2017; Any Police still carrying Revolvers?

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What he's asking is what does "IDC" stand for? Since you gave the "prisoner transport" clue, I'm guessing it is [insert state name starting with I] Dept. of Corrections.
 
Last time I was through Chicago, a lot of the Airport Police at O'Hare were carrying 6 shooters, and only a couple were packing semi-autos (believe they were MP-40s)
 
One of our small neighboring depts has an older guy that carries a S&W model 65. He's had it since he joined the State Police over 30 years ago, and is still carrying it somehow.

Our county Sheriff issues S&W airweights as BUGs. But all depts but 1 in our county issue Springfield XD45 Tacticals as the primary handguns. The city dept that doesn't issues VP9s.
 
ILLINOIS DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS still issues Smith 64s for prisoner tranport.

I saw some in use recently. They do not use them because "if you can't do it with six you can't do it at all" or any other dumb reason like that, they do it because they are poor and cannot afford proper handguns.
 
Model12, what is a "proper handgun"?.... IMO, it's always the man behind the gun that decides the issue and not the weapon.

Anyone have a copy of Elmer Keith's "SIXGUNS" Read the chapter on Revolvers vs Autos... he makes some good points, of course, this was written before the advent of the "WonderNines" and polymers striker pistols :).
 
Model12Win said:
they do it because they are poor and cannot afford proper handguns.
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So, they can’t propose the state government to inquire from other agencies of a similar size to take their sidearms when they upgrade?

I’ve seen smaller departments do that multiple times, with guns, magazines, and holsters. One had Beretta 96s and S&W 6906s for years before the got the funds to buy new ones. Rebuild everything, and at least equip the entire agency with a lot less out of pocket. Then the governing body (state or county) adds a similar amount of funding to the new purchase that would cover what the old gear would have been surplused for.

Sorry, but there are ways around not having funds. They probably stick with them because they still have people in the higher ranks that feel it is a viable option, so why change? All it will take is seven inmates to overpower one officer... then you’ll see them switching to Glock or something similar.
 
I ain't seen a cop carrying a revolver in nigh on 2 decades.

Why the heck would a cop carry a revolver? For law enforcement use, a revolver is a detriment, possibly a life-ending detriment.

I know of no CA law enforcement agency that allows its cops to carry revolvers. There might be one, but I'd doubt it.

Revolvers are less reliable than good quality semi-autos (revolvers have more moving parts), they hold only 6 rounds, they take too long to reload another 6 rounds, a cop has to take his eyes off a threat to reload a revolver, and God be with a cop who has to reload a revolver with a speed loader in darkness.

Comparing a revolver to a semi-auto is like comparing an ocean liner to a DC-8, which put passenger ships out of business.

I forgot that a cop has to do a hand transfer of a revolver in order to reload it with a speed loader.
 
SA1911 said:
I ain't seen a cop carrying a revolver in nigh on 2 decades.

Why the heck would a cop carry a revolver? For law enforcement use, a revolver is a detriment, possibly a life-ending detriment.

I know of no CA law enforcement agency that allows its cops to carry revolvers. There might be one, but I'd doubt it.

Revolvers are less reliable than good quality semi-autos (revolvers have more moving parts), they hold only 6 rounds, they take too long to reload another 6 rounds, a cop has to take his eyes off a threat to reload a revolver, and God be with a cop who has to reload a revolver with a speed loader in darkness.

Comparing a revolver to a semi-auto is like comparing an ocean liner to a DC-8, which put passenger ships out of business.
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I agree. Sorry, lots of nostalgia and romance surrounding the revolver, but if I were a cop today I would be frankly very upset if they issued me a revolver.

If the (probably old) officer has used nothing but revolvers his whole career, then I guess I can see it but not for any new recruits. It doesn't take a genius to realize you are simply putting the officer at a huge disadvantage to anyone armed with a semi automatic. Semis have come so far that the old "six for sure instead of fifteen maybe" is just downright STUPID and bottom line up front, carrying a revolver as a law enforcement officer in this day and age is a horrible idea that could get the officer killed in a gun fight given the prevelance of Glocks etc. etc. on the street.

Cops are first responders to such crises as active shooters, murderers, bank robbers, etc. They run TOWARDS the gunfire, not away. They hold the lives of innocent people in their hands, your friends, family, coworkers.

Tell me this, do you REALLY WANT that officer with so much weight on his shoulders with such a dangerous job to do, to have a six-shot revolver with a slow and dexterity intensive reload to use to protect these people?

Leaving Barney Fife, John Wayne, and Clint Eastwood out of the equation of reality, I sure as hell don't.
 
Our state actually does not allow revolvers at the police academies. Any cadet that goes to the academy must have a semi-auto to qualify with (qualification is 50 rounds).

1911's are highly discouraged.
 
What about the late Jim Cirillo of the NYPD Stakeout Unit?

20 gunfights, 11 perps kiled, although this is supposedly a conservative number since they didn't keep good records then as they would now, in over 250 stakeout encounters.

The handguns he carried into harms way were two S&W Model 10 .38s, a Colt Cobra and a Walther PPK .32ACP.

Of course he had access to shotguns and rifles (which they have today, also) but in most of the venues he was assigned, a long gun was not practical for obvious reasons.
 
What about him? He worked mostly in the 70s.

40 years of Glocks, CZs, Berettas, semis have come a long way, and MANY have gotten into hands with ill intent.
 
I agree with that... bad guys, nowadays, are just as likely to be armed with weapons the good guys have....

