Who here carries a backup gun?  What do you carry?  Where do you carry it (IWB, SOB, etc)?  

I carry a Springfield Opertor on a daily basis and would like a backup.  I thought about a compact 1911 just because I could use fullsize mags in it if I needed to

I carry a S&W 642 Airweight .38spl.  Its light, but not so light that its impossible to control.  Im reasonably comfortable with the 158gr +P lead wadcutter hollow points its loaded with.  Its totally snag free so it can ride easily in my offside pocket, and it always goes bang no matter how much lint or dust it ends up caked with.

Main carry gun is a Glock 30 (45 auto).... backup is Glock 36 ankle (if wearing loose leg pants). Build "a system" I believe in using the same caliber ammo in both guns. Can be even more ideal if the same magazine but I do like those 11 rounds in my 30. --RR

Since this has become an interesting thread with a "menagerie" of choices and ideas I feel compelled to expand on my comments. My carry ammo is Federal 45 Auto 230 grain Hydra-Shok. When I practice I use 230 grain as well though obviously not hollow point. When I say "system" I mean consistency in the weapons.
Both my weapons have identical night sights, caliber and 2.5lb trigger pull. The only difference is the glock 30 has wider grips. I'm not crazy about it but I do want the higher capacity mag for my primary weapon. I like being familiar with my weapons feel in my hand and the way they shoot. Odd ball assortments don't make me feel comfortable at all.
Also of note. If (god forbid) you're ever involved in a shooting incident. You will fair better in both criminal and civil matters if you have a well thought out and intelligent defensive system in place. Also, be able to prove REGULAR range practice. Participation in local shooting associations and shooting competitions is great fun and develops the skills one really should have to Pack..... Last but not least carry insurance. You can win a criminal investigation but loose everything you own in a civil suit.... even if you win!

As a general backup, I'll carry a KelTec P-32 in a pocket holster. If I know I'll be in places where I don't really want to be, I'll carry a 2nd 1911, usually in a shoulder holster, with two spare mags in an offside pouch.

well it runs
Kimber full size 1911 primary...
kimper ultra CDP backup...
there may also be a Taurus J-frame hidden somewhere about my person.

so i have anywhere from 1-3 guns depending on where i am going or what i am doing.  plus there is always a extra "throw down" pistol in the truck.  usualy a S&W 629 6.5"

I don't expect to be fighting off any night roving, flesh eating zombies, so I carry a American Derringer .44 in my back pocket.      [img]http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2003-6/141064/IMG_0151.JPG[/img]                 oops I am not a LEO, maybe I should have not posted.

I rarely carry 2 guns, but the few times I have, a tuned and bobbed Charter Arms 3" 44 Special backed up my Glock 20.

20mm. In a combination ankle, strong-side and shoulder holster.

cynic

S&W 442 loaded with Win 130Gn SXT. Carried in weak hand pants pocket or ankle holster depending on the uniform of the day.

For some assignments its a Glock 19 on the Belt, and Glock 26 in a vest holster, and the .38 in the pocket.

My main defensive weapon is the M4gery, so I guess that makes the SIGSauer 220 in .45 ACP my back-up weapon. Or is the AR10 Carbine my back-up? I am pretty confused now.

OK, if it's the SIG, I carry in a IWB Milt Sparks, right hand strongside with a Wilson Leather combo Surefire holster and spare mag keeper on the off side.

If it is the AR10, then I carry that in an ankle rig, of course with baggy pants only. I carry 4 20 rd Mags in an offside ankle ammo rig.

Man you have a real fixation don't you? Do you ever have a thought that does not involve your neurosis? [whacko] Funny in a sad sort of way...

Anyway, I carry a S&W 442 Airweight .38, usually on the ankle, sometimes in a coat pocket, other times in a SOB.

I got a Glock 27 last week and I have ordered a G-Code holster for it which should allow semi concealment with non tucked shirts or jackets. I got an ankle holster with it but I am dubious at this point if that will work or not.

I also have a Beretta Tomcat for when it is just shorts and a t shirt.

Department policy dictate we be armed at all time in the county, although it is not enforced. I always have a folded pair of flexi cuffs in my badge case.

[b] I meant nothing, except what I said[/b]

For most of my LE career my duty weapon was a Colt Combat Goverement 1911. For a backup I caried a S&W Model 642, in either a vest holster or ankle rig. Right before the end I switched to a Colt Cobra with a factory hammer shroud.It is just slightly bigger, and shoots a heck a lot better for me then the five shot S&W. If I feel the need for a second weapon it is what I will use, but mainly just carry my H&K P7M8 with two spare magazines.
S/F
Flyingrhino.

