needing to defend yourself with a gun, and it then malfunctioning, and you then have time to pull out and fire your BUG, then more power to you.

Again, I have no problem with it, I just don't find it necessary or practical. Then again, I don't care around 2 or 3 spare tires with me either. The rare instance I may need one, I have it. If I need more than 1 then I'm pretty much screwed anyways.
 
Like I said, the odds of needing one are so low why carry at all? If one gun is not being paranoid then why is two or three guns paranoid? Why is it always paranoia when it is about guns but not when speaking about AED units in public buildings, spare tires on cars, fire extinguishers on commercial vehicles, spare glasses, people that carry two or three pens in their pockets, 3 reflective triangles instead of two, people that own more than one car. Why own more than one drill, hammer, screwdriver? Why do some people have a spare cell phone? It's only when we talk about guns that all of a sudden the word paranoia gets bandied about. As a former LEO, I have needed my BUG when my primary spilled out of it's holster as I tripped and landed at the feet of the suspects I had stopped, luckily for me I was with a partner that day and also they were disinclined to touch my primary. Can that happen to someone as a mere citizen? I think so! I'm getting older, less stable on my feet, I couldn't give a rat's a$$ what a cop thinks about me, I'm also not worried about the DA or prosecuter, I have faced all these three as a citizen and won (not a shooting, a domestic charge). I stuck to the facts and made sure the prosecuter stuck to the facts (I represented myself - successfully I might add). My primary is usually my 642 because it is always with me outside where my M&P is too big to go, so it stays in the car. The NAA .22 is also always with me due to it's size and comfort it hooks right into my underwear as I walk around the house. Anything mechanical can and will break, sometimes at the worst of times. You guys that walk with only one gun but carry a spare in your vehicle are basically saying, I may get a flat but I won't need my gun so the comfort I get from this ONE gun is fine for me. I don't fault you one bit. OTOH, I have been accosted by gang members right next to my home, I have been followed, I have had roadragers cross my path and carloads of gangbangers drive next to me. The town I live in has very fast very good response, and the cops that I have met are for the most part pro 2A. But I want that edge of knowing that I may not be able to reload my 642 fast enough, that my 642 or my M&P may jam, it happens! I would appreciate if some of you using or infering the word paranoia or paranoid would reconsider, it's one of those labels that certain people stick unto others when they feel that they need an edge to the argument. If I had a dime for every cheating spouse that told their SO that they were paranoid when they were (rightfully) accussing the other of cheating, I would be rich. It is usually a word used to demean others when the user is not a professional (psychologist/psychiatrist).
 
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I think carrying two guns is a little ridiculous but I'll never vote to take that right away from you nor think less of you for doing so..I'll just rank you as the overly cautious type.

I would wonder if you always keep a spare helmet on your motorcycle..or a spare airbag in your car..or two spare tires though...but guns are cool..we like our guns and some of us like carrying them. More power to ya.
 
I carry a Ruger LCP as a BUG. Fits nice in a vest pocket.
I never expect my Glock to fail, but it could happen. And, when I carry a snubby revolver (which is my most frequent carry gun), a "New York" reload isn't a bad thing to have. To me, carrying a BUG is no different then carrying a spare magazine or speedloader. The BUG may be faster to present.
Optimally, both the primary carry gun and the BUG would be the same caliber, but that's not always possible.
 
When I took the Farnum course I believe the gentleman was carrying 3 guns plus a large folding knife ..... and I assume those were just what I was allowed to see.
 
I was gonna say

pretty much the same thing George29 said, only he said it better. I would be willing to bet that everyone here knows someone that they hang around with who is known as the "go to guy". He is the guy you go to when you need something that you or some else forgot to bring. He is the guy who brings the screwgun and screws, duct tape, rope, saw, extension cords, etc. along on the camping trip. He also brings two of everything he can "just in case". He is not paranoid. He is handy to have around when something goes wrong.

