I'm a big believer in redundancy.... So much so that I have multiples of exact configurations for all my "serious" guns.



I believe that this promotes practical training and eases issues with leather, loaders, ammo and magazines....



I'm also a big believer in the 640-1 Centennial Magnum.



I just acquired my third Pre-Key 640-1 and just as soon as it gets a Tyler-T, it will join the others currently doing their duty as "always" guns.

Anyone else here do the same?

Very nice looking set of shooters! Personally, I can't afford to have multiples of anything, but if you can, and you want to, then all I can say is go for it...

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Gotta love N-frames...

Nice I like!!

I carry Commanders and have three of them. Sometimes, I carry full size 1911's and have a number of them but stick to the 2 Ed Browns. In my never-so-humble opinion, if you carry and have more than one handgun, one of the others should be a redundancy to your carry.

I usually carry a j-frame in the right front pocket but today a Sig P239 9mm IWB. I was thinking Kel-Tec PF9 for pocket carry but what the heck, why bother, I have the Sig.

Agreed.

Yes. Not all exact duplicates, but functional duplicates (like 642 and bobbed 37, although I do have two 37s). I have a lot more Js than Ks.

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Formerly Model520Fan

Yup, I'm a firm believer in having multiples of your primary carry firearm. For me, it's the S&W 908. I have two blued and one stainless, and about 15 mags for them.

2 j-frames 3 sigs 2 colts I agree with the multiples and common functions they share. Depends on what is the gun of the month.

I'm in the same boat. I always try to have multiple of my carry guns. I only have one J-frame right now though.... Need to get another. Everything else is at least doubled up.

Yup. Different frame finishes, but otherwise twins.

I can do multiples of several variants of Model 10 revolvers and of 1911s.

I have 2 1903 Colt Pocket Hammerless. Because I like 'em.
The rest of my 'collection' is mosty beat up examples of what they are. They all shoot, and the ones I have worked with are completely reliable and suitable for carry, including one of the 1903s. The other one has not had sufficient field testing and handling yet. But it will
I also have a choice of some nice modern handguns as well.

An acquantaince of mine says that owning one handgun should be enough for anyone. He only has one.

My arguement: What if you actually have to use it in defense? The cops will take it away as "evidence". What if it breaks and you have to send it for repair? What if it is stolen?

Here in Illinois there is a 3-day wait (cooling off period) for handguns. At best, he would be without a handgun for 72 hours. At worst, all guns are confiscated by the gov't and you won't ever get another.

Anyhow, YES, I am also a fan of redundancy. Common calibers are also a plus - I love the .40 S&W in autos and .38 Special in pocket revolvers.

Get familiar with your gun: I have a Glock 22 with a TLR-1 light and have shot over 1000 Gold-Dots and 1000 Lawman FMJ's without a hitch. Needless to say, I trust this gun. It's my primary home weapon.

Other guns don't get as much ammo fed, but enough to know it's going to work if necessary.

Huh. Don't know what you're talking about...

I don't know why but I do the same. I usually have two with me if I'm not carrying my 1911.

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JIM
NRA Pistol Instr

I can't argue with having two of the same gun for practical reasons, but I have more than one because I just happen to like that model.

Would a DAO SP101 Ruger and a S&W 642-1 count as redundancy?

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MARK

Guess I think more in caliber redundancy (.38 Special)... use a Model 442 and 649 for carry.

A Model 581 for games and HD.

Soon a Model 19 for the vehicle/range/HD... all have a purpose.

Even my Model 17 was purchased for a purpose. ALOT of cheap trigger time!

Only the Beretta Bobcat seems out of place, but I dig it so much it's currently goes as my BUG.

Hopefully my wife will take to it enough to carry.

Funny thing is... I shoot/carry .38 Special 98% of the time. Just happens the .357's were all deals too good to pass up.

Not exact duplicates but close enough for practical purposes. 642/442/37 Bobbed. Kimber Compact Aluminum/Kimber Custom Compact.

Class III

I'm a big fan of redundancy, though I'm not exactly there yet. My two main carry guns, a 3" S&W 65 and a 642, are in my avatar. I also have a 2" 64. They all have the same manual-of-arms. I do hope to add a no-dash 640 (.38 Special, not .357 Magnum) and, hopefully, another 642 to my collection before the end of the year.

i think you have some fine revolvers.

However, my philosophy is a little different -

"Beware of the man with only one gun, he probably knows how to use it."

