Spare magazine or spare gun

[GJM]

Over time, I have come to realize that a spare double stack magazine carried behind the hip prints more than my AIWB pistol. That led me to carrying a spare magazine AIWB in a Mastermind or equivalent soft mag carrier. The magazine takes little extra space, and maybe even balances out the pistol in weight and printing. That works well for my manner of dress, which is a light and knife in my front left pocket and iPhone in my front right pocket.

All this BUG talk has me wondering about what I carry. Ankle holsters are out between the 90 minutes a day I average hiking, and shorts for much of the year. My pockets are full, and my pants aren’t BUG friendly by design and fabric.

Realistically for EDC, as opposed to special circumstances, I can carry the BUG at 11 o’clock or an extra magazine. The extra pistol isn’t much harder than the spare magazine. I can make an argument for mag or BUG. When things like a 365 are available, the BUG becomes space efficient and quite capable.

Thoughts?

[beenalongtime]

From what little I know, in the revolver days, it was called something like a NY reload, to carry another revolver.

There are times that LEO's carry a back up piece on them, as well as not and having their back ups in their vehicles. (uniformed, detective, etc. depends). My view is you need to be situationally aware, when having another gun as you may or may not think it prints as well as someone watching you, or if you are in a situation where kid come up and grab you. (remembering when my nieces were little and ran to grab their LEO relative and one got their hand on the gun instead of the person. The officers hand shot down on the gun so there was no change they could get it out while we pulled the kid back and explained let parent get deworked)

[4RNR]

I'm in tshirts and jeans all summer regardless of the heat and unless I bend down to touch my toes no one sees the extra mag, or the G17. I've tried BUGs out of curiosity and not for me. I don't do pocket carry, not even my cell phone. Uncomfortable. Adding ANOTHER Iwb holster is just as uncomfortable but in other ways. Unless I can do like a dual shoulder holster or cowboy rig I'm not carrying a backup gun. Most people think it's overkill carrying a G17 with a reload, especially where I live!

But in the end I think whats really relevant to me is not the comfort, I'm sure I can buy enough holsters to find the right one. What is is the lack of grips on BUGs. That's one thing that can't be overcome

[Oldherkpilot]

I always carry a spare mag for my primary pistol. On the rare occasion I carry a BUG, its either in an ankle holster or a Kramer shirt. I admit that neither is very fast to access but faster than running back to the car on two knee replacements.

[Duces Tecum]

I carry a pair of Tony's in the appendix / spleen position(s). See link below. Seems to work out ok. Benefits from a dark untucked polo shirt in the summer and dark sweaters in colder weather. It's been about 18 months now and I've found drawing from concealed low-riding holsters retard my first hit at seven yards to about 2 seconds. That's probably not a good thing, being a net adverse change of about 0.5 seconds. On the other hand, one of the things I like is that if for some reason one arm / shoulder / gun becomes hors de combat, there's another one still in service.

Link: https://pistol-forum.com/showthread....65#post1069765


Duces

[Doc_Glock]

Thoughts?

Reloads suck and having a separate gun accessed a different way from your primary available seems reasonable.

For me it is one in pocket and one on belt.

[1911Nut]

I've tried a Ruger LCR and a Glock G43 as BUG, but both were too uncomfortable for me compared to a spare mag or two.

Of course when I tried it, I carried my primary with one spare mag if it was a 9mm or two spare mags if it was a 45.

Then, of course, I carried a spare speed strip with the LCR or a single spare mag with the G43.

I decided the primary + one or two mags fit my needs/comfort zone better.

I just cannot imagine carrying my primary with ZERO spare mags, and instead, carrying a BUG with ZERO spare mags or speed strips.

Too set in my ways and/or dull witted to change, I guess.

[blues]

Even when I was still working I rarely carried two guns but for certain circumstances.

I'm a spare mag sorta guy...or if just walking around home and environs with the 642, maybe a speed strip in pocket.

I'm not saying it's overkill, but for me...absent those "circumstances", it's just not gonna happen on any sort of regular basis.

[Rex G]

The JMCK mag carriers, angled to match the inguinal crease, are a very, VERY, nice way to carry extra magazines. In my case, 3+ decades of carrying spare ammo, to the left of the duty belt buckle, have programmed me to reach there, for a reload, anyway. During the panic-demic, I reverted to revolving pistols, except for my Seecamp LWS-32,) but if/when I return to regularly toting autos, as “primary’ weapons, I am likely to wear one or more mags at the inguinal crease(s).

My mag carriers, on my duty belt, were not angled, of course, being straight vertical, but angled is more ergonomic on the draw, requiring less wrist articulation, so make sense for concealed carry.

The option of the longer mag body adds stability to forward-of-the-hip IWB carry; the same principle as using a longer holster body, even if carrying a compact pistol.

[Rex G]

But, yes, of course, a spare pistol makes sense, too. It is my usual norm, at present, as a pocketed Seecamp LWS-32 is a near-daily thing, regardless of what other weapons I am carrying, and the Seecamp is almost never my only weapon. I am usually wearing Patagonia Quandary trousers, which I believe are also sold as shorts. These have belt loops, which accommodate the same belts and holsters I wear with jeans and VertX trousers, but the fabric breathes and wicks well, enabling me to wear long trousers, in the heat, rather than shorts.

Edited to add: When/If I ever resume normal range visits, I will be vetting a new Gen3 G26, and some new-to-me Third-Gen S&W DA/SA single-column-mag 9mm autos, so will again have compact auto options.

Edited again, to add: The Quandary trousers fit too closely, at the ankle, to conceal an ankle gun.