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I just got my first handgun. I'm still learning the ins and outs with it. However, when I can afford it, I do plan on augmenting that with some other firearms. Will I carry a BuG? I don't know yet.

When I was doing research I watched quite a few EDC (Every Day Carry) videos on youtube and saw several where the guy carried one on his hip with two spare mags, one in a pocket with two spare mags, and one on his ankle with two speed strips. They also had two tactical folding knives, a hip knife, and usually some sort of blade or multi-tool either on their hip or their keyring or both as well as two or three tactical lights. I had to wonder A.) How the heck did their pants stay up? B.) Why would anyone carry that much weight? and C.) What, where they expecting to be in a war zone soon? They sure were ready just in case.

I've given thought to what my firearms would be. When I get my CHL, my primary would be at the three o'clock position. Possibly a small .38/.357 mag/.38+ revolver or small Kahr/Kel-tec/LC9 as a pocket gun if I know I might be going into a bad area. Another weapon (possibly a short carbine) in my storage area in my KIA and a semi-auto handgun upfront so I don't have to pull my gun out of it's holster every time I get in the car. In the house, that's a different story.

For all the reasons given plus: there are situations where you can discretely prepare and deploy a pocket gun when it not practical or possible to deploy from a waistband holster.

As far as OC: if Texas becomes an OC state I will rarely, if ever, OC. Though I might change my mind after OC settles in awhile.

I never carry a BUG and think that it's over-kill...



Until now. This thread has changed my perspective. I'm carrying my little .380 as a BUG from now on.
That's also good news because it mostly sits in the safe, and now I can start actually carrying it! (Along with my Glock or 1911)

suthdj wrote:I don't carry a BUG, however I believe most that do, do so for the same reason you wear your seat-belt even though you have an air bag. Just in case.

Bad analogy since airbags will kill you if you aren't wearing a seat belt.

Murphy's law does not say everything will go wrong when you are expecting it.
but it dictates they will "at the worst possible time"

Otherwise, I'd think being armed at all is overkill ... except when I make plans and put on my calendar to go camping in front of a known crack house/ or something ...

I usually carry one of my Glocks as a main carry but I also carry a bug .38 S&W about half the time also. I like to ankle carry my Smith and we all know how hot it has been this summer so I try not to wear jeans. Once it gets cooler I will ankle carry my BUG everyday.

As for why I carry a BUG.

1. Like others have said, your primary might fail when you need it. Unlikely but it could happen.
2. It was an excuse to get another revolver for woods carry loaded with snake shot. Revolvers work a lot better with those CCI shot shells. When I go hunting with friends on occasion we see wild hogs and rattlers all the time. The Smith is for the rattlers, the Glock 20 is for the hogs and my .30 .30 lever action is for the deer. So I actually have carried 3 firearms on me at a time. . I bet there are others here who have carried more!

I practice shooting regularly. During one of my practice sessions, my gun jammed.

The problem was a double-feed. It was jammed pretty hard. As I stood there dealing with the malfunction, I thought about how much quicker it would be to drop my jammed gun and draw a backup.

I started carrying a backup and I practice with it.

On a road trip, I keep 1 in the door panel and the other on my hip.

Liberty wrote:On a road trip, I keep 1 in the door panel and the other on my hip.

...good plan...often a concealed gun on us is harder to draw when sitting in a car...a second one unaffected by clothes or seat belt will give you a much quicker response...and leave something for a spouse to keep company with while you change a tire, get gas, or go into a store...let alone walk for a distance...are they the same caliber so you only have to carry one ammo???

I carry a BUG and if I thought it was necessary I'd carry a BUBUG. Stuff happens, and when it happens it comes in spades. Mr. Murphy was an optimist his wife on the other hand was a pessimist. Mrs. Murphy's law is - - - "Bad things ARE going to happen; and when they happen, they are going to happen to YOU!!!" Like Clint Smith said, "One is none two is one." That means when your primary gun pukes you still have your BUG to carry the day with. I have a fire extinguisher in my kitchen does that mean my kitchen is going to catch fire? No but if it does I can handle the problem. A back up plan will get you through rough times better than no plan will.

Am I paranoid? No, I'm carrying at least two guns. Why should I be paranoid?

The Annoyed Man wrote:The short answer would be that those who do so, do so for the same reasons that most LEOs do so.

You can have your primary suffer a mechanical failure...... Your primary can run out of ammo...... Your primary can get taken or lost in a scuffle...... Your BUG is accessible more quickly than reloading your primary...... Etc., etc., etc.

And then, there's just because you can. Personally, I don't, but not because I'm agin it, but just because it's not practical for me. But I don't care one way or the other if someone else does.

My husband is like this...He usually carries his primary weapon, but then sometimes (not all the time), has a BUG. Sometimes it depends on what area he is going to.. But as The Annoyed Man said, my husband does it for the same reason as LEO's do...But that is part of his training too. He was military for 4 years and Explorers for a while. He also is now in the Police Academy, so go figure.

TxRVer wrote:

suthdj wrote:I don't carry a BUG, however I believe most that do, do so for the same reason you wear your seat-belt even though you have an air bag. Just in case.

Bad analogy since airbags will kill you if you aren't wearing a seat belt.

Oh fine spoil the analogy with facts.

I carry a BUG because the most statistically probable urban CHL gunfight isn't about guns, it's about fighting.

John Perkins, Al Ridenhour, and Matt Kovsky wrote:Over 90 percent of gunfights occur within 21 feet. More than half of these occur within 5 feet. Most people, when put to the test, can’t even get their guns out in time to defend against a person rushing them from across a large room.

At the range, the odds of someone taking your gun away from you are pretty much nil. In real life, few of us train for extreme close-quarters defense and retention shooting.

If you haven't trained for ECQB, an assailant close to you can foul your draw or take your gun away. Doesn't take much skill; just instinct.

A BUG isn't about your primary suffering mechanical failure, IMHO. It isn't about your primary running out of ammo.

It's about when you're in a fight and you're struggling to keep the bad guy from using your primary against you.

Like ELB, I also carry a blade. In some circumstances, it may be a more appropriate fire extinguisher than my BUG.

See this previous thread for more information: viewtopic.php?f=7&t=44097" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I carry a G22 on my right hip, a PF-9 in my right pocket, and a Rossi Snubby .38 on my left ankle. I carry 2 spare mags for my G22 on my left hip, and 2 spare mags for my PF-9 in my left pocket. I also keep spare .38 rounds between each of my toes just in case.

This way I have my primary weapon, and my BUG. I also have a BUBUG in case my right arm is disabled so I can draw with my left. I also have plenty of ammo for each.

Oh I also keep an AR-15 and 20 fully loaded 30rd mags built into the driver's side door. and a 12ga in the trunk on a spring loaded contraption that flings it out when I pop the trunk with the remote.

Oh and lets not forget the Barrett M82A1 in the back seat for those pesky long range threats.

I'm working on tax stamps for an AT-4 rocket launcher and ammo so if the threat tries to flee I can disable his vehicle.


In case anybody reading this didn't realize.....that was a joke. I am currently looking for a PF-9 for a BUG though.

...I'd hate to be shot with your .38...that toejam's wusser'n garlic...