Back in the day, I was qualified with at least ten (10) different sidearms. Today it is a total of four (4).

I carry my duty sidearm (S&W M&P 45 ACP), my primary off duty sidearm (Glock 32 - 357 Sig) and two others (Colt Mustang 380 ACP and S&W 686 2 1/2") for off duty carry.

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I am a sheep dog!
1601 (ret)

Yes...this is very important to do. What if one of your carry guns is stolen, lost, or confiscated?

I take it beyond guns. I double up on holsters and support gear.

I don't get enough trigger time with my 638 now, don't see why I should have two of them and shoot each less.

Because no man-made object is above the potential for failure. If your gun fails, you are left without. Without is not a good thing.

Shooting each less is a bad thing? It's not as if your gun will expire without a diet of "X" number of rounds each month. The gun doesn't need practice, you do. What the gun needs is a backup, just in case it gets the flu!

I struggled with this same issue philosophically. Every time something new and interesting would come my way, I'd carry it for a while and then move on to something else.... not a very effective or disciplined attitude really.

Finally about 10 years ago I concluded that I was only a mediocre shot with a random range of sidearms and was not familiar enough with any of them to say that their use was second nature. Seeing the danger in this I focused on those guns that seemed to make the most sense for me and concentrated my training and logistics for these arms only. This has paid off since then, and I feel much more confident in my abilities.

I settled on these designs for my "Serious Gun" Battery and have a multiple duplicates of each.

Glock 22. All upgraded Gen 2 guns with 3 lbs triggers, extended slide releases and nite sights.

SiG 220. Early German guns with night sights.

S&W 640-1. Magna stocks with Tyler-T adapter and stock springs.

Not to say that I don't seek out, acquire and shoot other guns that I like, but the ones I train with seriously are all the same.

Drew

The need for a BUG in the (un)likelihood that your primary one might fail in a SD incident, seems to be a bit of stretch for me. Although I can't provide actual statistics or data, I'm wondering if being armed with two of the same weapon is overkill (pun intended). I have a few questions:

1. What is the likelihood/odds, assuming that you're not LEO, you will need to use/discharge your weapon in a SD/HD incident? Maybe once or twice in your (armed) life time? (Hopefully, never)
2. What is the likelihood/odds that your SD weapon will FTF or malfunction? I believe there is recent reliability/statistical data available on M&P's .40 cal that was conducted by BATFE, but I'm guessing something like 1 in 5,000 to 10,000 rounds.
3. Now, what is the likelihood/odds that your weapon will malfunction at the very moment you will need it for SD?
4. And if you don't like those odds, why not carry 2 or even 3 BUG's?

I'm not a statistician or mathematician, but whatever the "odds" are when combining #'s 1, 2 & 3 above, has to be pretty high. So rather than buying and carrying another similar pistol JUST IN CASE my primary malfunctions in the unlikely event that I will need to use it for SD...well, I guess I'll just take my chances with "only" one .40c on me.

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MotorCityGun

I am wholly in agreement with you, MCG.

(Now donning flame suit.)

The likelihood of anyone needing a BUG is soooooo infinitessimally (is that a word?) small.

I was a LEO for 30.5 years and never carried a BUG...in fact, we were NOT permitted to carry a second handgun though cruisers were equipped with a shotgun or rifle in most circumstances.

Moreover, I have never, ever, had a firearms malfunction that rendered the gun unable to fire. That's NEVER!!!

Now a carry a 60 or 642. I am absolutely confident that I will never need more. (If I do and didn't have "enough," all of you can say "I told him so.")

Be safe.

If I were content playing the odds, I would not even carry one gun. Odds are, I'll never need one. Same thing I hear from some of my CHL students; "I'll only carry where it is dangerous." "I'll only carry in my car." "I'll only carry when I'm out after dark." I call this "concealed carry Russian roulette." If we knew when and how we'd need to be armed to survive, we'd simply avoid such places and situations altogether. I used to shoot lots of IPSC matches. Despite the fact that none of the targets ever shot back at me, Mr. Murphy rode on my shoulder to enough matches to convince me that failing to carry a BUG was equivalent to driving around without a spare tire. Do I ever expect to need my backup gun? No, I do not. However, I'd rather have it and not need it than need it and not have it.

It's not just about BUG. I usually only carry one gun at a time. However, if I am forced to shoot someone, the gun I used will be in evidence for who knows how long. This way I have a gun with the same manual-of-arms that I'm familiar with waiting for me at home.

