Do you carry a Backup Gun? If so, where?

[Autolycus]

Why are there so many posts talking about gay people in this thread? What does it have to do with the concept of carrying a BUG?

 

[essayons21]

r the parameters and/or definitions are different. When I was a cop, my BUG was a 9mm. It's not hard to envision a situation where a cop might be disarmed. It's also not hard to envision that same cop wanting to get his gun out and on target as fast as possible to take care of the problem. This is hardly a "last gasp effort at self defense." In a shooting my Dept had, one of the cops involved had a serious gun jam. If he had a BUG, he could've gotten back into the fight sooner. Again, hardly a "last ditch effort," but instead a better, quicker option than getting his primary back up and running.

When I was a soldier (still am), my BUG was a M16/M203. Primary was a M2HB, which thankfully ran flawlessly through 1,000s of rounds.

If you look through the replies to this post, which represent a good section of the civilian shooting public, you will notice that the vast majority carry BUGs chambered in .380 and down. Yeah I'm sure we can all make a few hits at 100 yards with a .380 on a good day, downhill, with the wind at our backs. That's why I specified "effective" range. If anyone can score hits past 10 or 15 yards under stress in a dark rainy alley, they have my utmost respect, but I also recognize that most people, including myself, probably can't.

Combat tactics can't be blindly applied to police tactics, just as police tactics shouldn't be applied to civilian SD tactics. As a soldier I have a duty to close with and destroy the enemy. As a police officer you have a duty to stop a dangerous criminal. As a citizen your only duty is to protect yourself and your loved ones. In the vast majority of scenarios this is best achieved by finding cover with short sight lines, not by trying to outdraw against an armed attacker in the open.

We agree, it is a good thing to be able to draw and fire your BUG quickly and accurately. However, this should NOT be the priority in that sort of situation, and I feel suggesting that this is the primary or only option is irresponsible.

 

[David E]

There have been some cops killed while running to cover instead of drawing immediately and shooting what turned out to be their killer.

Why?

Because they had been taught: COVER! COVER! COVER! To the exclusion of any other option. Once they were behind cover, THEN they could begin to shoot back, etc. But cover ain't always a step away. Some of us realize that.

You keep posing the scenario of a confrontation out in the open taking place at 7 yds or less and the futility of trying to outdraw an armed attacker. This presumes quite a bit. It seems to you that the overwhelming priority should be to seek cover! But you inexplicably overlook the fact that the primary gun normally would've been drawn before the BUG. By the time drawing the BUG becomes necessary, the encounter has progressed significantly past the initial contact.

The reason most folks will need to draw their backup is because they ran their primary dry. Hopefully, whatever the original threat was was neutralized in the first gun load, making a fast draw for the BUG a moot point, but it's always better to produce it faster than slower.

In another thread, I ask: Which is faster, reloading the primary or drawing a BUG? The majority of people seem to think that drawing their BUG is faster. Based on the posts in this thread, I'd have to challenge that assertion.

 

[LeontheProfessional]

I agree with you 100% David E. I work way more on speedy reload than I do on drawing a second gun.

 

[Leanwolf]

SMINCE - " I know plenty of cops who don't even carry off-duty."

I know of two specific cases in Los Angeles where two different cops were killed because they were not carrying a handgun off duty.

I also knew some cops who would not have carried a gun on duty were it not for department regulations. Lots of cops know very little about firearms, and care nothing about them, other than what they have learned about their department issued handguns and shotguns.

L.W.

 

[MCgunner]

Usually a pocket. I have ankle holsters, but have rarely used 'em.

 

[wishin]

I don't. Looks like I need further convincing that I should have a backup gun because whenever I think of doing so, it goes on the back-burner.

 

[S&W-Keeper]

If I were a cop yes,I try not go to places that I would have to fight my way out of.What is the average shooting 1, 2 shots.

 

[kgpcr]

I dont carry a BUG. If 15rnds of .40 dosnt settle it done nothing will!

 

[BADUNAME37]

It all depends on how I feel that day whether I will have one and where I will wear it.

 

[David E]

What is the average shooting 1, 2 shots?

No, it's not.

The "2.6 rounds fired" stat is WRONG. Why? Because it includes accidental discharges, suicides, warning shots, animal put-downs, etc. In other words, it includes all kinds of situations where only ONE SHOT is fired. Most of the ones listed do not involve a confrontation with another person, save for th warning shot.

So if they have nothing to do with shoot-outs between 2 or more people, why are they included? Because no one thought it through and apparently there weren't any sub-categories on the report form to break down the information.

Here is a link to but one study on the topic. The chart a couple inches down is enlightening: http://www.theppsc.org/Grossman/Main-R.htm

 

[evan price]

Would that be a Derrieringer?

 

[David E]

I don't know about that.......but I ain't taking the first shot with it !!