Civilian Back-up gun,odds you will ever use it?

[woodybrighton2]

then you end up with the bloke with the shoulder rig for two glocks and reloads:banghead:
But what if I run into a UN armoured column here to seize my guns on my way to work then you die
a gun and a reload is probably a realistic load unless the SHTF or your off to do something really risky.

 

[MCgunner]

I carry a NAA mini revolver in a holster grip in my weak side pocket because it's so danged easy to do, why not? I use it occasinally, too. No, I don't get into gun fights all the time but I've taken out trash marauding possums a snake, and such with it. It comes in handy now and then.

I always have my 9 or my .38 on me, too. That goes in the strong side pocket in a pocket holster. Carrying the NAA is like carrying a pocket knife. And, you never know, it COULD save my skin some day. Not very likely, I'll admit. I've only ever had to pull a gun once in my life many years ago and I didn't have to shoot, just drew it to trump the knife the guy had. He ran at the sight of it. It was a mighty .25.

 

[usp9]

GRIZ22 said,

*The odds of using a gun to defend yourself...sure thing.
*The odds of needing a reload....absolutely.
*The odds of a civilian using a backup gun....always.

The difference is that my statement is factually based, while yours is not, and is in fact rediculous.

If anyone can post a verifiable link to a credible story of a civilian use of either a reload or BUG I'll stand correct and reduce my "zero" chance to astronomical.

chuckusaret has the right idea IMHO, in that a BUG is better than a reload. The most often used justification for an extra mag is to correct a malfunction. A malfunctioning or broken gun can best and most quickly be fixed by grabbing a new gun.

 

[skoro]

What do you think the odds are you would ever need to use a BUG?

I think my odds are about as close to zero as it's possible to get. Probably just a wee bit smaller than the odds that I'd ever need my primary carry piece, for that matter.

That said, my odds aren't everyone else's. In some high-risk occupations, a BUG is a very good idea.

 

[Madcap_Magician]

Do you live in Iraq, or South Dakota?

You don't need a bug against Prairie Dogs.

Hey, you never get attacked by just ONE prairie dog.

 

[GRIZ22]

GRIZ22 said,


Quote:
*The odds of using a gun to defend yourself...sure thing.
*The odds of needing a reload....absolutely.
*The odds of a civilian using a backup gun....always.

The difference is that my statement is factually based, while yours is not, and is in fact rediculous.



Yes, I agree my statement is ridiculous and it was meant to be. I qoute no facts to back up my statement and you quote no facts to back up yours.

The chance of something happening, needing something, etc are zero...until it happens. I'm not advocating twin shoulder rigs with Desert Eagles and a backup grenade for everyone. You need to assess what threat you may encounter, make your decision, and see if your assessment holds true.

One advantage of a backup gun is if you are with someone who is trained but unarmed, you can arm your companion and double the BGs problem.

 

[MagnumDweeb]

It's either a snub-nose .357 magnum in each pocket of my jeans(not a lawyer yet, take the bar in July), or only one .357 in the pocket and then the Glock 20 10mm or Ruger P345 .45 ACP in a IWB or shoulder rig. Sometimes I also BUG with a Bersa Sub Compact pro now (13rds of +P 9mm).

An attacker doesn't necessarily want to take on a guy with a gun in each hand, let alone one guy with only one gun.

Now minimal caliber....I'm only 5'9" but I bench more than 400lbs, shrug nearly 700lbs(grips broke at 695 and haven't gotten new ones yet), and fortunately a pretty large guy so I get to wear jeans with large pockets. Can pocket the Ruger P345 but that's a little much.

 

[funkychinaman]

I've always believed you really shouldn't allow yourself to be in a situation where six rounds aren't enough. LEOs don't have a choice. Civilians, for the most part, do.

 

[DasFriek]

I think i said for me its a 1.5% chance id ever need a bug,as i can think of many reasons my right arm would be incapacitated and cant use my main.
And after hearing everyones opinions i don't think it matters at all if my bug is a .380 or 9mm.But being smaller makes for better chances i will try and carry it when possible.
I also have to start carrying a spare mag for my main,i havent found a good place to carry it yet.

 

[browningguy]

Based on the number of people in America, and the number of crimes committed against people, including the number of these crimes committed among ciminals against each other, there is (very conservatively) something less than a 5% probablity you will ever need your main gun.
SOURCES: US Bureau of Justice Statistics (2004), Federal Bureau of Investigation, (2005)

Now let's make some more assumptions. What are the odds your main gun will not work? What are the odds that your primary arm/hand will be injured at just the wrong time? What are the odds that you will run your primary sidearm empty in a gun fight? Maybe 1 out of 100 for each? Well that's 3%, so 3% of 5% means the probablitity of needing a backup is approximately 15 times per 100,000. Then you have to make a guess about whether the caliber of your backup will really matter, and the probablility starts to get pretty small.