Another Kel-Tec .32, stoked with Cor-Bon ammo ('cause I care enough to send the very best[:D])either a sig .45 P22o or a Hk .45 USP compact for main carry, depending upon the terrain

I have a Glock 27 and a Kel-Tec P11 that I use for concealed carry.  I rarely carry them both, but if I did I would have the Glock in the IWB holster strong side and the Kel-Tec in the weak side front pants pocket.  I suppose I'll eventually get a Glock 23 for the holster and use the 27 for the back up in keeping with the system notion.

It depends on what you consider a back up gun. My primary carry gun most of the time is a 10+1 9mm loaded with 124gr +p Gold Dots in an IWB with spare mag in off side pouch.  On foot, my 'always there ' back up to the 9mm is a Kel-Tec P32 in my offside pocket with spare mag in the watch pocket of my jeans. The little .32 is loaded with 60gr Gold Dots in the summer and 71gr FMJs in the winter for increased penetration through heavier clothing.

When driving, the primary is a Taurus PT92 in the console. It is usually loaded with the 124 gr. +ps or Winchester Ranger 127gr +p+. Back up to the Taurus is the 16" AR in the trunk with 3 loaded 30 round mags. 1 with Win. 64gr PPP, the other 2 with M193.

Back-ups for us have to be .380 and up (although they may have changed that to include .32s) and have to hold 5 or more rounds. This is more liberal than years past, when back-ups basically had to be a full functioning duty weapon to pass muster for carry. One of our pisotl team guys managed to qualify with a 5-shot Chief's Special, but it was just barely and kind of a fluke, and he was the only one not carrying a mini-Glock, Mustang, P230 or PPK as a back-up.

I used to carry a Glock 21 as primary, so a Glock 30 in a vest holster + zip front uniform shirt was my back-up. I figured that being able to use the big magazines should my primary weapon go down was a big plus. It did tend to print through my shirt, though.

I got forced to switch to a SIG P229 as primary when we went to issued sidearms a few years back (instead of providing your own), so I actually had a back-up gun in a larger caliber than my primary. I usually shoot a slightly higher score on qualification with the Glock, as well, though I have no complaints about my trusty SIG anymore. I was banned by the spousal unit from purchasing another pistol. For some reason, I can get her to bend on rifles (one or two a year), but she hasn't let me buy a handgun in 5 years. She has hers, and thinks one ought to be enough. I only have three pistols.

I have carried the Glock a few times for hairier stuff as an in-the-waistband back-up, when in normal clothes, but have since moved away from that and just started keeping an M4 on the passenger seat when I am going to "expected" serious trouble. If the SIG won't work, a couple magazines of .223 at cyclic rate will probably make them reconsider.

If I can get the wife to approve it, I will probably get a Kahr or Kel-Tec .40 and carry that as a back-up when I go back into uniform in the near future. I like the slimmer lines and think it will conceal under my shirt much more easily. Ankle holsters don't seem to work too well (especially with the way our uniforms are tailored) and inside the waistband won't work in uniform. I have messed around with a few of them, and it seems like either one would make a more concealable weapon. I seem to recall that one or the other had (what I thought to be) a crappy trigger, though.

Natez, I like Kel-Tecs. I have a P-32 and have shot P-11s extensively. I would not, however reccomend the P-40. I have shot them and the recoil impulse is close to a  lightweight J frame .357.  I love 10mms, so it is not that I am recoil sensitive, but the P40s recoil is just awkward. Kel-Tec no longer makes the P-40.


Just my 2/100 of a dollar.

Carry-USP compact 40S&W, backup Keltec32.

I thought you guys dumped the G26's when they started developing some mysterious "phase II malfunction" that occurs only in New York state?

When I carry a .40 GLOCK my backup is a Kahr PM9.  When I carry my PM9 my backup is a P32.

Backup is almost always pocket carry.    

Uh, Natez, how log has it been since your last vacation??? [:D]

[shock]!!!!!






So do ya hafta lift little weights with yer finger to get in shape for Qualifications???[:D]

A couple of months. Actually, my wife is a great woman, and she has indulged my recent "discovery" of the CMP sales program. This year, I got an M1903, an M1, permission to get an M1917 when they are back in stock, and I did wrest permission to buy my P220 from the department when we get the new rail models later this year, but that is the first approved handgun purchase my wife has made since she let me buy my last back-up, the Glock 30.



I was looking at the .40 Kahrs and Kel-Tecs for ammo compatibility with my duty weapon, and for the free .40 cal we get from work. Our authorized 9mm load is the Ranger 127 grain +P+, which is stout as heck, so I might as well go with a .40. Most .40s seem to recoil significantly LESS than the Winchester Ranger 127 grain +P+, which will start to sting after awhile.