For the most part, I am that guy. I am also a guy that never really saw the need for a second gun. Now that I own an LCP that can be carried as easily as my cell phone, I see no reason not to carry two. In the same way that I never expect to use my primary, I hope not to need my secondary, but you never know do you.
 
Majority of the time I carry only one gun, a Kahr PM9. It's enough for me to keep that one gun properly concealed from the paranoid anti's that i'm frequently around. On rare occasions though i've experimented with carrying two PM9s, two j-frames, two Glock 27s or any combination of the aforementioned guns. A few times i've also experimented with carrying three guns.

I don't love guns nor do I hate them obviously. They're tools to be used for exercising a God given right.

Modern society has attached such an evil stigma to guns that owning/carrying multiple or, to some people, even just one gun means you're either paranoid or just out looking for trouble.

A backup gun and even a third gun offers you a tactical advantage that can only be appreciated during the rare time that your life or the lives of other innocents are threatened. Guns are mechanical devices that can malfunction even under ideal conditions. I've lost count of how many bad magazines i've had to fix or replace over the years. Criminals are becoming more bolden, more heavily armed, and are operating more often in packs nowadays. Recently in this area five suspects attempted to rob an off duty plain clothes Secret Service Officer of his motorcycle. A Dominos Pizza delivery person was recently robbed by five armed suspects. There have been numerous carjackings, robberies and home invasions done by multiple armed suspects and the trend is becoming more of a modus operandi for criminals nowadays. There have been many instances of bullet sponges either boosted by drugs or adrenaline absorbing multiple rounds and killing/injuring multiple citizens and then cops before going down.

Handguns are underpowered so multiple center of mass hits have to be relied upon for them to be reasonably effective. The reality of actual gunfights is that few criminals are going to just stand still and let you have multiple clear shots to their vitals especially without shooting back at you.
 
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I carry a revolver, never had it jam, don't think it ever will.

If you do your job and your gun does it's job then you don't need anything further.

(my backup is a $300 benchmade switchblade BTW) nuff said
 
I'm a "to each their own" kinda guy. You wanna carry two? Cool. Just a 5 shot revolver does the trick for ya? Cool. Whatever floats your boat.

If I've had to reload in a self defense situation, I'm already shooting my way to escape. Good chance I've already started doing that anyway. There is a lot of talk about "eliminate the threat", which I believe is great. However, my first priority is "get away unharmed". I'm not a cop. My obligation isn't to eliminate the bad guy, but to get my butt back home to my family.

Do I understand the need for a second gun? Sure. But if I find myself needing a second gun, what I really need is a rifle. So I better be shooting my way back to it or escape.
 
If the OP chooses not to carry or even own a back-up gun, that's fine by me. I do, and I carry it virtually every day, especially in summer months. I also carry an extra mag for my primary piece. But that's just me. As the old saying goes, whatever trips your trigger.
 
I can understand why someone would carry two guns... I personally would find it to be unnecessary but that is my preference... what i do not understand is why someone would carry a gun that is a "step down" from their primary carry piece. Seeing as the moment you actually have to use your BUG it then becomes more important than your Primary gun wouldnt you want something with the same ballistics, range, and overall affectiveness? I have no issue carrying a Kel Tec P3at any day anywhere so this isnt a knock on them or any smaller gun.

However, if you choose to carry, say, a full sized 1911 as your primary weapon because a .45 is a DRT round and no BG has ever gotten up after being hit by one, why would you then carry a Kel Tec or NAA or something similar as a BUG to the "greatest gun ever made."

I have a difficult time wrapping my head around the idea of someone carrying any gun that they would designate as a BUG if they define that as anything other than the second gun they strap on.

as I have said I love Kel Tecs and carry one regularly as my "primary," I just dont understand people's rational for carrying a gun that they would otherwise regard as inferior, even slightly, to their primary gun..
or even own a back-up gun
Click to expand...

By which you mean what?
 
Many police departments prohibit BUG's because the "back-up" is often intended as a throwdown.

