IS YOUR BACKUP CARRY GUN LIKE YOUR PRIMARY?

[Utah Bob #35998]

15 minutes ago, Slapshot said:

LOL, speaking from my personal experience, I've owned over 6 of them and none have ever failed. Now I'm not saying they won't just haven't. If you break a Glock you pretty much was doing something you shouldn't have or you was using inferior aftermarket parts. And buy chance the 1 I kept fails I think it is more than sufficient to beat someone into submission. Its not always the heaviest hammer that kills you but the skilled man behind which ever hammer you have in your hands.

I carried Glocks as a duty weapon from 1989 until I retired in 2006. 17, 19, 28, 22 also a firearms in structure and Glock armorer. Problems with the Glocks were virtually non-existent. They are well designed and rugged. My department tested them extensively before adopting them, including running over them with a patrol car and dropping them from varying heights. I cannot recall one mechanical failure. They are reliable firearms. The wood and steel guys who heap abuse on them  remind me of the arguments against cars over horses.

I do not own any Glocks now but that’s just personal preference. Nothing wrong with them. 

[Utah Bob #35998]

But back to the OP. My backup/replacement to my 1911 is another 1911. If I am carrying small my backup to my SIG P938 is a J frame Smith.

[LawMan Mark, SASS #57095L]

38 minutes ago, Slapshot said:

LOL, speaking from my personal experience, I've owned over 6 of them and none have ever failed. Now I'm not saying they won't just haven't. If you break a Glock you pretty much was doing something you shouldn't have or you was using inferior aftermarket parts. And buy chance the 1 I kept fails I think it is more than sufficient to beat someone into submission. Its not always the heaviest hammer that kills you but the skilled man behind which ever hammer you have in your hands.

I have had two officers bring me relatively new guns with striker springs that would not reliably set off factory ammunition.  In both cases, the striker spring had to be replaced.  

[Blackwater 53393]

13 hours ago, Dusty Devil Dale said:

I've never come close to needing my primary, much less a back-up.  I shoot it mostly for enjoyment at the range. I suppose I could get caught by two dozen bad guys and be  unprepared sometime, but I don't spend my life dreaming about it or spending  thousands of rounds practicing for it. 

 

I have 100% confidence I can shoot my primary carry gun if need arises. 

 

 I much prefer to practice keeping careful track of things going on around me, keeping my running legs in shape, and trying to avoid provoking people, dogs, or wild animals with suspect intentions.  If that fails and I need my carry gun, I will simply use it.  I won't let it fall into disrepair, and I won't need a back-up.  

  

I haven’t been that lucky.  I’ve needed mine twice in my life, both times in situations where I was carrying money into a bank in a less than wonderful part of town.  Fortunately, in neither instance, was it necessary to actually fire my weapon.

 

 I too, shoot mostly for enjoyment and to keep my skill level up.  Due to recent health issues, I am not able to run and probably will not be in the future.  I DO include exercises in my practice to help me be prepared for trouble and I constantly work on things that improve my awareness of my surroundings.

 

Since I often work in places where drinking and partying take place and sometimes even games of chance are in the mix, I still take my safety and the safety of my family and friends seriously.

 

I’d rather have it and the skills to use it than not.

[Charlie MacNeil, SASS #48580]

21 hours ago, Dantankerous said:

Carry a Glock. Never needs a back up.

 

Eeeewwww!!!!

 

That having been said, my carry guns are all 1911’s, set up identically except that the newest one doesn’t have an ambi safety. Yet. But it will. In my defense, I’ve only had it a week.

 

So anyway, if one goes belly up for whatever reason I can dig the next one out of the safe and go on. Then take the broken one to the shop, tear it down and diagnose the problem then either dig out or order the parts to fix it...

[Crooked River Pete, SASS 43485]

On 9/22/2022 at 9:53 PM, Blackwater 53393 said:

the backup is stainless, doesn’t have an ambidextrous thumb safety, and is full sized as opposed to a Commander.

 

You couldn't just switch the firing pins? I think they are the same. Order a couple extra, just to have

[Blackwater 53393]

15 minutes ago, Crooked River Pete, SASS 43485 said:

You couldn't just switch the firing pins? I think they are the same. Order a couple extra, just to have

Could have, I suppose, but why disable a working gun that I only needed to put a magazine in?  I’d still have one gun down and that would mean taking two apart and then putting two together.

 

Just picked up another firing pin and the other gun’s back in service.

[Slapshot]

11 hours ago, LawMan Mark, SASS #57095L said:

I have had two officers bring me relatively new guns with striker springs that would not reliably set off factory ammunition.  In both cases, the striker spring had to be replaced.  

It happens, just as it happens to 1911's and their ilk. But that said I prefer the 1911, but depending on the situation the G17 with the chopped grip fits the bill better.