My EDC is the new Shield 45. Was the Shield 9mm for a long time and am considering getting a pocket carry backup.

Really have little experience with smaller caliber weapons.

Question: If you were considering a pocket carry backup to your main carry what would you carry and why.

Like the looks and size and price point of the Ruger LCP Custom, also am a S&W fanboy but know little about the Bodyguard. Don't care for Glock 42 due to size weight and price.

Anybody got good things to say about a backup????

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Hipcocked45

Since you specified a pocket carry backup I'd go with any good quality hammerless revolver in .38spl. A semi auto must be drawn first from the pocket whereas the hammerless revolver can be carried in the pocket with your hand on the gun, fired if need be and never drawn. Semi autos have that slide thing that needs unrestricted space to move where the revolver can be carried in a woman's purse with her hand on it as she walks to her car at night and she could shoot an assailant through her purse with nothing to hang up.

Point well taken.....had not even considered that as I seem to be addicted to semi-auto's. Again never ownd a revolver...are they not to large for pocket carry?

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Hipcocked45

I'd use my S&W 337PD....... 12.5 oz (IIRC) 5rds of .38..... I summer carry this in cargo shorts ....... if, given the weather and my dress, it's the only option

Not perfect as it has the exposed hammer.. but lighter than my 640 or 3"60-10.


Normal carry is a S&W 3913/14

If I was going to do it all the time...... I'd get a 442.

One day I was driving down a deserted street in town and saw a woman walking with her hand in her purse. If I had been walking and meeting her I would have played it safe and crossed the street. Larry

Umpteen million people carry a "J" frame in their pocket every day. Larry

The Shield 45 can be carried in all but the smallest "European" style pants pockets, using a suitable holster. I have a Springfield XDs, which I carry in that fashion. There's no need to downsize to .380 ACP or less, nor choose a revolver unless you prefer it.

A jacket pocket is not very practical. Any handgun is heavy enough to make the jacket sag, and it will swing around unless the jacket is very tight to your body. It slaps around even in a heavy winter overcoat. What do you do if you have to take the jacket off?

Shooting from inside a pocket sounds like a cheap detective novel, not the real world. If you put your hand on the grip you can draw very quickly, without tipping your hand if it's a false alarm.

I consider my J frames too large for me to pocket carry.
My Seecamp fills the pocket role well.

My thoughts as well.
Model 442 or 642 come to mind.

Pocket back up is always a 442. Once in a while I'll carry the bobbed 37. The others do AIWB Duty.

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Two Handguns every day

I can't count that high, but I will assume it more than a few...

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Hipcocked45

Another vote for a J frame.

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K & N S&W revolvers

Considering you're already carrying a pistol that uses the .45ACP, you might consider something like the the Double Tap tactical pocket pistol:

DoubleTap Defense - Creators of DoubleTap™

I carry a 642 in an IWB holster. I really like the idea of carrying a pair of J-frames. I've carried my 642 in my pants pocket in a DeSantis Nemesis holster. It works well when standing, but sitting down it looks like I have a baseball in my pocket. In the future I may try a thinner holster, maybe kydex, to see if that improves things. But for now pocket carrying a J-frame isn't for me. I'm sure it works well for others.

For a pocket carry back-up gun, I'd probably look first at a Ruger LCP. From what I've seen and read it looks like it would work great in that role. I don't think I'd want to go any smaller than the LCP for a self defense gun, but that's just me.

I've also considered the Sig P290RS. I like that it has a DAO trigger with re-strike capability, but it's a little bit chunkier than the LCP. It also seems to get mixed reviews in terms of reliability.

I'm a big believer in the New York Reload - carrying and using a loaded second hand gun rather than reloading your emptied primary hand gun. I regularly carry two J-frame revolvers (S&W Model 38-0 and Model 638-1) in my pant pockets. One thing I've found is that logistically speaking staying with one caliber of ammo greatly simplifies things. However as your primary is a .45ACP, this won't really work for you. As a back up, there is much to be said for a revolver over a semi-auto - especially that the revolver can be readily fired either weak or strong hand nor do you have to worry about weak wristing the piece, deactivating a safety, etc. If you want to stay with the same caliber, a Kahr chambered in. 45ACP may work for you. Otherwise, any S&W J-frame in. 38 Special should be just fine.

Good luck,

Dave

Another pitch for the J-frame: M&P 340.

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Wrangler of stray Chiefs
Bob

For serious social visits, I carry a 686 Plus L-frame, and a 640, J-Frame, as a back up. I like that they can share the same ammo, .38 SPL, or .357 MAG!

I've been carrying my P938 in my pocket for a while now, and love it! Functions perfectly, small, great night sights, and decent trigger after a good amount of rounds down range.