Mechanical problems aren't just about malfunctions that occur in the middle of a gunfight. What if the gun fails at the range and you have to send it to the factory or leave it with a gunsmith for a couple of weeks? Similar situation as I mentioned before.

If you take a training class and your gun fails, what do you do? If you brought a redundant BUG you can continue without missing a beat. If not, then time has to be spent trying to fix it or locate a loaner for you to use that you may or may not be familiar with.

On a lesser note, it also spreads wear and tear over different guns instead of one. Not a big issue since most firearms will outlast their owners, but something to consider.

Some people will say that's why they have different guns. I'd rather concentrate on performing well with one platform. This is why I'm trying to build up a collection of guns on the same platform.

Question 4 was intended for your response.

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MotorCityGun

And WHAT IF an 9.0 earthquake occured, then a massive tsunami wiped out all of your possessions? Life's full of "what if's" so I guess you (not me) should have some extra pocket rockets stashed away somewhere. But like I said, I'll take my chances with one, very reliably proven, pistol

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MotorCityGun

10-4. Happy to oblige.

A Lesson of Multiples,
My Son in Law is a Police Detective. Three years ago he had to shoot a man in the Line of Duty. He and another SWAT Officer shot at the same time, from different angles because of the man's offensive actions with a weapon. The Perp was DRT.

My Son in Law was issued a Glock Model 21 by his department.
All of his duty gear was for the Glock 21 and all of his concealment leather was for a Glock 21. His supervisor took the gun he fired and issued him a Glock 17 at the scene. He told my son in law that they had no more 21s to issue out.

I received a call, es muy pronto from my Son in Law and he told me the story of the shooting and ask if I had a Model 21 he could barrow. I told him I did not loan guns, but when I saw him in a couple of days I'd give him one of my Glock 21s.
My wife and I visited with him and my daughter a couple of days later and I gave him a Glock 21 and a bit of advice. Never have just one gun in the make and model that you carry. You might have to give it up and then you either have to buy one or have a father in law that has lots of them give you one. He still has his department issue 21 (he got it back a year later) and the 21 I gave him. He carries the Department Gun and the other sits in his safe, but if he is unfortunate engouh to have to use his department issue, he has another to fall back on.

The man my son in law shot had executed two men, down on their knees and shot to the back of the head, in an Armed Robbery that morning and was stupid enough to try to draw on my son in law. The perp was a member of a Mexican Prison Gang.

BTW-My son in law hit him three times with Gold Dots (dept issue) and the SWAT Officer hit him twice with TAP .223s in the side of the head. The Pathologist report stated that one of the gold dots traveled down the top of his right arm that was extended in front of him and hit him to the right side of his heart. The next two rounds hit his heart and the two .223 rounds destroyed his head and brain. The Pathologist said that any one of the rounds that hit the perp was not survivalalbe. My son in law was 24 feet from the perp when he fired.

Rule 303

I don't know... the more guns you have/carry, the better the chance of a failure of some sort.

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- The Federalist #46 -

By your questions it's pretty easy to conclude that you missed my point.

Ditto

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MotorCityGun

I don't have multiple of the same gun (unless its a full size vs compact of the same gun). However, I don't have two sigmas, two M&P9cs, etc. Why spend the money on that when I can guy another gun.



Those are my carry guns with my snub nose as a BUG to all of the other guns. If one gun fails on me or get taken by the police after a SD shooting, I have other guns to fill the spot.

As for carrying a BUG, it depends on how you truly view the use of a BUG. I use my BUG for two reasons, one, which is the main reason is my BUG being in my pocket offers an advantage on drawing. If i'm in a bad area, I can just put my hands in my pocket and have it on my gun vs me walking down the street with my main gun exposed and my hand on it. If something happens, it offers a faster draw. I also carry a BUG just in case my main gun is taken out of service or dropped some were, although the odds of that is rare, it can still happen.

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Don't look, reload and shoot!

Yes. I'm also a believer in double redundancy.

I'm just back from a four day camping trip and carried two 642's loaded with 158gr LHP+P's.

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Centennial Every Day

Marcus, more power to you and the other posters who've decided to go "redundant". All I've been saying is that REALISTICALLY speaking, unless you are LE, it's doubtful that you will ever need a BUG, let alone more than 5 rounds. (Man, I know I'm going to hear it from all you BUG users, be gentle. And, yeah, yeah, I carry more than 5 rounds on me when I CCW, only because 11 rounds conveniently fits into my pistol. Will I ever need all 11 rounds?; statistically/practically speaking, even given all of the "what if's" ad infinitum...highly unlikely).

