Limited STI Back-up gun

[Prov1x]

Do you guys have a limited STI/SVI type back-up gun to your Match STI/SVI Limited gun?

The reason I am asking is I have an STI Edge that I haven't shot since getting it back from STI after they replaced everything except the grip and slide. Then they refinished the entire gun as stated in the "slide getting stuck" thread.

I have a Matt McLearn custom limited gun coming in in feb/march time frame and I am trying to decide if I should keep the edge as a back-up or sell it. Its hard to justify keeping a $2100+ gun as a back-up but something is telling me that its always a good idea to have one.

What to do...

Edited December 29, 2013 by Prov1x

[Aggieddad02]

You will surely get a lot of different answers to this questions. So with that being said let me be the first. That decision can be based on whether or not you should a lot of matches, especially majors, that you travel away from home for. 4 hours or better travel time, fuel costs, hotel costs, food costs, etc. then a backup gun is a wise decision. I have a Gans built 2011 and I picked up BNIB Edge for a good price that I had some upgrade work done on and the 2 guns are very close in feel and trigger. I feel that it is worth the money to have the second gun. If you can afford to keep the gun I vote to keep it

[JakeMartens]

For the last couple of years I have always had two limited guns, even three at one time. I travel to matches and shoot many majors, having a back up is piece of mind. I sold my Brazos a few months ago and have Jim Anglin building g me a duplicate of the limited gun he built me two years ago. So not only a back up but a back up that is exactly the same as my main gun.

[RangerTrace]

I prefer to have a back up gun, even for local matches (which is mostly what I shoot). I've never had to use mine, but it's comforting to know I have it. I have offered it to other shooters who's gun went down though...

[Intel6]

Years ago when I was shooting my Edge as my primary gun I used my Glock 20 with a .40 barrel in it as my backup. It would shoot the long 1.200" ammo I loaded for the Edge so I didn't have to bring different ammo. I did need different holsters and mag pouches and got some cheap ones figuring it would get me through a local match.

A few years back I built up a 6 " limited gun on an STI frame and started using the Edge as my backup. I have been to a few Nationals and I definitely wanted to make sure I had a backup even though I have yet to have a problem with my limited guns at a match. The only issue I have now is that I like the fast 165 gr bullets in my 6" gun and still use 180's in my Edge so I have to have two batches of ammo for each one. The nice thing now is that I only have to have one holster set up as the Ghost will work with all lengths of guns and the mag pouches are the same.

Neal in AZ

[Prov1x]

I do shoot a lot of matches, A4, SSN I know its not limited, Double Tap, Arkansas Section, Oklahoma Section, USPSA Nationals (usually production but was planning Limited this year), A3, MO Fall Classic plus at least 2-4 local matches a month. I think the idea of having a back-up would be comforting since I travel a lot. But I'm still not sure....

[The Antichrome]

Keep the backup. I may need to borrow it;-)

[2MoreChains]

For me it would depend if I needed the money from selling the Edge to pay for the new gun. But on the other hand, used guns usually don't fetch what we paid for them new...

My first 2011 was a 5" Eagle in .40SW. I shot it for a couple of years then got the itch to have a 6" 2011 built. Once the 6" gun was done I had a 5" 9mm top end built for the Eagle. Yeah, that cost me another $700 clams or so, but I've had a lot of fun with that 9mm "Eagle" shooting 3-gun, Steel Challenge or whenever major PF wasn't needed. When I travel out of town to major matches I put the Eagle's .40SW top end back on and bring it along as my back-up gun. Knock on wood, I haven't needed to use it yet, but there is comfort in knowing that it is there if needed.

But sometimes it all comes down to the money... One thing is for certain, I would hang onto the Edge until the new gun shows up and you get used to it.

[HI5-O]

If you can afford to keep it, keep it.

I have two open guns now and the first one is my practice and local match gun, while the newer one will be my major match gun. Both are set up almost identical (except for the hammers).

[blaster113]

Yes, if you're going to shoot matches where there is a significant travel expense I think its a great idea to have a backup gun. Right now I have a stocked spare parts kit but when my new gun gets here I plan to get a similar back up. I shoot 2-4 majors a year and each involves a 6 hour flight, hotel, car etc.

[cnote]

I do carry a back up to majors for my 2011. Unfortunately it is a G35 so I néed all the gear and shorter ammo to go along with it. Fortunately it all fits in one ammo can and I would just suit up on my carry belt. .......one time I actually left the 2011 ammo behind by accident when carpooling up and the spare ammo ran fine in the 2011

[beltjones]

There are some smoking deals on potential "backup" guns on here all the time. I got a beat up looking gun built by Shay for a song, but it has a fantastic trigger, it's reliable, and it's accurate. If I consider that it typically costs upwards of $1000 to attend an out of state match, then it seems crazy to me to not spend a little more than that to take along a back up gun. Like someone posted above, you could even outfit a G20 to fire your 2011 match ammo, though you would probably need to take along different holster/mag pouches for it.

[GForceLizard]

I've been unfortunate enough to have a broken gun twice in the past 4 years. The first was a broken rear sight. Lucky for me a friend loaned me a gun, mags, holster, etc for me to finish the match. I didn't do very well after that but I got to shoot and finish the match. My second failure, 2 years later, took out my extractor. This time I had a backup gun. I ate a zero on my broken gun stage. With a zeroed stage my match was not good, but I was able to shoot the remaining stages well.

I'm voting for having a backup gun.

[tbarker13]

There is no way I'm traveling for a major match without a backup gun. My backup cost about a third of my primary gun, but they have matching triggers, grips, magwells, etc.

They don't feel exactly the same. But they are close.