Backup gun vs. spare parts

The discussion on 3, 4 and 5 gun pistol boxes made me think of another question. It sounds like lots of us carry a "backup" gun. Do any of us carry spare parts to make on the spot repairs if needed? What have you experienced a need for or actually used? I was thinking that for a 1911 it might be handy to have a spare recoil spring plug in case one got launched during a quick cleaning session. Maybe a pre tuned extractor and ejector.
Im sort of thinking ahead to Camp Perry (I would be a first timer) and I'd sort of like to hear what people actually take to allow them to function in all the various conditions that occur at the National Matches. I've heard ponchos and rain covers for your gear. Straps to hold your box on the shooting bench in the wind. Large wheeled carts to get your gear through the mud. All sorts of suggestions.

I absolutely positively guarantee that if you go the spare parts route the part that you need to repair your pistol will NOT be one you packed in your box. That would be against Murphy's Law.




I take a 3 gun and a 4 gun box to matches. Keeps me in balance.

I have to agree with OldMaster....only a complete gun has all the parts needed to provide the parts needed for a Camp Perry parts failure.

Here's the kind of failure that happens at Camp Perry: All year everything is working ok.  Prelims at Perry all is fine.  .22 day, the Marvel starts malfunctioning, doubling, FTF you name it.  Switch to the High Standard. First Magazine of Timed Fire goes great.  2nd and subsequent targets are all ZEROs.  They didn't even record me for participating in the Rapid fire match.  The Red Dot on the High Standard came apart internally and I was shooting blind.

Aweful...

Wow! A double shot of Murphy! So is it worth it to carry some spares and a backup? Sort of like extra ammo.

Sure.  There will always be somebody that will need what you brought.  It's always nice to be the go-to guy that helps out.

A backup pistol is nice, but I can't recall ever needing one. I think for a wadgun,  that it is a real good idea to have a pre-fitted firing pin stop, extractor and firing pin with spring in my gun box. I keep my spare parts in a pill bottle.

Just last month at our Regionals on the very last rapid fire match when the command load was given my slide went forward and my full length guide rod fell out of the pistol and landed on the bench. It was broken in half. I was able to swap out the short one in my EIC pistol, change recoil spring and cap and was back in business in less then 2 minutes. I can't even imagine predicting a failure like that. It was a good thing I had a whole spare pistol there for parts.

Len

Thanks guys. Some real OFBS online mentoring there. Len, are you a "detail clean it every time I shoot it" guy or a "don't wear it out cleaning it guy"? I had a two piece guide rod unscrew once but that's the first Ive heard of one breaking.

Kwixdraw.

   I am a clean it before a match kind of guy but shoot it before I get to match. The guide rod was custom made by a gunsmith. They took my original Gold Cup part and welded an extension on it to make it full length. I didn't realize it was even possible for it to break. But it did. It now has a Wilson Combat full length rod.

Len

Thanks Len. That explains how it was possible to miss it starting to fracture. I even carried my duty gun dirty from a few rounds as I probably shot many times more frequently than most of my partners. Most problems I have had with a 1911 are general wear type things. I've replaced a few slide locks that wouldn't reliably lock the slide back on the last round and magazines that split at the back feed lip area. An ejector or two but mostly they are like a Timex

Backup gun here.  Extra 22 and 45 configured just like the primary.

I have used an empty .45 case to replace a lost recoil spring plug in a pinch.

Ron Habegger

I only shoot locally, which is the same town in which I lie,  so sometime I  take a back up and sometime I do not. Depends on my mood. Yiogo

I have been in this game since late 70's. Learned early on, backup guns setup the same . Paid of for me many times over the years. Couple times at Perry. Two weeks ago nelson unit failed to feed during slow fire, worked with it till timed fire match course. First shot failed to pickup next Rd. Declared alibi and switched gun to marvel backup gun. Finished with 862.   it gets  expensive for two sets of guns. Paid off for me.

I carry a small amount of parts, to local matches, but to out of town two day events I carry a full tool box with everything needed to fix anything fixable,

OldMaster64 wrote:Just last month at our Regionals on the very last rapid fire match when the command load was given my slide went forward and my full length guide rod fell out of the pistol and landed on the bench. It was broken in half. I was able to swap out the short one in my EIC pistol, change recoil spring and cap and was back in business in less then 2 minutes. I can't even imagine predicting a failure like that. It was a good thing I had a whole spare pistol there for parts.

Len

I'm not a fan of full length guide rods. More trouble than they're worth.

BE Mike,

  I would agree with that statement about being more trouble then they are worth about 90% of the time. The exception would be if it was more than a guide rod. The reason this guide rod was custom made instead of just ordering one up was that it was weighted. Adding a couple extra ounces to the right spot makes several interesting changes to the pistols performance.

Len  (when it doesn't fall apart)

You can go expensive and get one made out of tungsten too. Thanks for all the input guys.

Going the backup gun route pretty much guarantees the ability to continue the match where as Murphy stacks the deck against your having the right part(s) to do so.

Ron Habegger