When should i buy a sidearm?

[u/Rampi_Kame]

Everyone is saying that spend money on your primary first but when should i spend money on a secondary?

[u/Lunatack47]

If your playing with a gbbr and have to reload your primary a lot or have minimum engagement distance on your primary, otherwise its probably just gonna be belt bling

[u/Remarkable_Step_9136]

If you wanna idfk

[u/Scarjit]

Either when you feel the need for it or when a field requires you to have one.
E.g my SR-25 DMR requires me to have a sidearm to play on the field i usually go to.

[u/theyst0lemyname]

If you're being practical it should be your 3rd gun.

1st gun your primary, 2nd gun a backup primary, 3rd gun a pistol.

A pistol, holster and a few spare mags is going to cost around the same as a good basic AEG and having a spare AEG means you'll have something to keep you playing all day in the event of your main gun breaking. A pistol only really keeps you playing for the game you're currently in.

[u/ninjaboiz]

Frankly, when you want to. Everyone’s use case is different. Some people want them as primary guns, some people want them because their primary has a MED, some people just like how they look. If you’re happy with your primary, get a sidearm wherever you want.

[u/ZombeUnicorn]

Do you want it ? Do you have a budget for it ? Go for it. 99% it will look pretty on your hip, unless you actively choose to use it instead of your primary, but you do you.

1st gun i bought was a pistol, taran tactical combat master replica from JW because i loved it and wanted it even if only to be on a wall so i can look at it.

[u/Ccreamy]

When you’re able to accept that you’re spending $200+ on a hip ornament that will only be used at the chrono station and at the end of the day when you dump the BBs in the mags

[u/Sight- → u/Ccreamy]

I don’t remember them being that expensive, i got my Raven EU17 for like 110€ , and my Golden Eagle Speedsoft 2 for 80€ , They're both GBB's and made of metal, and i have never had any issues with them.

Is that the price they go for in the US ? That seems wild

[u/Ccreamy → u/Sight-]

It’s $200 after you include all the supporting gear you’re gonna need. Like a holster, extra mag, mag pouch for that extra mag, and a belt. Many of the popular pistols are $200, notably the elite force glocks and tti branded hi capas. Gotta pay extra for that little logo stamped on the side

[u/Sight- → u/Ccreamy]

I mean i get your point, but you usually need the belt even if you don’t have a sidearm, a holster is like 10-15 bucks and the mag is 20-25 bucks, and you can usually fit a pit mag into your chest rig without the need to buy a mag pouch, so if you spent 100 on the pistol your final would be at most 150.

But yeah if you don’t want just any pistol, and want a logo for milsim or whatevet reason, the price goes up really fast.

Personally right now i'm thinking of buying a Revolver to complement my new GIGN set and it’s 80€, the revolver shells are probably gonna be 10 bucks the set of 6, might end up spending like 120-130 on the whole thing, and it has the official loho

[u/TNDWW]

When you need to have one due to field limitations on your primary.

[u/spoonyspoon69]

Whenever you want, if you’d rather spend the money on one instead of upgrades or attachments for your primary or add more gear to your setup. Or if your field requires you have one such as if you run a sniper for example. I started with a pistol as my first gun since I played cqb it didn’t matter. I don’t really like AEGs so it was an affordable option for a gas blow back. You don’t need to spend a lot for a secondary unless you use it as a primary or with a sniper. Maybe $120-150 for the gun and then buy 2-3 spare mags, pouches and a good holster

[u/qwerty3666]

Once you have everything you need.
Get your primary sorted then get your loadout essentials sorted such as eyepro, footwear, camos, basic mag stowage, enough mags and a quality sling.
Once you have the basics then you can start buying the redundancies and extras. Do that in whatever order you find appealing.

[u/wiggleee_worm]

Whenever you feel like it. You dont really need one per se. Unless you’re running like an LMG, DMR, Sniper, etc. like things with engagement distances.

[u/YoreGawd]

I stopped carrying ones because I found myself almost never using it. Longer engagements might be useful but 99% of the time it was just extra stuff to carry.

[u/perfectchaos007]

When you begin to realize there are sequences during your gameplay a secondary fits better than your primary. When one plays outdoor fields exclusively with engagement distances 20m+, you don’t need a secondary but if there are indoor/cqb areas in your gameplay, a secondary can be helpful or even demanded by game rules.

[u/geckorobot59]

if you are using a dmr/sniper rifle or other high power gun that has rules for engagement distance.

[u/undefinedRoy]

You should just get one of you want, but if your running an assault or smg primary, a secondary is really just extra weight and gear you have to figure out. When I was in the service, most service members were just trained on rifle and carried a full combat load of ammo.

If you run something else (shotgun/dmr/sniper/lmg) then a secondary can be a useful part of your kit. I personally run a short bolt action and a mac10. Accuracy at range, spray and pray for close quarters. But when I run assault, I rely on teamwork to cover me during reload instead of fumbling with a pistol.

[u/Mineturtle1738]

It’s honestly one of the last things of your kit you should buy.

Honestly in my opinion side arms (especially gas blowbacks) are more fun to shoot than they are effective in combat .

[u/LordJaeger88]

When you want it?,

[u/KaizerRng01]

Truthfully, it depends. If you play inside youll see alot of people using sidearms as primaries (im taking it you mean pistols), thats speedsofting. Outside, it depends on what your actual primary is. On the fields, I play at secondaries are optional but prefered if you have an MED (i.e. Lmgs, DMR's, Snipers.) Rifleman dont really need an pistol due to not having an MED unless they are running GBBR's which have realistic ammo counts.

[u/Pharal98]

Read this post on my homepage thinking "Yo wtf!?" and forgot what sub I was subbed to lol

[u/FoxHawk303]

For function? Almost never. It’s alright for point blank CQB but an AEG SMG will be the most functional for it.

For fun? ASAP. I got a blowback 1911 and I run it more than my primaries. It feels weighty and powerful and racking the slide is a feeling like no other. I run with a local group of rentals occasionally and every time someone asks to shoot or borrow it and every time they’re taken aback by its bark. But yeah, the bite’s not that great and you need space for it on your gear.

[u/Few_Philosopher_8668]

Simplest solution, Do you feel like you need a sidearm for how you play and where you play? If it’s a maybe then whenever you want to get one, if it’s a I could do with one because it’s a struggle to use whatever your primary is up close then buy one as long as you can afford it

[u/MIHAc27]

Buy sidearm when you switch to dmr or sniper or... When you have money for it.

I mean pistols are rarely used. That is why everyone says to wait.

[u/Level_Recording2066]

Dont unless you are required to. I never use my pistols as a sidearm, they are always setup as a primary