I’ve got two guns!
Years ago (seems like eons now) I came to the practice of having two exact copies of my chosen carry pistol. No, it wasn’t a brace of cap and ball revolvers, but at the time some really tricked out 1911s that cost a very pretty penny by the time I got done modifying them. (One day I pulled out every receipt I had for those guns and realized that house payment levels of funds had somehow crept into my holster.)
The guns changed as I evolved, but the method remained. It wasn’t until about ten years ago that I came to realize that I had accidentally happened into a long running “best practice” atop my mountain of ignorance. One gun for regular and rigorous training, another for being carried constantly but shot infrequently. It occurred to me that maybe I should quantify my rationale so that others could see the logic in the practice and subsequently explain to their SO’s why they need another of the exact same pistol. (And good luck with that. I’d recommend against pointing out shoe/purse collections.)
ADVANTAGES
1. Guns are mechanical tools and even the best of them break with serious use and yes, dryfire counts as use. Even “Perfection” will eventually encounter a mechanical failure and require repair beyond routine maintenance. Ideally your training gun will suffer this problem long before your carry pistol. This knowledge goes a long way towards giving you an idea of what parts break in the lifecycle of the pistol and allows you to stay ahead of the curve. (Pat Rogers, RIP, was positively retentive in keeping track of his ARs and somehow acquired the uncanny ability to predict when parts would fail and when. He even had spreadsheets for his numerous and serialized magazines.)
2. Redundancy in critical components and systems is a military axiom that has great applicability to our world. Having a backup of something that is as important as a lifesaving implement gives a little cushion for the inevitable ups and downs. The biggest and most consequential of these occurs when if, God forbid, you’re involved in a defensive shooting. It is a certainty that the weapon you used to defend yourself will be entered into evidence and placed into the system…potentially for years and long after your case is adjudicated. And how often have you attended a class where a student had to switch out pistols due to a part breaking in spectacular and showstopping fashion? Feces occurs and Murphy’s Law remains immutable. (No known relation. I am also familiar with the corollary to “What can go wrong, will go wrong.” That is “At the worst possible moment.” )
3. Regarding the former of the circumstances above, it may be a small but crucial thing that you are intimately familiar with the characteristics of the grip, trigger, sights and recoil cycle of the pistol you’re fighting with and have utter confidence in that weapon at that moment. I think that this is the strongest argument against a radical “carry rotation” practice, but that’s a topic for another time. Knowing that you’re carrying a gun that isn’t clogged with carbon funk after 3000 rounds of training with no lubrication or maintenance may make the margin mentally, as well as physically.
4. Having a backup analog of your carry gun really simplifies things during training sessions. The carry gun goes into the backup holster (you DO have a support hand-oriented holster, don’t you? Guns aren’t the only thing that break and having to no notice acquire a quality alternate hand holster is additional pain upon the physical pain of your injury. I won’t even mention regular alternate hand training. Oops, I guess I just did.)
This practice also mitigates a largely unappreciated consequence of the habit of repeatedly chambering a cartridge…the dreaded SBS or “Setback Syndrome.” Bullets can be pushed deeper into the cartridge case after being cycled multiple times into the chamber. I have seen this happen when shooters have adopted the practice of properly unloading the pistol and setting that high dollar defensive round aside. When they depart the range, they insert their carry magazine, chamber a round, then remove the magazine and insert the previously extracted round into the magazine, and that goes back into the gun. After a few of these rotations the second round has appreciably shortened and may well not chamber properly, yielding one shot before having to conduct immediate and potentially remedial action to fix the problem. Essentially, they’re carrying a flintlock pistol. Worse still, this can cause chamber pressure to spike, resulting in a catastrophic failure of the barrel and frame.
DISADVANTAGES
1. This can be summed up with one word, and that word is “cost.” And this financial cost increases with each modification to your chosen carry pistol. Beyond the price of the redundant gun, do you prefer match barrels? A better than stock trigger? Even iron sights are pricey, let alone mounting plates and optical sights. There is also the cost of space in the safe and keeping track of all the things. As always “There ain’t no such things as a free lunch” applies.
Another consideration, which is primarily logistical but also costs $$$, is that you need to confirm the 25 yard zero of both pieces with your carry ammunition. I think it unlikely for there to be a huge variation, but to quote the sage Forrest Gump, “One less thing.”
Backups to Backup Guns
Many people carry a small revolver or semiauto pistol as a backup gun in addition to the main battery. And true confession, I carry a S&W Bodyguard 2.0 to the gym that I don’t yet have a backup for. So, if we adopt the practice of duplication for our primary pistol, should we have a backup for our backup gun? If you shoot your backup frequently, I think yes, particularly since they aren’t built as substantially as larger pistols but are exposed to the same mechanical forces and subsequent wear. The same pluses and minuses apply, as well as the same individual calculations. Truthfully, I don’t have a backup to the Bodyguard because I can’t afford to shoot the thing as often as I should. .380 ammo seems scarce and pricey. Fortunately, there is enough carry over from the M&P 2.0 Compact carry gun that should see me through the moment, along with the quarterly course of fire with the Bodyguard. (Usually Justin Dyal’s “Five-yard Roundup”, along with some distance work on steel, all from my gym shorts rig.)
Ultimately, this is a cost/benefit/risk analysis that only you can decide. As much as we’d all like to have an armory, many can only afford one gun that has to perform the duties of daily carry and home defense along with plinkin’ for fun. In this case I recommend frequent cleaning, inspections and trigger springs/striker assemblies/firing pin changes, as well as having friends that could provide you with a loaner if the very worst happens.
Remember your mission…Just Get Home! See you on the range!
John
