I don't always but do often carry a BUG. It depends on what I am doing and where I'll be doing it.
Sometimes I'll carry my BUG as my primary weapon, again depending on circumstances.
I like my j-frames and my mk9 for this job and I practice with them regularly. I also use a j-frame 357 mag in IDPA "BUG" matches which are a lot of fun and I do well with it.
So do any of you carry a BUG? Do you practice with it regularly or ever?
If you don't carry a BUG, why not?
I carry one once-in-awhile. I practice with it again, once-in-awhile. Not something I feel the need for in my everyday travels and I already have way too much junk in my pockets as it is.
I answered YES I carry a BUG and YES I practice with it for the poll. But that is not the actual truth just yet!
I have been looking for a BUG to carry for about a year now, looked at all of them that peaked my interest and even one's that didn't.
Couldn't find anything I liked and wanted to call my pocket BUG. I have been wanting an R9s for quite some time but thought they were way out of the price range that I wanted to spend on a BUG as well as the wait for getting one.
My wait is now over as I bought erh's R9s this week. So in just a few day's now I will have an official BUG after, function and reliability testing. So YES I will soon be carrying a BUG and YES I will shoot it to practice on a moderate basis.
NAA Mini 22 mag is an almost constant BUG companion when out and about - and it gets shot periodically. Lives either in vest pocket this time of year or top shirt pocket in winter.
A better BUG is R9 which at times goes in pocket if I feel the need for more caliber.
Most of time tho at home just my 1º 226 and nothing else. I am fortunate that I am not out a huge lot.
Voted option # 1; as it stands right now in PR, only 1 handgun can be carried at a time with a carry permit - don't really have the funds to contest the decision, so I just carry my primary.
I have my primary carry weapon (XD 9 SC or .40 service, occasionally bersa .380) and that's it for guns. Part of it is that i have enough stuff (gun, extra mag, knife, flashlight, 'biner w/ keys, +/- multi tool). The other is that i can't really picture a situation where I'd need or want it. Sure... there are situations where it could come in handy... but there are also situations where I need my AR-15 or shottie and i'm sure NOT gonna have that. I depend more on my situational awareness to keep me out of situations like that.
I don't carry a BUG, but there's no doubt that a BUG offers advantages a single gun can't. But, the real question I suppose is what are the chances any of us will be in a situation where our main carry gun won't work?
I realize there have been a few cases where a BUG made a difference, but it is estimated that guns are used over a million times a year in self-defense. IIRC, the NRA says that in something like 90% of the confrontations, the mere presence of a gun ends the confrontation.
Still I applaud those that carry BUGs, and have no criticism at all for those that choose to carry only one gun.
Now that I work for myself 14 hours a day 7 days a week(C-Store & Deli) I carry my 1911 and J -frame everyday.Only problem is I have no time to get my shooting in anymore.But when I was shooting at least twice a week I shot my carry gun and my bug gun each time.
The only time I carry a bug is at night I'll take my XD9 and my .38 special derringer. I practice with both, eventhough the derringer isn't effective beyond 10ft, which makes it really effective if I get carjacked. it gives me time to draw my 1911
And when I travel I'll put the derringer in the cup holder of my pick up
Very interesting. I am a little surprised at the number of folks with NAA minis. I had one and could barely hold onto it and certainly couldn't hit anything smaller than Sasquatch at 10 feet. :blink:
Now I'm wondering if I should've spent more time trying to master it.
I've got a BUG match tonight and I plan to use my SW 640 Centennial. The ammo with the most obnoxious BOOM and biggest fireball I've found is Winchester WinClean 125gr JSP 357 mag. I tested it yesterday for POA/POI at my local indoor range and the bugeyed facial expressions from others on the firing line made it clear that THIS is definitely the ammo to use for the BUG match. :image035:
All good points.
Maybe a bug is just a feel good thing, but the chances are better at least if one fails the second probably won't. I do know tactical reload and practise that a lot and would go with that before getting the bug out. Also nobody wins a knife fight there is only a survivor. Everyone gets cut and I'd prefer not to go there.
Also the group I run with I could hand off a gun to and they'd be a definate help. I've even trained with the wife with team tactics and we carry the same caliber and etc. She does not carry a bug, by the way.
My bug is a NAA 22mag (with 5 extra rounds) in a niffty factory pocket holster. If you put your left thumb over the backstrap and grip it that way, they are quite accurate within "belly gun" distances.