I would consider the shield a backup.

Sent from my XT1650 using Tapatalk

Umpteen million is 1/2 of a Bazillion. Larry

I have carried a Keltec P32 in my pocket for many years. It serves as the backup to my 340 M&P and SP-101. I have fired well over 1,000 rounds thru the little Keltec and it has never failed to function. Off the job, in warm weather, it serves as a primary.

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Wheel guns are real guns.

I've pocket-carried a 640 as primary and usually only gun for a good many years with no difficulty. A good pocket holster is essential, and I use the DeSantis Nemesis since people here turned me on to it.

If I acquire a backup for the revolver it'll be a Ruger LCP, which can also serve as primary for dressy occasions.

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Oh well, what the hell.

I pocket carry everyday in AZ, and sometimes its my main carry and sometimes its a backup. LCP in Desantis Nemesis 99% of the time, and a Beretta 950BS in Stainless in a Nemesis the other 1% of the time.

Before I walk myself into a justification discussion of carrying an "underpowered" round, I'd like to note that when I carry the 950BS in .25 it's to backup my main carry, a CS40 IWB in a sticky holster.

SVT28

20160407_115830 by Slick_Rick77, on Flickr

I pocket carry a 642 everyday, no problem.

For a very concealable backup pocket gun I would go with something like an LCP or a hammerless lightweight revolver.
It has been mentioned here a revolver doesn't even need to be drawn to shoot it. I really "DON'T" suggest shooting a revolver while still inside your pocket. If you do then expect your leg to be hurting and more than likely bleeding. Expect your pants to have a hole blown through them. Goodness sake you better hope your scrotum isn't ripped apart.
Check out the hickok45 video how not to shoot a revolver or check out Myth Busters video on revolver dangers. I carry an LCR 357 in my front pocket and there is no way I am going to fire it while inside my pocket.

You need to quit wearing those 'skinny jeans'!

I wear Levis 550 Relaxed Fit, and Carhart regular fit jeans, and my 640 carries comfortably, without printing too much.

While I like revolvers and J-frames a bit, I will say this--

It is advantageous, if you're going to carry a BUG, to carry one that's as similar to your primary as possible. If you've limited time, it means you've got one less manual of arms to practice. And it's easier to make the switch under stress from, say, a striker-fired pistol to a striker-fired pistol, instead of from a striker to a SA, or an SA to a DA/SA, etc.

However, switching from a pistol with no manual safety, to a revolver, isn't a terrible switch.

Having the same ammunition for both guns is advantageous as well. If you've got two revolvers, both chambered in .38 Spl, with 5-round strip loaders, you won't have to dig around two different pockets and remember which gun's ammo is where. Or experience the irony of a disabled primary with two full magazines available, and a BUG with no ammunition left.

The slickest setup I ever heard of was a certain well-known police officer who carried two Glocks, a full-size and a compact, in the same chambering, since the compact could utilize the full-size magazines.

A Kel-Tec P3AT for me, in the rare times I carry a 2nd gun.

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Because of the metric system?

Walther stainless PPK .380, or Ruger Custom LCP .380. I actually prefer a knife for backup, a Gerber boot knife, or SOG fast open pocket knife.

I have 3 handguns that I pocket carry.

Sig P-238: Not my first choice as a pocket carry gun (the hammer can snag) but it is an excellent shooter. I holds 8 rounds of CorBon Powerball.

Ruger LC9s: It's kind of big for pocket carry but it is 100% reliable and a great shooter as well.

Don't laugh! A North American Arms 22 magnum Sidewinder. I practice with it and can draw and fire it quickly. It is a contact weapon and works best positioned against an assailant's rib cage. It's so small that I can carry it in my pocket as a last resort, no matter what I'm wearing.

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Have Gun Will Carry

Nope, no skinny jeans for me. I only wear relaxed/loose fit jeans.

This is an interesting thread. I can understand the idea behind a New York reload and a backup in the event of a mechanical malfunction. I also realize that the worst can happen when you least expect it. When I carry, I carry handguns made by reputable and established manufacturers, and models with established track records.

I know that s*** happens. I have had floor plates separate from magazine bodies, dumping the contents on the floor and leaving a magazine body in the grip of a 1911, and I have had the extractor star separate from the extractor rod on a N framed Smith.

Honestly, I don't carry a BUG, but I train to compensate for the failures that I can address. My greatest fear is running out of ammo in the event that I make a wrong turn into a civil insurrection (i.e.: a Ferguson or a Baltimore), or having a Paris-type event spring up around me. I realize that a more likely encounter is a thug attempting to rob me.

