When I was a LEO, I went through a live-fire drill conducted by a traveling training company. The scenario was a "shots fired" call, and I would have no backup. I asked the instructor what I should carry in the drill (regarding how much ammo). He replied "carry what you carry while working". I was still in uniform, having gone to the range straight from shift, and we carried the S&W Model 67 .38 revolver (this was in 1989, I think.) I also carried on my ankle a Charter Arms Undercover .38. On my duty belt were two HKS speedloaders for the 67.
The drill was set up with pop-up targets, and they had made sure there were four "aggressors" in addition to the "innocents". We were trained to double-tap each aggressor. With adrenaline running, I, of course, was dry in the 67 when the last target appeared, simulating a woman with a snub revolver. I quickly ducked behind a corner, drew the Undercover, and double-tapped the target. One to the right shoulder, the other hit the hand "holding" the gun. The instructor then stopped the drill, saying I had reached the end. This was in a wooden structure made to replicate a three-room apartment. He went on to tell me that he was hoping to see a "tactical reload", rather than a second gun. (He did admit that the shot hitting the target's hand likely would have disarmed her, and I admitted that it was not my intended strike point.) I replied that, to me, the fastest reload was indeed a second gun, and reminded him that he told me at the beginning to carry what I do on the job. I then demonstrated a tactical reload for him, one for left-handed shooters, since I am a southpaw..
So, to me, a capable BUG beats a speedloader any time. But, if I can have both...
I've always found a second gun to be faster to access than even shoving a magazine in the bottom of the handle of my noisemaker. It's not that I'm slow with an Autoloader, it's the economy of motion in drawing a second gun that makes it faster.
