A backup gun is a requirement for me.  Having experienced almost every pistol malfunction possible in my years of shooting (failure to feed, failure to extract, failure to eject, failure to fire, squib, broken trigger pin, broken firing pin retaining pin, slide doesn't lock back, slide locks back early, hammer doesn't fall in double action, double feed, live round gets sent out the ejection port, and so on) I like having a backup.

I am right-handed and have just started carrying an LCP at 9 o'clock in a left-handed leather OWB holster.

Previously I'd have a backup gun in my right pocket but I am really liking this setup.  It's very quick to draw and balances the weight on the belt very well since I am also carrying a primary at 3 o'clock.

Is anyone else doing this?

What is your primary,  and how are you carrying it?

It's a Ruger LCR in .38 Special in a leather OWB holster at 3 o'clock.

I don't carry a backup gun, but don't see a reason against your methods.

Derp, I completely misread your initial post. Somehow I read the left hand OWB holster for the LCP, and and then when you mentioned the primary at 3 o'clock, my head put the backup at 3 o'clock OWB.

Kind of funny, because I do that with my LCP sometimes. Carry my Glock AIWB, and have the LCP OWB.

This may sound crazy, but you could always run a "brace" of pistols pirate style at your appendix. One for each hand or what you might call the original New York reload.

I used to do it.

Back when I was going to college, I carried a pistol in my left front pocket while on campus and while at my work study at the VA. (I started with a Kel-Tec P32 before switching to a Diamondback DB9.) When I wasn't at one of those two places, I kept the pistol there and added my Glock 19 at 4 o'clock OWB.

I put the BUG there for a couple reasons. When I had the G19 with me, I found it better to retain it in my right hand while drawing the BUG with my left. That way, I wasn't dropping a gun on the ground or having to holster before going to my BUG. Also, as a right handed person, most people would expect a threat to come from my right hand. I could have my left hand in my pocket, with a good grip on my BUG, and nobody would be any wiser-it would actually look less threatening being in my pocket than outside, truth be told.

I prefer a cross draw.  For me that puts it on the right side.  I've been carrying a NAA mini in a holster on the left side for right handed cross for a while now.  It's a slick little rig.  Small enough to carry anytime I have pants on and not even know it's there.

I carry a 43 in my left front pants pocket as a bug.  Used to carry a colt agent there.  I prefer pocket for the bug as I can walk a round with my hand on the gun if things are hinky but not hinky enought to justify drawing.

Just practice a lot.

S&W 442

interesting going to try it

Why are you wanting to carry a BUG for your BUG?

Off hand front pocket I often have a 642 in a Nemesis.  I carry the Jframe as a BUG for my Glock19 or Sig 229 carried AIWB.

Almost any belt slide type holster should hide an LCP at 3 o'clock.  If you don't need retention, it seems almost a no-brainer.

What holster is that?  I've been trying to find a way to carry my NAA for several years now.  Best I've come up with is a kydex holster that goes on a dogtag chain around my neck.  It rotates like a sumbitch in the pocket and is basically worthless for pocket use.  I've never found a belt holster worth squat... that one looks like it might be about perfect.

@jeepnik

It was made for me by a fellow who frequents this forum.  His name is Tom Anderson.  PM me and I'll send you his email address.

I'm not going to make fun of you for carrying that peashooter.  My friends who only own full size handguns would, but they never carry because that would be rather inconvenient.

Ruger LCR .38 in a DeSantis Nemesis, weak side cargo pocket. I went to a revolver from semi-autos because magazines kept randomly ejecting when my thigh rubbed against the inside of my squad car door. I am more than happy with this setup.

I’ve settled on a reliable semi auto (Glock) with a spare mag.

I won’t criticize what others choose.

I do that too sometimes.  I've had malfunctions with Glocks but at least they were fixable in 1-2 seconds.

My primary is a G19 on right hip.  BUG is a Smith 442 Pro with CTC grips in left front pocket.