I am not a scaredy cat, I am being realistic. None of us know beforehand what we may run into unless we set the stage. For example: none of the runners expected the Boston Marathon style bombing to occur at the Semper Five in Seaside Heights yesterday, nor did they expect multiple IEDs placed in Manhattan last night. We have to work with what we have at the time the Fit hits the Shan!

If I were to carry a BUG, it would have to fire the same ammo as my primary, and preferably carry the ammo in the same manner, meaning either government or commander sized 1911s.

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Judge control not gun control!

Understood your stance..my concern for a bug backup is primarily loss of primary which can happen for numerous reasons and unexpectedly..lack of ammo is not my concern. I carry more than enough for normsl SD situation's and any situation worse than that I will be trying to extricate myself from the area at the earliest time possible......

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Hipcocked45

I'd go with an LCP .380, as a backup, if I couldn't afford one of the airweight S&W snubbies.

Hey Tops umpteen million and one, I just got my Model 36 back from S&W It was away getting a tightening and new frame lug, It was there most of the summer, I'm glad to have it back. Now it's back in my pocket where it belongs. I missed the little fella'.

I like Two guns to have easy access with either hand. The 442 in my left pocket can be in my hand while walking and the 36 AIWB for normal draw or when seated. Using one hand to fend off a up close encounter and be able to draw a gun with the free hand. Then there is injury of the hand.

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Two Handguns every day

Irrifleman, makes some very valid points. When I lived and carried in NYC I had his same line of thinking, Now out here in the desert of Arizona, My biggest fear is a rattlesnake, coyote, or those pesky mountain lions. I do say again while I don't have to carry like Irrifleman anymore, he is on the right track for urban areas. Oh hell I'm just gonna start throwing my AR-15 in the Jeep when I go out.

Got to honestly say I am lucky that I live in small town rural NC and don't have those everyday fears of mass apocalypse events happening...if I did I think I would move also.......

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Hipcocked45

As others have said, S&W J-frame is the backup gun I would carry (with at least one reload), regardless of my primary carry weapon.

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Dave Frost

Airweight J-Frame in the side pocket. Shrouded or enclosed hammer. 15oz plus ammo.

To each their own, of course.

It was mentioned before, but a two-shot .45 ACP (derringer-style) might be a good choice - reloadable from your Shield magazine if your spare is available but the gun is not. Don't know how heavy or portable one of these would be.

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Alan
SWCA LM 2023, SWHF 220

The hammerless J-frames are good for pocket carry. But then so are any of the decent quality 380 caliber semi's with good SD ammo.
The fact that the slide needs to move doesn't stop you from firing the first shot from a semi that's inside your pocket. They'll fire just fine that way - only one round though. You're probably not going to get any follow up shots without pulling it out and racking the slide to clear the empty and load up another round though.
My favorite pocket carry gun is a TCP 738 with hydrashocks.

My primary is a S&W M&P 9C, or Taurus PT709 Slim. Backup in the pocket in a Nemesis, is a Taurus PT738TCP, .380.

None of these guns has EVER failed me, and the little TCP is really easy to hide in the smallest places.

With the proper ammo, the little TCP is a fearless fighter.

Blued Walther PPK in .380.

I used to have a PPK/S years ago. I liked it, but as there was no legal concealed carry in Ohio, there wasn't much use for it and I sold it to a friend to finance another gun purchase, probably my Glock 22.

About five years ago I was looking for a new blued PPK, but couldn't find one. The threat environment has changed substantially and I've moved on. It's only 9x19mm and up for me, currently a 3 1/2" M1911 in .45acp.

Many years back I would often carry a Colt DS or Smith 36 in my jacket/coat pockets with my hand on it with strolling around NYC off duty.
On one occasion I fired 6 rounds from the DS while it was in my coat pocket in a NYC garment district elevator.I was about 12 inches from my 007 knife weilding assailant as he cut through my coat with a quich and unexpected slash.

Nowadays during the mostly hot days in the Great State of Texas I carry a Ruger SR22 with 10 Stingers in my short's pocket.

I traded away a Sig 938 that I used to also pocket carry.

"There's No Bullet Or Gun Made That Takes The Place Of Marksmanship"

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NEVER GIVE UP YOUR GUN

my trusty old 442, and an older Bucheimer slapjack... wink, wink, nudge, nudge, know what i mean?

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why? why not?

My backup is a Seecamp in .32 acp. It's a true double-action and the gun keeps on clicking should you happen to have a round not go off. 6+1 of Gold Dots or Silvertips up close and personal should do the job.

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Loyalty Above All.. but Honor

Old Cop's B/U rule: Both weapons same caliber

I also carry one of these a lot of the time.

I call it my stick it in his ear (or up his nose) gun. It will fix the hearing or clear the sinuses. 22 mag rocks!

Ken