Backup gun for open division...?

[jakfrost]

Hi all, perhaps not the best forum for this question but thought I'd throw it out there to see what floats...while shooting my first 'far away' match, ( Florida Open ) last month the thought occurred to me that if my gun failed I would have 6 days of driving and 13 hotel stays of investment basically down the drain. OK, maybe a broken gun in the middle of a stage would zero the stage but at least with some form of backup I could at least finish the match.

So here is the question, what do others do...load up with spares?, ( I already carry the usual items like firing pin, extractor, ejector, etc and of course a full compliment of springs, tools etc. ). And since I shoot 9 major, should that include a spare slide ( and barrel perhaps since they are fitted to each other and the frame...)? That seems to be one of the 'not if but when' failures that I hear about from other other major shooters.

My gun is new to me, with a detailed round count of under 4,000 at this time, but while training with FG in Florida we burned thru an average of 1,200 rds per day. And in the summer I try for 'range train' average 3 days a week, so between 15,000 and 20,000rds a year would be average...not sure what to expect from an STI DVC putting out 170PF.

Jim

 

[madcow]

I always carried a backup for important matches, or at least shot with a friend that I can borrow from at the match.

 

[abb1]

It is hard to make suggestions without seeing your gun. I have never found it necessary to bring two guns to a match, however you should always have a kit of replacement parts, for which have a potential for breaking such as extractors, barrel lugs, slide stops, barrels, springs (don't break but may need them), extra mags, etc.. You shouldn't need a spare slide, however skeletonized slides are known to break, especially with 9 major.

 

[heavenIsAlie]

if you are going to carry 80% of a gun as a spare, you might as well just buy a whole second gun. Bonus if they are identical since you can train mostly with the backup and keep one for matches.

 

[pmt]

If I were investing 6 days of driving and 13 days of hotel rooms for a match I would absolutely have more than one gun in my bag along with spare parts. I used to bring a second gun for a one hour drive to a level one/two match in Ontario or NY. The only time I didn't bring the second gun was for Tuesday nights at BRRC.

 

[ivan]

Depends what you're shooting. If you have something common: you can probably borrow a gun to finish the match. If you have something uncommon a backup is wise. Always offer to loan your gun to someone else suffering a broken gun: this increases your odds of having one loaned to you in your time of need.

Also: if you're shooting a 1911/2011: extractors and slide stops (2 simple spare parts to carry) represents the lion's share of breakage.

-ivan-

 

[Fast Toys]

The best solution is to have a backup gun. If that is not possible, I agree with Ivan that shooting a popular platform makes it very likely that someone can loan you a gun to finish the match or share with another competitor.