Who Carries A Gun & An Alternate Weapon With Which You Have Been Trained?

G

Glenn Bartley

New member
When I carry a firearm, I almost always carry at least one other weapon with which I am not only familiar but for the use of which I have received training. In my case, that can be either a backup pistol, pepper spray or an expandable baton. I like to have various options open to me as to the type of force I may need to use if a gun (use of deadly force) would not be appropriate.

So who among you does likewise? In answering please try to limit the alternate weapon to anything that actually is manufactured to be a weapon and one you have been trained to use. Training can be any sort from professional instruction to a friend teaching you to self trained.

All the best,
Glenn B
 
I carry a "tactical" flashlight with me. By tactical I mean it has a 200+ lumen light that is very focused. Can't really say I've been "trained" other than "shine light at BG, run" kinda thing. I carry it to class cuz I can't have my gun on campus. Not the best thing but it has to do. Pepper spray is banned on campus. As are knives over 3". I have a leatherman that is 2.5" but I don't want to risk my college career and financial standing over a leatherman. Plus a leatherman is not a self-defense tool.
 
I always have a knife on me. Sometimes I carry a small baton for pressure points and locks, but I'd rather have a more intimidating force as I can do just as well with my hands bare as when armed with the baton.
 
I carry a spring loaded knife as well as a .45acp, but both would be considered "lethal force". My ccw instructor very specifically warned me about keeping non-lethal weapons on my persons while carrying! Maybe it is just because Minnesota is only a few years into being a "shall issue" state, and has a stupid clause that says I'm required to try running away first when being confronted by a BG..... But because of these kind of gray areas, I would have to pretty much already be shot in order to convince a jury that my tazer/baton whatever the case wouldn't have stopped the BG and I was justified in pulling a gun.
 
If you have ASP baton or knife out, then obviously you are doing something wrong. You should be hiding out somewhere with your cell phone calling in the highly paid law enforcement officers to do their job.
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To bad the bad guys don't always let you retreat and call the police.
I can't always carry a firearm. I can almost always have a knife, pepper spray. Always have my hands and my head.

There is a difference between looking for trouble and being prepared to defend yourself when trouble finds you.
 
When I was young, I was trained in unarmed combat and knife fighting. But I have to be honest with myself, that as I approach 50 years old, I am no longer able to perform like the hard 20 year old of those days. It's gun only for me.
 
timetohunt said:
This thread promotes an unsafe message. In a self defense situation on the street, your concern should be getting away, being a good witness, calling the police or using deadly force as a last resort. Carrying around knives, pepper spray and batons makes it seem like you want to enforce the law. There are plenty of highly paid law enforcement officers who are specifically trained to do that job. Even if you are an off-duty officer, then most departments advocate that you be a good witness and let the on-duty officers handle the situation.

If you have ASP baton or knife out, then obviously you are doing something wrong. You should be hiding out somewhere with your cell phone calling in the highly paid law enforcement officers to do their job.
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+1

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy Tablet using Tapatalk Pro.
 
TimeToHunt,

This thread, with all due respect, is not promoting anything except maybe you promoting a misinterpretation or misunderstanding of it. Where did anyone suggest that anything illegal or unethical be done? A question was asked that is all. Statements were made as to what weapons people carry, that is all. No one said - hey - go out to do something illegal, unethical or immoral. There is absolutely nothing wrong with carrying other defensive weapons where allowed by law.

In a self defense situation on the street, your concern should be getting away...
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No getting away should not always be your concern, and certainly never the main one. The main concern you should have in any situation wherein you are threatened with imminent serious bodly injury or death is that you defend yourself sufficiently to survive. So when a bad guy grabs you from behind and throws you to the ground and starts stabbing you, tell me - are you going to run away? I could name thousands of other types of situations that require immediate 'fight not flight' action on the part of the victim. People would never carry weapons at all if in fact they were always required to get away. The fact is that is not a requirement if you reasonably believe you cannot escape without being harmed. If you ca escape unharmed, great but if not - then what? So what would you do then. Would you choose to always shoot someone instead of using lesser force? There are many situations where you could be attacked and need to use force to help you survive or even to be able to get away yet where deadly force would not be justified.

In fact, if you only carry a gun - then you may be doing something wrong or promoting bad behavior if only because you are not giving yourself the option of lesser force than deadly force. If you do not understand that then I suggest you learn the continum of force. You may be required to try to escape if possible but when escape is not possible and harm to you is imminent then you would be less than intelligent not to defend yourself with a legal weapon if you had one. If the amount of force being used on you does not justify deadly force yet does justify use of soft techniques or hard force in return, then tell me - would legal pepper spray or another legal weapon such as a legal expandable baton not be a possible, ethical and intelligent alternative to use of deadly force.

Bear in mind, no police department or law enforcement agency, in this country of which I am aware, tells their officers to only be a good witness when they are threatened with imminent deadly force or risk of serious bodily injury while they are off duty. Many state laws do not require their police officers, even those off duty, to retreat when threatened in such a manner - in fact, many do not even require non-law enforcement civilians to retreat.

Also bear in mind, we are talking about carrying weapons for self defense not about being John Wayne, or the flaming avenger or Paul Kersey. We were talking about whether or not people carry alternate weapons.

All the best,
GB
 
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Besides a pistol, I usually carry a knife. Beyond that, I have and continue to train to defend myself in H2H. I think self defense training and learning truly effective means of using your body as a weapon are important for everyone that is physically able to do so. There is no simulating fisticuffs and how to move people who are resisting.
 
Glock 19 9mm and tactical 3.5" folder. Instructor level in Hapkido with weapons proficiency in short bladed knife, escrima, and ligature. I'd carry an asp if I could do so comfortably, and consider myself better armed with it than the knife.

~LT
 
Almost always have a 3" folder on me and will carry my firearm when I get CCW in OK since I recently moved here from PA.
 
Never felt the need to carry anything less than lethal. H2H used to ne the norm but in todays world they just dont do that.

My cousin a police officer told me that things like a baton could convey something that may not be true so I often have a large d cell flashlite in the vehicle. A baton is used for one thing, a flashlite is for liteing up the place.

Why would you use anything other than a gun? if you beat a guy with a steel object you are assaulting another, if it is that bad then shoot him. Beat him you may be sued or arrested IMHO.
 
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