A Silent Partner: Your Backup weapon

Do you have a backup gun? Probably everyone who carries a gun does so for several reasons. Although the subject is nothing new, perhaps the logic behind the necessity for a backup weapon could stand a second going-over. The first comment you'll encounter from most associates and acquaintances when discussing the subject will incorporate such words as paranoid, crazy, or neurotic. It's amazing the number of people who think carrying one gun is fine but assume you're bordering on lunacy if you carry two. So the first order of the day is to not broadcast the fact that you are carrying a second gun, for a variety of reasons: 1. By the nature of its mission, most of the time the backup weapon will have to be concealed.
2. It gives you an edge, under certain tactical circumstances, if it is concealed.
3. Today's friend is often tomorrow's enemy. Why tip him off to the fact that you have an ace in the hole? You don't advertise your personal bank account holdings, and you certainly don't need to advertise something more life-sustaining than money. If, on the other hand, you're a member of an entry team or professionally engaged in a situation where a shoulder weapon is primary, then there's obviously no state secret about your secondary gun.

But on to the various reasons for toting a backup. If you're already carrying a gun, you're presumed to be in fear of a deadly-force threat. If this is the case, it follows that you are earnest about self-preservation. Why should it therefore seem paranoid to some to consider hedging an insurance policy with a second gun? If you need the primary weapon, you need it desperately, and if it doesn't do the job, you'll need the backup in the worst way. Most military personnel carry one sidearm, usually with about 4 million spare rounds of ammunition. Let's face it,there's never enough ammo, especially with today's criminals and with handguns not having the required ballistic effect. But in all hon¬esty, how many times do you think you can reload in the middle of a gunfight before you are hit?

People are trained to reload like crazy on the practice range, which is a fine (and necessary) pursuit in itself. The problem is the continuity of fire by means of reloading becomes less proficient as the stress rises proportionately. A practiced handgun drawstroke, however, is with you for eternity. (The operative word is practiced, as is the case with all facets of firearms manipulation.)

REASONS FOR CARRYING A BACKUP WEAPON
There are three main reasons for considering the presence of a backup gun, and for the purpose of this text it will be assumed the weapon in question is a handgun.
1. You may lose possession of your pnmary weapon.
2. There may be a mechanical malfunction or a lack of ammo with or for your primary weapon.
3. You may be unable to access your primary weapon because of a tactical situation or injury.
Let's take the three above conditions in order of sequence.
Losing Your Primary Weapon Deadly-force policy being what it is, escalation for situations like "domestic" calls often start with a fist fight and also often end with the officer staring down the wrong end of his own pistol barrel. Solution? An easily accessed backup gun.

Experiencing Mechanical Malfunction
Like reloads, mechanical malfunctions are practiced to destruction on the range and so they should be. But somehow, in a street fight the malfunction takes on a peculiar twist: Murphy's Law extends it to a jam, and you're out of business. If you don't have cover, deluding yourself into thinking that you're going to fix this puppy at contact distance, on the move ... well, there's this soggy property I have for sale in Florida, if you're interested. Time yourself to see how long it takes to clear even the most basic of malfunctions, put it up against how much happens in a real fight in that time and-guaranteed perspiration.
Solution? An easily accessed backup gun.

Having Access to Primary Weapon Denied
Lack of access to the primary weapon, whether because of ugly tactical circumstances or injury, raises one of the biggest side issues of backup guns: how or where to position it on your body. The first and most common answer is the ubiquitous ankle holster. Ever tried accessing a gun from one of those suckers using only one hand? Good luck.

The secret of a second gun is that it must be instantly accessible to either hand. Otherwise you're just carrying it like Linus' security blanket in the Peanuts comic strip. Granted, backup guns have been pulled by officers knocked down onto, This setup allows fast access to either one of the large-caliber pistols. Where the pistols are carried is largely governed by individual preference, lifestyle, and federal and local firearms laws their backs, but, again, in these cases, the officers could access the weapon in this position and, for the most part, with both hands operating. Solution? An easily accessed backup gun.
In all cases the backup gun must be accessible, preferably to either hand.

As with everything else, there is no "golden answer." Differing lifestyles, body builds, physical and societal limitations they all add up to individualized preferences, requirements, and solutions. But the sorry fact remains that these days there is room for serious thought about a secondary weapon. It is faster and more positive, in most instances, than trying to resurrect a dead primary gun. Who needs a backup gun?

Everybody.