Once a pistol is broken in and you are confident in its reliability, do you continue to use it for most of your practice sessions or do you have a duplicate/spare for range use?

Question:
Do you have a spare/duplicate CCW pistol for range use?

Choices:
Yes
No

 

Two is one and one is none. My main carry guns do have a mirror or duplicate. On top of having a duplicate to train with its nice knowing that should my primary go down(god please let it be at the range and not when I NEED it) I have a back up that can be used until the primary can be taken care of.

I shoot what I carry and its twin will be pressed into service if I lose the primary.

excluding when I actually trying to win a competitive event (then I bring the most rule beating thing the rules allow), I always shoot my carry gun.

I always shoot my carry gun , most of the time its once a week or so .

My carry gun has a twin, but I usually shoot my carry gun. It's mostly a matter of laziness, along with not wanting to put all of my eggs in one basket. I often shoot after work, and I don't want to leave the twin in the car all day in case it gets broken into.

I rotate between two identical pistols. The clean one goes in the holster. The dirty one goes in the range bag and gets cleaned before the next outing. Next range trip, I shoot the carry gun and switch.

I am not dogmatic with the whole “train like you fight” nonsense. Each time I draw a pistol, drive the sights, prep the trigger, etc, I am training. I am getting in a positive repetition on the stuff that it matters. The gun just has to have certain performance characteristics.

I don’t own a Per se “carry gun” even though I might casually refer to one in a thread. Every gun I own is a carry gun. Every gun I own is a bullseye gun. I am just as comfortable burning down a sub 2 second bill drill at the 5 as I am shooting police L at the 25, all with a “carry gun”. The guns I carry, I maintain. If they go down, to which let’s be honest that rarely if ever happens, I pick something else up.

I am just not that wound up over “carry guns” and “duplicates” and all that other mess. My 320c goes down, I ll pick up a 229, sp2022, or 3.6 M&P.

I voted "no" because I only have one of my EDC, but I am planning on buying a 2nd one to use as a dedicated training gun/back-up. Partly to save on wear-and-tear of my carry gun at the range (not that I'm likely to shoot enough to wear out my carry gun), but also because I like doing dry-fire practice and I'd rather have a gun handy I can keep unloaded for that purpose without having to frequently unload and load my carry gun. I think (hope...?) the result will be that I'll be more likely to practice more frequently.

Also, not too long ago I only had one gun...until it broke. It was a couple of months before I got a replacement, so I had no guns during that time. While I'm not dogmatic about carrying everywhere I go, it's different when you don't even have the option.

I shoot my actual carry guns occasionally and rotate the ammo and mags. I shoot duplicates and/or similar action types regularly.

I run two platforms so I have spares for each size just not duplicates. Same thing for my long guns. I only own one actual duplicate but everything has a backup in case of failure and/or bans if the nuts take over.

I guess my thoughts are along the lines of jljones (above).

Years ago, I used to see merit in the "stick to one manual of arms." It made sense at the time I guess. Then I got into 3-gun and quickly realized that I had no problem with going from my XCR carbine with a thumb safety selector and my trigger finger doing triple duty (trigger, mag release and bolt release) to an 870 pump shotgun where my thumb is safety on and trigger finger was now doing the trigger, safety and action bar lock to my pistol where the thumb is slide release, decocker (if equipped) and mag release and my trigger finger is only the trigger.

Mysteriously, I wasn't doing the wrong thing or fumbling across platforms. Realizing this, I've become a believer that being a jack-of-all-trades can help you master them all as well (not that I'm claiming to be a master of anything...I'm a decent shot, and only consider myself above average because I'm shocked at how poorly many people shoot).

Anyway, my point is that fundamentals translate across platforms. Good practice is good practice regardless of make and model. I don't practice shooting my EDC, per se...I practice shooting. So I don't see a need to have a duplicate of my EDC. If that P320CA somehow becomes inoperable or unavailable, I'd switch to the P229, PPQ or VP9. And I'd probably base my replacement choice on the most comfortable holster I have, which would be the P229.

Not enough options to answer the poll.

I carry a G32 and a G43, waistband and pocket respectively. I shoot both. However, I also shoot other pistols at the range, in addition to those, and due to the cost of shooting .357 Sig ammunition, it's sometimes more effective to train with a G19, and to run a 40 barrel in the G32.

I do a lot more shooting with 9mm, for cost. I think there's more benefit to shooting more with some slight differences, than to shoot only a little exclusively with the G32. I also take other models with me, such as the Sig P320, to the range, and have been shooting the P320 on steel competitions, though I don't carry the P320.

I also take the P365 to the range each time and shoot that. I'm still not in that trust-zone where I have a warm fuzzy feeling about carrying it, but it continues to get shot as I evaluate it. Thus far, it's holding up just fine.

