Owning 2 exact same guns, one for carry, one for practice??

[GlockJock]

So I'm at the range the other day, pause to reload.. Only other person there pauses for reload also, we share a 'Hello' and small talk and we both notice we are shooting a Sig P365...I also notice he has his carry pistol in his waistband. Looks like a P365 also, but I figure it's the XL model, so I ask.
He tells me "Nope, same gun.. It's my carry gun but I own a duplicate that I shoot the piss out of at the range, then carry this one (pointing to his waistband P365) which I keep clean, pristine condition.." (etc)
So it made me wonder, does anyone here own 2 identical guns, one for carry, the other for range practice??

Your thoughts on this?

 

[Dennis in MA]

Do I own 2 identicals??? Hmmm. Maybe.

Do I own them to not-shoot the carry gun???? NO!

It's sort of like when you bring a new person to the range and they rack the slide for the first time. They do it SO gentle. Every single one of them.

"Let me ask you. You racked that slide pretty gently." "Yeah." "How hard to you think it's coming back when it fires????" "Ohhhh." "Yeah, don't worry about breaking it. Don't drop it. But you will have to work hard to break it by racking the slide."

Same here. I can't think of a good reason, outside of shooting THOUSANDS of rounds per month, of having a second gun. Even then, I'd probably rotate them at that point. Run one a the shooting gun for a couple of months. Overhaul anything that needs overhauling, shoot it another week, rotate. (Just to be sure the overhaul was AOK.)

 

[daekken]

I've heard of people also doing this with rifles.

I wouldn't bother with carry guns. My carry gun gets cleaned after every range trip. I've put thousands and thousands of rounds through some of them.

I'd actually rather have a gun that I've shot a whole bunch, since I'll know it's rock solid. A gun that gets shot like 100 times or so and handled with kid gloves is still an unknown quantity.

 

[SDG]

yup, 2 - 365s, exact same setup except, I shoot them in rotation so I always have one spotless for carry.

 

[nitsuj]

I personally don't do this, I can see where it would be beneficial from a wear perspective if you plan to shoot it a lot. I shoot the p365 I carry, but not nearly enough to justify having two. On the same thought, I shoot my carry weapon frequently, because I wouldn't trust my life to sometime that never gets shot...in theory it will work just fine, but why trust my life to theory. I do keep it clean and well maintained just to make sure when I need it to perform.

 

[wilson911]

I could see if it was a glock. Previously he shared a matching set. But then he broke up with his boyfriend and ended up with both. His bf took the dress collection.

 

[Realtor MA]

The carry/practice thing is a little odd. But duplicate guns are a must. Who doesn't bring 2 guns to a match? Or to a hunt?

 

[Buck F]

So I'm at the range the other day, pause to reload.. Only other person there pauses for reload also, we share a 'Hello' and small talk and we both notice we are shooting a Sig P365...I also notice he has his carry pistol in his waistband. Looks like a P365 also, but I figure it's the XL model, so I ask.
He tells me "Nope, same gun.. It's my carry gun but I own a duplicate that I shoot the piss out of at the range, then carry this one (pointing to his waistband P365) which I keep clean, pristine condition.." (etc)
So it made me wonder, does anyone here own 2 identical guns, one for carry, the other for range practice??

Your thoughts on this?

Yup, I own two identical 365 so I can shoot one at the range and not have to clean it right away before carrying. I do swap the guns out though, I don't have one just for carry and the other just for range. Periodically I'll shoot the gun I'm carrying w/ the carry ammo in it, and when I leave the range I put new carry ammo in the clean gun and carry that one for a time. This way I can make a couple of range trips without having to clean the gun each time. I find I shoot a lot more frequently, one of the things that kept me from going to the range was having to clean right after (I don't clean my fun guns right away, I'll usually take them to the range at least a couple of times before I clean them, but my carry gun is clean all the time.

I also like to have a spare in case something goes wrong w/ a gun. I used to carry the 938 but had to send it back to SIG twice and then I was stuck carrying another gun that I didn't carry much anymore. When I settle on a carry gun for the long haul, I like having two identical ones.

 

[headednorth]

yup, 2 - 365s, exact same setup except, I shoot them in rotation so I always have one spotless for carry.

This makes more sense to me rather than having one that gets shot often but not carried and the one that does get carried hardly ever gets shot

 

[jhblaze1]

Any excuse to own another gun is a good reason in my book.

 

[SKumar]

Does anyone own ONE AR-15?

 

[Reptile]

Not exactly:

But...

One for carry and training and one as a safe queen.

 

[1903Collector]

I dunno, to me the idea IS to shoot the piss out of your CCW and know that gun like the back of your hand, and I always clean mine after each use but hey, to each his own I guess, I mean who am I to judge...I used to have six M43 Firestars.

