Carry/Shooter matched set: How close is close enough for you?

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  • 88E30M50

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    For those that try to keep a near duplicate of your carry gun for range work and as a backup, how close do you tend to configure them to each other? For a long time, I didn't really worry about this much as I tended to carry mostly 1911s and all of those in my small collection are pretty close to each other in feel. But, last year I moved over to mainly carrying striker fired guns and have tried to maintain a range gun separate from the carry gun. In my P10Cs, I have two near identical guns with the main difference between them being that one has luminescent sights and the other tritium sights as well as the carry gun has a flat face trigger and the range gun has a slightly curved trigger. Other than that, they are identical. I've been less successful in keeping a matched set of Glock 30sfs. One of mine is completely stock and the other has a Pyramid trigger, night sights and Talon grips. I'm not willing to put $200 into that second G30sf to bring it up to the same spec. I also have a Gen 4 G23 that I really, really like and don't even have a backup on that one.

    The beauty of having a matched pair like in my P10Cs is that on a range trip yesterday, I could put as many rounds through the range P10 as I wanted all while carrying the exact same gun that is in carry condition. I also shot the both the carry G23 and G30 yesterday. Both needed cleaned and lubed to get back to normal carry condition although either could have been loaded back up with SD ammo and jammed in a holster if need be.

    I'm not looking for answers to anything, but was just wondering how many people maintained identical carry/range pairs of pistols. Yesterday's range trip has me thinking that I should probably either put some money into the second G30sf or just sell it as it's use as a range gun is nil if I would rather shoot the carry gun. I am also toying with the idea of grabbing a second Gen 4 G23 from the used market to add as a backup there.

    How many of you keep a carry/range pair and how close do you tend to keep the two configurations?
     

    cundiff5535

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    Not sure I follow the logic of having a range gun and carry gun in the exact same model with the same specs/brands/etc? Why not just shoot your carry gun at the range... If you range doesnt allow to unholster your weapon on the range (some dont). Just unload it, box it up, and carry it into the range in your bag.

    Dont get me wrong... I am all for an excuse to buy more guns!

    You dont owe me an explanation either... as mentioned, do what you like. For me though, I would be shooting what I carried at the range!!

    Cheers bud!
     
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    I like to match things up. My issue weapon is a Glock G4 22 with Tru-Glo sites, it's counterpart my personal 23 Gen4 is setup exactly the same. My M&P M2.0 9's are all setup same as well. All have Tru-Glo's and 147 HST no other mods. I do have one oddball M&P, the 45 Shield. Got it for a good deal and couldn't pass on it. It also has Tru-Glo's and HST ammo so it's close to a match to the 9's.
     
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    BehindBlueI's

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    Not sure I follow the logic of having a range gun and carry gun in the exact same model with the same specs/brands/etc? Why not just shoot your carry gun at the range... If you range doesnt allow to unholster your weapon on the range (some dont). Just unload it, box it up, and carry it into the range in your bag.

    Dont get me wrong... I am all for an excuse to buy more guns!

    You dont owe me an explanation either... as mentioned, do what you like. For me though, I would be shooting what I carried at the range!!

    Cheers bud!

    Round count. You run enough rounds through a gun, parts break. You'd rather they break in training then when you need it.
     

    WebSnyper

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    So I take a different approach. I buy duplicates of carry guns (all of them, at least one dup, if not more). That said, I shoot the carry gun at the range. The EDC is setup with night sights, etc.

    I "used" to setup the duplicates with night sights, etc, but I'm not doing that anymore. I have enough sets of night sights sitting in the safe working away their useful life. I shoot the backup/duplicate enough to know it will run, etc, but otherwise not much.

    If I have an issue with the carry gun (breakage, some other issue, it were to get taken as evidence, etc), I would press the backup/duplicate into service, and if needed a set of night sights is just an LGS visit away (or an online order). As stated I still have some Glock 19's in the safe with night sights, etc, but for example when I bought my 2nd Glock 43, I didn't bother to put Trijicon HD's on it like I did the primary. I just shot it quite a bit to make sure it functioned with carry ammo, and range ammo, and put it in the safe as a duplicate. Night sights get expensive and to have lots of them working away their useful life in the safe, didn't seem to make a ton of sense.
     
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    cundiff5535

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    Most handgun barrels can handle upwards of 90k rounds, unless you are doing some serious serious shooting, I doubt your carry guns will ever see that round count.

    If your talking thumb safety slide stop, etc... forged parts will rarely break on a 1911, mim... different story, and I’ll just not go threes. Furthermore, that’s even rare. Plastic/poly stuff... never have seen any of that actually break down.

    Just because I haven’t see it, doesn’t mean it can’t happen though.

    Anyways, I’m rambling about **** that probably doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of things.

    Cheers and enjoy your Easter brother!

    Bobby C
     

    KJQ6945

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    I tend to buy things in pairs. But, over time one might evolve in to something else. We like to hot rod them up a little, and I don't sweat the differences. If I put Zev parts in one Glock, and the change isn't night and day, I'm not spending the money on parts for the others.
    CGWs parts and the CZs are probably the exception to the rule. The change is remarkable, and I can see it being done to all of them. And, then there is 1911s.........
     

    88E30M50

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    In addition to round count, there's also the benefits of being able to shoot an identical version of your carry gun until it's filthy all the while carrying your carry gun in a nice, cleaned and lubed condition. You step away from the need to take the grungy gun home to clean it before sticking it back in that nice carry leather. You also gain the benefit of having a spare should you lose your primary to either an evidence box, recall or repair.
     