I think that certainly devoting all the shooting to what's carried would improve proficiency with that pistol; a little variety does force me to slow down and focus on fundamentals, which is where I really need to be. I find it's really easy to overrun my skill level; focusing on basics is what's needed for me, and with that in mind, I think any shooting is a plus.

quote:

Originally posted by sns3guppy:I think that certainly devoting all the shooting to what's carried would improve proficiency with that pistol; a little variety does force me to slow down and focus on fundamentals, which is where I really need to be.

I probably didn't word my question very well. Your point is a good one, but not really what I'm asking. I'm considering the merits putting all of one's P365 (or G26 or whatever) practice rounds through a single pistol and accepting the wear and tear that goes with that vs having a second identical one that takes the brunt of the rounds and a carry gun that is tested occasionally, but remains clean and ready the rest of the time.

I carry a Shield 9mm M.2 and I have a second one in .40 that I have converted to .357Sig. I shoot regularly and the .357 serves as my back up. I shoot both at least once a week. Same platform, different caliber.

Depends on the volume I am putting through them. Right now most of my volume goes through my competition guns; the absolute number of rounds that my carry guns see is modest so I don't particularly care to get the duplicates, especially that carry role is filled by three different size Glocks. There was a time when carry and game gun was the same, and after breaking trigger return spring on an unflappable HK P30, twice in 8000 rounds, I got a triplicate: live gun, dry gun, and carry gun.
If the gun is p365, yes, I would not be shooting a carry unit past its vetting period. This gun has not lived its early reputation down for many people to even consider buying it, let alone running it like a service grade pistol.

quote:

Originally posted by MNSIG:

quote:

Originally posted by sns3guppy:I think that certainly devoting all the shooting to what's carried would improve proficiency with that pistol; a little variety does force me to slow down and focus on fundamentals, which is where I really need to be.

I probably didn't word my question very well. Your point is a good one, but not really what I'm asking. I'm considering the merits putting all of one's P365 (or G26 or whatever) practice rounds through a single pistol and accepting the wear and tear that goes with that vs having a second identical one that takes the brunt of the rounds and a carry gun that is tested occasionally, but remains clean and ready the rest of the time.

What's the point? Seriously? If you are putting enough rounds down range to make a difference, why are you doing all of your "practice" with a mouse gun such as the P365 you mention. Obviously, if you can afford to purchase a second 365, you can afford to buy a P320c to do the bulk of your practice with. And that is a gun that you can actually make gains with.

The whole "train like you fight" nonsense has long been dead in every other sport. Football teams do not wear all their gear constantly and train at 90 percent scrimmage to so they can "train like they fight". No sport does it. Except firearms. Gun rags, and the CDI (chicks dig it) videos have made this a thing. The whole "feel like a SEAL for a day as long as I train like I fight". When the truth is the guys that are serious don't often train "like they fight". Gun rags have convinced us that we have to have "duplicates" and that we should be only shooting one trigger type. When anyone calls BS they claim it takes a world of training to do it. When you point to modestly trained cops that manage to swap back and forth (as Buddy aptly mentioned) between a Glock and AR, they claim that is different. Shooting is far more mental than it is physical. But cute little phrases of little value rule the day in gun rags. "Muscle memory" is my favorite. Muscles have no memory, it is a conditioned response. And guess what? If you condition those muscles on a G17, but chose for whatever reason to carry a 43, the "muscles" don't care. It's all about running the trigger and seeing the sights.

I am at the point right now that I am considering banning mouse guns from my classes. And people constantly want to "train like they fight" and they show up to a class and they are beside themselves on why the girl with the Glock 19 next to them is excelling, and why they just aren't. But, gun rags have told us we must "train like we fight" despite the fact of the mountains of proof otherwise that it is a pitiful thing that costs people performance.

If the answer you are looking for is a hardware one, then yes, by all means get a second gun. If you want the software answer, run your practice on a Glock 17/19, P320 FS/Compact, M&P 4.25/4.0/3.6. You'll develop much better skill. Carry what you want from there.

All my guns are carry guns. I don’t have a training only gun. I shoot all my guns. I have no issues transitioning between different manual of arms. Even when I switch to the HK paddle release. A gun is a gun.

quote:

Originally posted by jljones: If you want the software answer, run your practice on a Glock 17/19, P320 FS/Compact, M&P 4.25/4.0/3.6. You'll develop much better skill. Carry what you want from there.

That's pretty much my routine. 90+ % of my practice is with a G19, M&P9, VP9. The 365, G27, etc get shot only occasionally.

I don't see it as train as you fight or a mouse gun thing. I've a buddy who cracked at least one G34 slide in dry fire only, maybe two. If a gun, regardless of its size, sees a lot of use, I don't see any downside to having a duplicate practice and a carry gun. This doesn't apply to carry only. A lot of competitors who are serious about winning have a practice gun and a match gun. A practice gun, a dry fire gun, and a match gun. A practice gun, a dry fire gun, a match gun, and a Nationals gun. You stop where your OCD ends.