CD

I present to you the DUAL Appendix holster from NSR

https://www.nsrtactical.com/collections/inside-waistband/products/custom-c-1-dual-appendix

I am confused you actually carry pistols that you know are unreliable?  Sounds like you need to re-evaluate your carry sidearm.  I have never felt the need for a BUG on my person I mean what you do is your thing more power to you.  A pistol and a spare mag seem plenty enough if it gets to the point where a pistol and spare mag are not enough I foresee it will be an edge weapon ending to the situation where someone is going to get filleted alive or be eating knuckles, elbows, and knees.  If I were a LEO a BUG might be a real option but the likelihood I will ever get into a shootout is astronomical low to begin with, I avoid places where those stats go up, and i maintain good situational awareness to avoid conflict.

There was an article many years ago in a gun rag

The guy advocated “mirror carry” two Glock 26 at 3 and 9 in OWB leather holsters.

I have always thought the idea was a good one but never actually employed it.

Where are you spending time?  In Mogadishu?

No, of course not.  I fixed them, changed ammo type, they got broken in, returned to the manufacturer, etc.

@EdgecrusherXES

You just too lazy to change your avatar?  I made a new one for you:



Attached File

Flame suit on.

James Yeager has lots of advice and reasoning as why to carry a back up.  Pretty good insight imo.

I carry a Glock 43 in a pocket holster in my LF pocket.   It's barely small enough, but it works and it gives me a 9mm instead of a 22, 25,32, or 380, all of which I've carried at some point over the years.

Haha but the sub-compact would be the BUG and the full-size would be the primary so the pic would be contradictory.  The other hand should have a G17 but that is some funny shit right there that made my morning!

For a couple years, I carried a Ruger LCP in my support side front pocket, and G19/TLR-1 IWB at 3:00.

I went with pocket carry because I can't retain two guns from the beltline reliably in a grappling situation, which is much more likely than a shooting situation.

No, OP, I'm not. Even when I worked as a LE Officer for 28 years, I never experienced all of the problems that you have experienced. Sounds like you have a defective gun and/or defective ammunition and/or defective magazines. I have carried various pistols in my career from .357 Ruger Speed Six revolver issued by the Border Patrol, to Sig Sauer P220 .45 ACP, CZ 75 pre B, HK P7 M13, HK USP, Beretta Brigadier 96D (which was a piece of crap, but, didn't jam up like your guns), Glock 17, Sig Sauer P226 .40, to Sig P229 .40. None of those pistols had the problems that OP is experiencing on an abnormal basis as he described. And I never felt the need to carry a back up pistol. We did have unauthorized, personally owned, back up rifles in our vehicles when I was in the Border Patrol. Mine was an FN FAL Paratrooper model while others carried HK 91's and various AK47's. Not a lot of back up pistols.

The very few times that I have experienced an issue like FTF was with ammunition on the range during one of our required quarterly firearms qualifications when one round out of 60 rds (for the qualification) might have a bad primer. But, we're taught to immediately conduct a quick combat reload (using the Tap, Rack, Bang technique) and continue firing the strung of fire in the event of a malfunction. Instead of a backup gun, Op should practice malfunction drills which include combat reloading a fresh magazine and continue firing which is just as fast as holstering your pistol and drawing a back up pistol. Our range officers used to load a spent cartridge casing in one of our magazines and have us start firing at the target and when the spent casing jammed (we didn't know where in the magazine the spent casing was loaded or which magazines had spent casings). Funny thing is that sometimes my Sig P229 would eject a spent casing and then load the next round which was the spent casing that was supposed to stove pipe in the slide. So, my gun would chamber the spent casing and I pulled the trigger on the spent casing and had to engage the Tap, Rack, Bang technique and combat reload and then continue firing.

Now that I've retired, I sold off my Sig P229 and carry a full size Night Hawk Custom 10mm with 5 spare magazines. The gun has been flawless and so have the magazines - some are Wilson Combat and others are Tripp Research magazines. As long as op has a decent quality pistol and nothing cheap, carries decent quality magazines (like Wilson Combat) and good quality ammunition (not cheap CCI Blazer practice ammo that tends to have bad primers or cheap Russian ammunition), then his equipment should function properly and won't need a cheap back up questionable quality item like a Lorcin, Hi Point, or other BS back up gun.

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@INV136

How do you carry 5 spare mags?

I did this for a while, (pic is an old ad I made for a holster maker now out of business), primary CZ P-01 right hand OWB, and secondary left hand backwards with a cross draw rig as shown with PCR...was great with the, "Hang on, I'm getting my wallet for you right now"...but since I never had to use it, I don't know how well that would have worked.