Jim
 
In the ideal world, if you were going to carry a BUG, that BUG would be as big and powerful as your primary. But in the real world, sometimes its a compromise. A person sometimes needs more than 1 gun...but can't carry 2. So, they compromise and carry 1 and 1/2. Example: Full size 1911 and NAA .22. Some would argue that this combination is better than just the full size 1911.
 
My most often carry ensemble is a G19 and Kahr PM9. At least they both use the same ammo. I don't understand why people can't comprehend the idea of having a malfunction with the first gun and needing to transition to a back up. Or having their strong side arm either injured, locked up or disabled in some way. Why carry a knife if you carry a gun? Same thing. I carry one clipped to my left (weak side) pocket and I can guarantee you that if my right arm (both guns on the right...hip and pocket) is disabled, I'll be damned sure to really phuk that guy's day up with a sharp serrated blade. He'll let go right quick! ;)
 
"Many police departments prohibit BUG's because the "back-up" is often intended as a throwdown."

A straw man in that it is a dated concern, if it ever even was one; the nearly universal trend of agencies recording the SNs of firearms that LEOs are authorized to carry having addressed the "concern."
 
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I carry a BUG, out of "positional concern" more so than concern that my primary will be removed from my possession or that it may cease to function, though those are remote considerations. Very remote... Then there is the option of providing it to another. I personally know more LEOs who have relied on their BUGs to arm another than have relied on them for all other reasons combined; key word "personally." Mileage certainly varies.
 
I carry a SA XD40sc as my main gun. Its a great little SOB too,I can do a tactical reload and fire three aimed shots in under 3.5 seconds;but even the most dependable gun can jam and it could do it at the worst possable moment. Thats why I carry a S&W 640 magnum on the small of my back on the left side(I can shoot just as well with my left as I can with my right).
Theres also the "classic movie scenario" where you have more then one target and have to shoot in two directions at once,highly unlikely but not an impossable situation. You don't think you need to carry a BUG? Then don't. The reason the rest of us do is because we don't wanna get killed for lack of shootin' back.
 
My view is in a primary weaponsfirepower (for lack of a better word) is more important than concealment & convenience, within reason of course.

Since the chance of ever needing a back up gun is lower, concealment & convenience outrank firepower for this choice. But firepower remains important to me because as someone else pointed out it is better coined a "alternative gun". For me this means pocket carry which offers advantages a belt gun will not.

Reliability is #1 for both (my BUG is a J frame). I don't think I've ever seen anyone designate a gun as a BUG only due to reliability, but all the time for lower power but easier to hide guns. At some point it becomes only logical to compromise firepower for convenience, or we'd all carry long guns :).

For those that think citizens don't need back up guns, I ask: Once a fight has started, how do you tactically differ from a police officer? I won't judge anyone who doesn't want to carry a BUG but I dislike drawing hard boundaries between us and the police. Our chances of being in a fight differ, but I don't think the fight itself varies much at all.

Lastly, it's really disgusting that anyone should ever have to weigh what they may consider adequate self defense vs. how it looks to cops/jury. Not denying its true, I just think its sick.
 
Well said, MDPuckett84!!!

Our primary concern regarding CCW is that we have adequate gun to resist the criminal. And in today's society, the criminal is not singular...but plural....."criminals". They now attack in packs. And carrying a BUG is becoming more and more a necessity. But alas..there are those who frown upon citizens carrying more than one gun. They see anyone who carries more than one gun as someone who is looking for trouble. How sad that some people actually think this way. I carry two guns because I love my family and want to have all the tactical advantage I can muster in repelling a criminal attack.

Sadly... I have to consider how it looks to the jury (me carrying two guns) should I have to defend my family.
 
I carry two guns because I love my family and want to have all the tactical advantage I can muster in repelling a criminal attack.

Sadly... I have to consider how it looks to the jury (me carrying two guns) should I have to defend my family.
Click to expand...

Part one should be the mindset of all who carry. This is why my primary has a grip mounted laser and tritium sights while my BUG has 5 rounds of .357 mag. As for how it looks to a jury, I guess should that ever happen, I'll hope your in my jury box or that I'm on the jury that hears your case.
 
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