Again, whatever you feel you need to protect yourself, cool. But I've got to ask, if you are in or know you are going into a "bad area", why not put your primary in your pocket? And, if you feel that you cannot access and draw your primary when you will need it, practice, practice...well, you get the idea.

Let me ask this another way, do you have two fire extinguishers in the same location in your house, two new spare tires in the trunk of each your vehicles, or two cell phones on you? (assuming you're not a doctor or drug dealer ) If not, why not?

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MotorCityGun

Every man has to work out his own safety. Use what you're comfortable with. David was comfortable with a slingshot. I couldn't hit the broad side of a barn with one so I carry a 642.

p.s. As an aside... David used a sword to kill Goliath... Goliath's sword.

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Centennial Every Day

It's definitely possible to "what-if" things to an extreme. Everyone has to figure out what works for them. For me, I like having redundancy, not necessarily for carry, but for the reasons I mentioned. You like having a single pistol, and that's fine, too. Because the world don't turn to the beat of just one drum...what might be right for you may not be right for some.

My response is in bold above.

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Don't look, reload and shoot!

Marcus, the point of having a back-up to your EDC is not that it's available if you have a failure in a threat situation - it's in the event that the failure of your EDC requires shop time or replacement. Your BUG is for those times your main carry fails.

My job places me in West Detroit, Mexican Town and small towns out in the hinterland that do not take to strangers. I have a bug all the time and my hand is usually on it in threatening areas, too!

Marcus and JP,
I enjoyed our discussion/debate about multiple carry, etc. Obviously, our individual "mileage" varies, but not all that much. I would NEVER criticize whatever your "mileage" is. In fact, as MI brothers-in-arms, you guys rock. If there was ever a need to have my back covered, it would be comforting to know it was either one of you guys.

As my final post related to this particular topic, I would like to know how many active LEO's carry a BUG while on the job. I would think that if there was anybody who would need a BUG just in case, it would be these brave men and women.

p.s. Hey Marcus, I can handle 6 White Castles.
5.11 Tactical Pants - Men's, Cotton | Tactical Pants | 5.11 Tactical

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MotorCityGun

I am an active LEO and carry a BUG most shifts.I have never had to use one in 19 years but I've always went with the old saying "better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it."

As for having multiplies,well not exact copies but close enough for government work-

One more data point which even further convinces me (joe citizen, non-LE) that I shouldn't need a BUG and all that goes with it. Maybe if I were LE, I would consider it.

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MotorCityGun

My everyday carry is an M&P40c - one of my BUG's is a Cobra 38 Special Derringer should it ever become up close and personal; Should I get car jacked and being drug out the window - I might no be able to get the M&P into action - but I can get to the Cobra - I can always shove it in their ribs and take care of business; my Other BUG is an Airweight 38 Special; my point being if it ever gets into close quarters and I can't get the M&P into play - doesn't mean the pistol has failed I will still have something to fall back on; train and know your weapons, and train to let your actions become second nature;

Redundancy should be encouraged -- most military systems (aircraft, APV's, naval vessels, have various redundant systems) -- at our duck camp in south Louisiana, where the boats/duck boat motors that we used are subjected to extreme conditions (mud, brackish water, etc); we always keep two fully equipped extra boats at our boat landing (in case your primary boat does not start, you have a spare ready to go -- no one has ever missed a duck hunt all these years --nothing as discouraging as getting up very early in the morning to hunt and not being able to get your boat engine started and missing the hunt) --
my mantra "One is none, two is one" -- works very well. And, works very well with weapons -- I have 3 Kimber's that I carry in sequence, plus 2 .32 Tomcats -- works very well.

As a non-LEO I have ended up with duplicates of several Smiths, in both revolvers and autos. Part of it was due to opportunistic acquisitions, partly due to my personal interests as a collector and sometimes simply because I ran across what l perceived as a good price on a desirable gun. "Collecting" shooters has it's advantages. One very clear and unstated reason is, if necessary, one has a "parts" gun to cannibalize for parts...

By the way, my most common carried Smiths are either a M60-7 or -9 or a 4006... and sometimes both!

Blessings,
Hog

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Isaiah 55:8-9
Phil. 4:13