More relevant is the threat of terrorists armed with automatic weapons, grenades, RPGs, etc....I have good revolvers but if I had to go to the mattresses with just one handgun it would be my XD9 and as many 17 round mags as I could carry.

Sorry to get a slight bit off topic.
 
JJ45,

What Jim Cirillo might have done in a long bygone era is totally and thoroughly inapplicable to the current era of law enforcement. In fact, if Cirillo carried a revolver and, if he had access to a good-quality semi such as a Sig and, if NYPD had approved semis and, if Cirillo chose a revolver of a Sig, I'm with Model12 Win: he was STUPID.

There is not a single advantage any excellent revolver has over any excellent semi. The opposite is not true.

I'm going with revolvers as no longer considered tactical weapons.
 
hdwhit
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Join Date: June 22, 2017
Posts: 456
I am aware of a handful of small municipal departments in rural areas of Texas and Arkansas that have reserve officers armed with revolvers, but other than that, like Screwball said, it's a semi-auto world.
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please tell me that they are even carrying single action revolvers?
 
I previously posted the comments below in another post, but decided to copy and paste it here in response to some of the anti revolver, pro semi pistol comments listed above. Just my opinion, based on my personal experience. Keep in mind that many retired and off duty LEO's carry revolvers like the S&W 642, 442, Ruger 101 snubnose .38 spl, .357 Mag, etc. not because they are forced to, but because they TRUST them more than a semiautomatic. Our decisions are not based upon video games or information gathered in chatrooms or from various bearded Youtube experts who all claim to be a ex "contractors", etc., but from experience we gained in real life. Carry what you will, but don't be so quick to judge others. Some of us have been carrying Revolvers before a few of you were even conceived and LONG before Al Gore invented the internet. As I stated, carry what you will, but don't be so quick to pass judgement.

"I am issued a 9mm SW MP and forced by policy to carry it on duty. Nice gun, accurate too. But, since my Department started using them well over a decade ago, well... lets just say there is a huge focus pertaining to trainings / "tap n' rack", in order to clear jams. Limp wristing, dirty ammo, magazine issues, weather, etc. have all resulted in an ongoing plethora of jams on the range. Seeing this and even experiencing it myself with the SW, and previously issued Beretta 96 have shaken my faith in semi autos. If allowed, I would qualify with and carry my own revolver, either a .44 mag or .357. This is strictly forbidden by Administration and I want my pension, so I follow orders and train with what I am issued. Don't get me wrong, the SW MP is a nice gun, but I just don't trust it or any semi automatic as much as I would a good revolver. I have seen other top brand semi auto pistols like Kimbers, Colts, Springfields and even Glocks jam on occassion over the years. I'm not knocking S&W or the others quality control, but the very finicky nature and reliability of the semi pistol design itself, at least compared to a well built revolver. I like semi pistols, I own several good ones ... some I even love to shoot (like my Beretta M9 and Sig 220), but I don't TRUST them, not 100% anyhow. Pistols are great for small game or tin cans, but for self defense, protection of life and limb, I want a Revolver!! Off duty, and free to carry what I damn well please, I now carry one of my revolvers and a few reloads, with additional ammo in my vehicle. Aside from reliability, Revolvers offer MAGNUM power, and in .357, .41 or .44 Magnum, there are few semi auto pistol rounds that can offer the same level of raw power. Revolvers can shoot low powered wadcutters or hopped up +P power hunting rounds, with ease. A semi cannot do that and function properly without changing springs. Revolvers are simple to operate, look nicer and although they can and do indeed get jammed (1 revolver jam in my life, a backed out ejector rod decades ago. Lock tite fixed that!), I believe jams are far less likely to happen with a well maintained quality brand revolver, than with a semi auto pistol, based upon how MANY semi automatic jams I have personally observed over the course of my 5 decades on this earth. I also feel the heavy, long double action pull on a revolver is SAFER than the hair trigger of a striker fired weapon. Accidental discharges with striker fired weapons happen and quite frequently if one is careless or gets clothing stuck in the triggerguard when reholstering. Ask the LAPD or search Youtube pertaining to striker fire accidental discharges. Another consideration; close quarter combat! Suppose during a self defense situation one finds oneself on the ground or otherwise being overpowered at close range by a vicious assailant(s) trained in MMA or armed with a knife? A semi pistol, if pressed up against a solid object, will have its slide pressed back out of battery, rendering the pistol inoperable and useless, except as a club. Not so with a six shooter (or 5, 7 or 8 shooter!). Something to consider, when one choses a sidearm to defend your life or that of a family member, as many altercations that cannot be avoided begin unexpectedly at VERY close range and end up on the ground. I know... I'm not very "tactical" by not picking a plastic framed, high capacity pistol with a rail / light and I may not win any Mall Ninja awards, but I'm comfortable with my off duty choice of carry".
 
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What I like about LEOs having autos, particularly hi-cap autos, is that it allows them to spew many more rounds throughout the immediate area as they
have and will continue to do.

Or maybe for every hour they train with their autos, they also need at least fifteen minutes or ten minutes training for fire control.
 
When I retired almost 2 years ago from my agency, there were probably less than a handful still carrying revolvers. Those dinosaurs started before me, and I thought they were dinosaurs back then. However, I heard they finally started retiring since then, but I don't know if they're all gone.

I never carried one on duty due to policy since I wasn't grandfathered in, but I could carry them off duty. I still could have carried them off duty up to my last day, but I stopped many years ago, instead choosing semi autos on and off duty.
 
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