But in spite of that I always carry an off side backup when I go downtown. Sometimes a .380, sometimes a .25, depends on what I am wearing and where I am going. I don't carry a backup when I go up to the Sears hardware store or Walmart though. As far as worrying about what THR posters think about the .25, or the .380, who cares. By actual count and survey99.99875% of posters on THR have never used a firearm for self defense. I've only "almost" used mine once since I got out of the Navy in 1979, and I didn't have to pull the trigger, just cleared the gun and the BG's took off.

 

[03Shadowbob]

If anyone, that is not LEO or high level security detail, etc. feels like they need a BUG then by all means carry one. In the 19 years I have been carrying a firearm, I have had to pull it zero times as a civvie and can count on one hand how many times I had my hand on it in the holster just in case. I have never felt the need for a BUG (even though I carried one on my ankle for a while at work) and I worked in some very posh areas like Riviera Beach, Tamarind Ave area in WPB, A-E streets in Lake Worth, etc.

 

[taliv]

i mostly carry because i never know when i might feel like going to the range to shoot. sometimes i might want to shoot two guns. or three.

 

[ATW525]

* The odds of using a main gun are astronomical...almost never happens (thank God).
* The odds you need a reload... zero. It hasn't happened yet in a civilian defensive use of a firearm.
* Therefore the odds of a civilian using a BUG are zero.

Doesn't mean it won't happen, just hasn't happened yet.

Lance Thomas used multiple handguns three separate times, so it has happened. One of those times he even shot three handguns empty.

 

[kd7nqb]

First of all like almost everything in the gun world its a matter of personal preference. I dont carry an BUG but have thought about it.

Another advantage might be that you could arm somebody else with your BUG in a true "active shooter" scenario. Granted that has its own issues but at least its an option.

 

[mljdeckard]

You can't say that the odds of it happening are zero or that it has never happened.

I wise man told me once, "Beware the man who gives you advice speaking in ABSOLUTES."

 

[funkychinaman]

"Beware the man who gives you advice speaking in ABSOLUTES."

Wasn't that Obi-wan Kenobi, Episode III?

The Lance Thomas scenario is crazy. I don't know what was crazier, that he stayed, or that they kept coming back.

 

[usp9]

ATW525 brought the Lance Thomas story, and that comes close, but the OP was asking about concealed carry situations and Thomas was not carrying. Yes, I'm splitting hairs, but it seems the original question was about carry weapons, not your personally stashed arsenal around your abode or workplace.

 

[oldrevolverguy]

BUG

Getting into a gunfight is a statical anomaly on its own. Determining the odds for the use of a second gun is irrelevent. First rule, bring a gun to the gun fight.

Be as prepared as possible with a good foundation of training, quality maintained equipment, and practice. When the elephant shows up at your door have as many guns as possible, preferably including a long gun. The value of a back up gun is immeasurable; so for gods sake bring one.

 

[Warhawk83]

ATW525, thanks for posting that link. It was a good read, might look into getting the Kirchner book.

 

[Deanimator]

The odds are that you probably won't need your primary gun. That's no reason not to carry ONE.

 

[Kevin77]

Isn't the saying " It's not about the odds, it's about the stakes."

 

[SharpsDressedMan]

First of all, what is wrong with a New York Reload, if you are willing to carry it? Secondly, a civilian is JUST as likely to need a backup gun as a police officer. Few cops carry them, and fewer still ever use them. That would be about the same as a civilian CCW. Quit trying to tell someone else how to protect themselves. And for the undecided, quit trying to rationalize it. Either do it, or don't. You'll be right either way! There, you have the definitive answer to most all questions. A definite maybe.

 

[HardShell]

Isn't the saying " It's not about the odds, it's about the stakes."

Beat me to it, just barely.

Y'all can choose based on the odds, I'll continue to base my choice on the stakes. Different strokes and all that...

 

[DasFriek]

I set the link too the Lance Thomas story aside so i can sit down and read it without distractions.
Personally i need to start carrying a spare mag for my main gun which i don't currently do,i just haven't found a way to carry it without it being seen or uncomfortable.
I like the idea behind a bug just for the reason it allows me to justify buying more guns and expands my ccw collection from 3 too 5.
I also prefer to carry my 5" 1911 over my micro PT745 micro even tho its half the size and weight.I do it as i just love the gun and the weight seems reassuring and never lets me forget its back there.
Not very often do i run out of the house in a hurry,ive made my life as stress free as possible so that doesn't happen much.But i did want this gun "a small .380" and my next gun "a smallish 9mm" just for that reason.
Since ive been carrying ive left the house 1 time when i was trying to get to the gas station before it got dark one evening while the lawn mower ran out of gas.

I did look at a few holsters today as i pick my gun up tomorrow,ill be getting a cheap and small IWB and pocket holster so i can carry it until i can order a better one online.Or make my own,but i need to order more kydex.

 

[James T Thomas]

odds of variability?

Not only are the stakes too high, but those odds vary too much with your location, the random activity of strangers, time of day, etc. so that some time, some where, the odds may be stacked against you, and you will be blissfully going about your business believing that all is well.