Granted some of the gun school philosophy may not be that practical, such as "fight your way to your rifle", but that would be the optimum thing to do if you could. The best advice I've heard is if you know in advance there is going to be a gunfight ...don't go.
p.s. after over 100 hrs. training with Clint, nothing the man says is what I consider "shallow".
I agree. With my military training, Karate, etc. (weapons, including knives), shooting schools, Dad training, and personal experiences, I re-evaluate all the time. I just know what works for me and even that changes ocassionally.
By the way, my quote of Clint's " one is..." is his way of saying get two of the same as in 1911s, Glocks, or AR15s. I not aware of him carrying a bug. I've only seen him carry a 1911 and a Spyderco folder.
And so far as training with a bug, I agree. I can only imagine shooting 1200 plus rounds in a week with my nasty 22mag. I do keep up with it though.
i carry my xd 40 service usually with two spare clips, when possible i carry my xd 40 sub compact in a center of the back job. there is something to be said about interchangeable clips.
Hey pretty cool video. It looks like they lean out a little too far though around the barricades (shoot what you can see).
It would be really cool to have that setup in your basement. My family hides mirrors and stuff around the house to make sure I roll out just enough to see and shoot, but my wife says no live fire in the house!
After much deliberation (and the fact that my 640 isn't back from the smith with it's new XS big dot front sight), I have decided that in the local IDPA BUG match tonight I am going to use 1911 BUG which is a Kimber Ultra CDP.
I haven't spent as much live fire time with it as I'd like so to make it more interesting and allow me to burn up a little more ammo, I am going to shoot CDP and BUG with it in the same match. :image035:
My wife is going to take pics and video which I will share as long as they don't depict me ventilating myself. :nono:
I'll be competing against some more experienced shooters with full sized guns. I am not worried however because they won't be able to shoot worth a darn after being blinded by the super nova sized muzzle flash's from the baby Kimber and her posse of 185gr target torchers. :yup:
Here's my take on the whole BUG thing. If and when I carry one, I don't carry it because I think my carry gun will malfunction. I know, murphy's law, but if I was really expecting a malfunction, I'd find a different primary. I don't carry it for the NY-Reload for the same reasons that have already been listed.
For me, it just gives me more options. I have people ask me why I carry 3 or 4 knives (as if they expect me to use all of them at once ). I respond by saying that if I need one I don't know what position I will be in, or which hand I will have to use to access the weapon. If I only had one, it would reduce my chances of being able to rapidly deploy it.
This is the same way I feel about my BUG. If I am in a position that precludes me from getting to my primary. For example, if I happened to fall/get taken to the ground and ended up on my back (not an uncommon occurance in a fight), it might be difficult to access my Glock in an IWB at 4:00. At that point, I'd have the option of accessing my BUG which I usually carry at about 1:00 (A-IWB). Granted, this example may not be perfect. One, I've got a fairly strong background in empty-hand striking and grappling; Two, at that range, I'd probably be using a knife. Anyway, y'all get the idea.
So for me, instead of a "backup" gun, I guess it's more of an "alternate" that would only come into play in a situation where my primary was unavailable.
If I own it I shoot it. No safe Queens here, I cant afford them.
Ken, your example is a very good one. My backup is reall my primary when a street thug says "give me your bilfold." Back pocket, Kel-Tec 3AT. just reach for you billfold & you don't have to lift shirt. ooopps. wrong plcket dude. Sorry.
Your fault though. Wrong victim.
I have a BUG, but to me it's more of a "heat wave" gun, that I can hide in the front pocket of a pair of cargo shorts. I don't carry more than one piece at a time.
Last night was the Dallas Action Pistol club's BUG (back up gun) match. There was a pretty big turn out of regular shooters and even a couple of first timers from out of town. Not everyone shot BUGs, some folks just shot their regular guns. I shot in BUG class with my Kimber Ultra CDP 3" 45acp. I also took some real firebreathing ammo for the after dark stages. Me make big fire. :yup: There was some pretty serious comedy too. I got to witness an EX shooter run out of ammo with one target left to engage AND miss a headshot at less than 5 feet. It was a hoot, especially since he helped design the stages.
Out of 29 shooters I came in 2nd place! I got beaten by an expert (EX) shooter and his Glock 26. The best part for me though was that I shot the entire match (6 stages) CLEAN! Zero down on every stage. I've been trying to do this since my first match and I finally did it, and with a tiny 45 too. :danceban:
Hardly ever carry it as an actual BUG, but I do have a 642 which I both carry and practice with. I actually find it fun to shoot that little thing.
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