    Vigilant

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    I have duplicates of my duplicates. G19’s are cheap, parts are cheap, mags are cheap. It’s easy and wise to stack’em deep. Most are set with Trijicon HD’s, but I’m going back to all black rears eventually. All have G17smooth triggers, and the triggerguard undercut. About half have the “-“ connector/NY1 Olive spring “enhancements, the other half are bone stock. They all go to the range in rotation, except the ones stored “offsite”, they were vetted and packed away to their respective locations. I carry enough spare parts to rebuild 5 pistols minus barrel, slide, and frame. The only carry gun without an identical twin is my RDS equipped 19. If it goes down, i go back to a stock Glock.
     

    BehindBlueI's

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    Most handgun barrels can handle upwards of 90k rounds, unless you are doing some serious serious shooting, I doubt your carry guns will ever see that round count.

    If your talking thumb safety slide stop, etc... forged parts will rarely break on a 1911, mim... different story, and I’ll just not go threes. Furthermore, that’s even rare. Plastic/poly stuff... never have seen any of that actually break down.

    Just because I haven’t see it, doesn’t mean it can’t happen though.

    Anyways, I’m rambling about **** that probably doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of things.

    Cheers and enjoy your Easter brother!

    Bobby C

    I've broken small parts from use.
     

    Jeff

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    I own/shoot P7M8's exclusively (I know, boring) and own no other type guns.

    I don't see a need to complicate things.
     

    CPT Nervous

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    My duty gun is a M&P 40. I used to carry a G19, but I bought another M&P 40 to carry off duty. I also bought a M&P 22, and a M&P gas blowback airsoft pistol. The only difference between the two .40s is the duty weapon has a Streamlight TLR-1. I didn't put a light on the off duty one so I can conceal it better. When I go shoot, I generally carry whichever one I am not shooting.

    We're probably getting the M&P 40 2.0's soon, and I will buy my duty gun when it is retired. I might even buy a couple more. M&P LE trade ins are going for $299, and magazines for $10.95. I wanted a 9mm, but no one can keep them in stock.
     

    WebSnyper

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    My duty gun is a M&P 40. I used to carry a G19, but I bought another M&P 40 to carry off duty. I also bought a M&P 22, and a M&P gas blowback airsoft pistol. The only difference between the two .40s is the duty weapon has a Streamlight TLR-1. I didn't put a light on the off duty one so I can conceal it better. When I go shoot, I generally carry whichever one I am not shooting.

    We're probably getting the M&P 40 2.0's soon, and I will buy my duty gun when it is retired. I might even buy a couple more. M&P LE trade ins are going for $299, and magazines for $10.95. I wanted a 9mm, but no one can keep them in stock.

    New 9mm M&P Gen 1 for $349 below... though you can get a 2.0 compact for $399 at times.

    https://www.aimsurplus.com/product....ail&utm_term=0_6870497a6a-231edb1525-18158513
     

    NHT3

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    Glocks probably have the fewest parts and as good a reputation for reliability as any platform but anything mechanical can break. I seem to get calls from people when they are having issues because I do a trigger now and again. I've seen 2 broken trigger springs, 2 broken slide lock springs, 1 cracked locking block and couple of slide stop lever springs cause problems as well as one connector that was completely worn out. (I'm assuming a defective connector) The slide stop lever spring and the worn out connector were the only problems that put the pistol completely out of service. Things that get used wear out and break. The only Glock I've witnessed failing was at a GSSF match and from what I saw it was a combination of too much lube and probably thousands of rounds. Keep in mind that there's always a possibility of a defective part. I run a few rounds through my EDC at least once a month but have a pistol that duplicates it that I use in the Carry matches. I do my best to keep Murphy from sneaking up on me.

    [FONT=&amp]NRA Life Member / [/FONT]Basic Pistol instructor[FONT=&amp] / RSO[/FONT][FONT=&amp]

    [/FONT][FONT=&amp]"Under pressure, you don't rise to the occasion, you sink to the level of your training. That's why we train so hard" [/FONT][FONT=&amp]
    [/FONT][FONT=&amp]Unnamed Navy Seal[/FONT][FONT=&amp]
    “Ego is the reason many men do not shoot competition. They don't want to suck in public”

    [/FONT][FONT=&amp]Aron Bright[/FONT]
     

    ru44mag

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    I believe in having at least a pair of EDC. Mine are identical. They have both been my carry and they get range time. I try to even it out so they stay as identical in feel as possible. But now that I say that, I have not had one out of the safe for probably a year. Time to swap.
     

    ru44mag

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    I own/shoot P7M8's exclusively (I know, boring) and own no other type guns.

    I don't see a need to complicate things.

    Interesting choice. I had the privilege to shoot one last summer. It had an unusual feel to it. But I did like it, and it was very accurate.
     

    88E30M50

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    I really like having the ability to run the crap out of something all the while still having it's identical sibling in my holster, ready to go. I'm 99% there with the P10Cs but need to work on that for the Glocks. RU44Mag, I like the idea of rotating the two of them out periodically. I had not really thought much about that, but was more thinking that it would be good to keep one cleaned, lubed and ready with the other getting range duty. Makes sense to have them set up so they can reverse roles once in a while.

    I really need to keep an eye open for a second Gen4 G23. Between that and finishing up the 2nd G30sf, I think I'd be happy with the carry family.
     
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