I need to buy a backup gun that I can carry on duty. I am not too big into carrying on my ankle and have decided to use a vest holster that will be attached to the straps on my bullet proof vest. I like the S&W 642 and PM9. ANy suggestions on these or another gun? Thanks
Kahr PM9 or S&W 642 for on duty backup carry in vest holster?
- Thread starter Frank1991
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personally I think either would be a good choice. A couple of things to consider I guess--what is your main duty weapon? One advantage of the kahr theoretically is you might get it in the same caliber as your duty weapon, and could thus use all of your spare ammo in it if need be. I would also guess that more people would shoot it more accurately, particularly at any sort of distance, than a snubbie dao revolver. Now mind you, i am not saying it is more accurate--I own a 642 myself, and it can be quite accurate with practice. But for the average person, a dao revolver takes more practice to shoot well I think than the kahr would. Whether that is true for you or not would have t0 be tested.
OTOH, if you are looking at the gun as a shtf wrestling with the bad guy can't get the duty weapon or whatever and you're talking stick it in somebody's chest and pull the trigger, and its going to go bang each time with no worry about a slide hanging up in clothing or whatever, the "hammerless" revolver is pretty bulletproof in general. Some may debate this, but my guy feeling is that if you took 100 of each out brandy new and fired a box through them, you'd likely have less failures out of the revolver. This is not to say they can't happen at all, but let's face it, you're not worried about bad mags or insufficient break in or how long its been nsince you fired it or stored it or whatever--its likely good to go when you need it. That counts for something too.
Other opinions may vary!
OTOH, if you are looking at the gun as a shtf wrestling with the bad guy can't get the duty weapon or whatever and you're talking stick it in somebody's chest and pull the trigger, and its going to go bang each time with no worry about a slide hanging up in clothing or whatever, the "hammerless" revolver is pretty bulletproof in general. Some may debate this, but my guy feeling is that if you took 100 of each out brandy new and fired a box through them, you'd likely have less failures out of the revolver. This is not to say they can't happen at all, but let's face it, you're not worried about bad mags or insufficient break in or how long its been nsince you fired it or stored it or whatever--its likely good to go when you need it. That counts for something too.
Other opinions may vary!
vgodenwa
Member
If you aren't going to practice with it on a reasonably regular basis (say at least once a month), clean and lube it at regular intervals, change springs at the appropriate interval, run a few hundred duty rounds through it to verify reliability, etc, etc, go with the revolver. Semi-auto's require more out of their owner. Backup guns especially don't tend to get that attention.
Von Odenwald
Von Odenwald
Texfire
Member
No chance of getting a backup gun that can use the spare mags for your main sidearm? That would be the first choice. If you first gun goes down you can still use that ammo without having to reload. IMO that's the major attraction to the sub-compacts like Glocks that can use the full-size mags.
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