 

[Frizzle Fry]

Had a customer who shot out his 340PD to the point that he is on his 2nd cylinder and 4th forcing cone. Was selling him a case a week of Golden Saber a week give or take because he liked to shoot carry ammo at the range.

"Buy another one" was not just self-interest as the gun shop guy.

 

[xtry51]

We have matching guns for standardization purposes. I.e. it doesn't make sense for me to shoot/carry a G19, my wife a M&P, my sons 92FS and 1911. If we do that we can't all share mags/ammo etc.

Buy two, then using only one and not the other is silly

Using only one and that one not being your carry gun is outright retarded to me.

First pistols don't really wear out that much unless you're shooting an insane amount per year. And then not repairing your gun on top of it. What percentage of people in the US put 30k rounds through a pistol in its lifetime? I bet it's far less than 1% of all pistol owners.

Second even if you buy two guns of the same make and model they are not identical. If you think they are, you aren’t shooting them enough. I have three Gen4 G34s. All of them have different trigger feels. Maybe not to a newb, but I can pick one up and tell they are not the same.

I also put different sights on one of them and the POA/POI is lollipop hold for 25Y 10 ring rather than center cut in half hold for the other two. Again will a newb notice this? No, but that doesn't mean they are identical.

Buying two of the same gun also doesn't mean they are equally reliable. You should shoot the gun you carry the most.

 

[LuvDog]

Two is one.

 

[daekken]

Does anyone own ONE AR-15?

One M1 Garand wasn't even enough, so I bought another...

And of course one FAL isn't enough, everyone needs one metric and one inch.

 

[ReluctantDecoy]

Modern manufacturing is awesome, but not 100% fool proof unit to unit. I'd want a solid base of range time on a carry piece before I'd consider keeping it unused as a carry-only piece. If that's the case, then I suppose to harm, but if he bought both at the same time and just assumes pistol A and B will function 100% the same, flawlessly, then that's dumb.

 

[Picton]

I enjoy cleaning my guns after a range trip, and I don't understand people who don't...

Shoot your carry piece. Then clean it, PMCS it, load it, and carry it.

As for identicals, the only ones I own are my Webley Mk I-V, and those only LOOK identical. I have two Hi-Powers too, but those aren't really identical either.

 

[AllaSnackbah]

All my guns are boringly similar, but i dont do this.

 

[arsco]

Wait, we are supposed to clean the guns. Who the hell cleans a gun

 

[TZCHRIS]

Yup, one on each hip, then I have a parts gun on me at all times, after all it is a Glock .40

 

[jkelly1229]

I own a lot of the same guns...i like what i like...mag compatability and all that jazz

I usually get different colors so yeah im on board lol

 

[DW357]

First pistols don't really wear out that much unless you're shooting an insane amount per year. And then not repairing your gun on top of it. What percentage of people in the US put 30k rounds through a pistol in its lifetime? I bet it's far less than 1% of all pistol owners.

This. I know in the competition world, guys have backup guns because they shoot tens of thousands of rounds per year and you don't want something to break during a match etc.
I shoot a lot of matches but I'm probably only shooting around 6k rounds per year in my CZ pistols. Nothing has broke yet though I suspect the slide stop or trigger return spring will break at some point in the near future.

Average gun owners aren't shooting thousands of rounds per year in their pistols.

 

[enbloc]

I have duplicate carry guns for another reason entirely... Seizure for testing after lawful shooting.

 

[MaxStravinsky]

Yep, if I really really like a gun, I'll have two of it. But then, I do that with other things too. Eg. Last year I found a pair of sneakers that seemed perfect for me, I bought two pairs.

 

[enbloc]

This ^^^

 

[Buck F]

I enjoy cleaning my guns after a range trip, and I don't understand people who don't...

Shoot your carry piece. Then clean it, PMCS it, load it, and carry it.

As for identicals, the only ones I own are my Webley Mk I-V, and those only LOOK identical. I have two Hi-Powers too, but those aren't really identical either.

I don’t mind cleaning guns, I just don’t have the time after each range trip and found myself not going as often because I don’t want to carry a dirty gun. Since I got the second identical one I shoot a whole lot more. One of my clubs is on the way home from work, I’ll stop and shoot a couple mags and not have to clean it before I carry again. I do swap them out after a couple/few range trips so I shoot them both about the same amount.

 

[meh]

As my carry gun ages I begin to wonder how much more life the parts that most commonly need replacing have left. Ever had a click with no bang because the striker tip broke off? OTOH, I don't think it's wise to have two and keep one in pristine condition because then you don't find out about defects. I'm thinking having an identical one that you shoot to failure instead of your carry gun, which you do shoot some, makes some sense.

 

[Caveman]

I own 2 duplicate carry guns. both setup exactly the same and I rotate them. I shoot them both.