Never go unarmed again

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Moving will do little good, the whole country is in decline, with all the jobs moved overseas.

I'd pick an XD, M&P, or a Glock in 45 ACP, then 40S&W, then a 9mm. pick something that feels good in your hand, and you can carry with confidence and comfort.

For Gods sake don't ever go unarmed, and be willing to use it.
 
Wow AK103K, that is rough.
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Not really, we chose to move here, and I dont regret it in the least. I'd rather be here, than around a lot of people. "Most" of the time, its a lot more peaceful and quiet, than it is a worry.

My point was, it doenst matter where you are, people are people, and anything can happen, at any time, no matter how safe things appear.

Sometimes though, more freedom just requires a little more work or caution on your part. Ill gladly take that over a constant police presence, and interfering local governments, and what usually comes with it.
 
I think the OP's problem is with the state, or municipality first. He's a corrections officer. IMO Corrections officers are not given the respect, or commitment they need and deserve. ALL corrections officers should be considered into some level of law enforcement. All corrections officers should be given the same consideration given to off duty police officers, or deputies.

Corrections officers should by statute be given the option to protect themselves when not at work.

Gary C... Does your department provide any firearms training?. If so what is the service pistol/revolver issued to armed officers? I'd recomend that if you just want a firearm and have no plans of a dedicated training/practice regimen go with what ever you qualify with at work. Other than that the world is your oyster. A good service size/style pistol would be a Glock 19, or a 2" round butt model 10 revolver.

Without knowing if you work in a prison or a jail I'd guess it's a jail if you run into former inmates in your community. What does your department recomend, or mandate you do when encountering a former inmate? You may want to take these questions into consideration when choosing a firearm.
 
I could have carried a compact all those years. I did not, and chose to carry a 5" 1911 IWB. The way I figure it, bigger guns are easier to shoot well than any compact or mousegun. If I ever ran into some gangbangers or something I would be stressed, so the big controls and sights would help me to give a more effective response over some diminutive gun that's hard enough to hit with even under relaxed conditions.

Yeah, it's heavy at 39 oz, but its slim and you get used to it. It is more comforting than a 38 snub for sure.
 
Yeah...I feel the OP's pain.

I carry my XD45 with an extra mag.

Or my custom 1911 with 1 or 2 extra mags also.



Or if I'm feeling glocky cocky one of those little puppies with a spare.

ALWAYS on me. You won't ever catch me without a gun on me.
 
First Thank you for your service. COs have a thankless, dangerous job and recieve little of the respect they deserve.

1st Allways carry at least one spare magazine. It is the simplest and fastest way to clear a malfunction. Drop the Mag, clear the jam, insert the new mag and get back into the fight.

2nd. Survival is 90% will to survive and training.

3rd. Use the weapon you are most comfortable with, have the most training with, and are confident with.

My preferred carry is a 1911 GI issue. I have fired thousands of rounds through rack grade 1911s. I have total confidence in the weapon, the round and my ability to hit whatever I aim at.

You must establish that same level of confidence in what ever you carry.

Good luck, God bless and once again thanks for your service.
 
Gary C... Does your department provide any firearms training?. If so what is the service pistol/revolver issued to armed officers? I'd recomend that if you just want a firearm and have no plans of a dedicated training/practice regimen go with what ever you qualify with at work. Other than that the world is your oyster. A good service size/style pistol would be a Glock 19, or a 2" round butt model 10 revolver.
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We use a S+W 64, most 30 or more years old. Let me say I don't feel under gunned with a 9 and the right loads. The two I speak of are the CCI short barrel +p's and the Remington Saber. I've shot enough of those, and dug them out of clay, to be impressed.

Te training at the prison is not to be considered, it's a joke and no better than minimum training for a CCW. There are no tactical considerations in either. My experience is with auto's, and tactical movement add situational awareness. The dynamics of groups are a specialty of a C/O, or they better be.

I've watched these CCW classes, basically they make someone feel ready, right up until they get killed. I actually spoke at one, and went into use of obsticals, demeanor and awareness, ****** the instructor off. He said 'I teach the NRA way!" Well, if that's the NRA way, the NRA way sucks.

What he teaches is intro. Without tactical ability, combining UASD with the gun, and situatioal awareness, that person is lost with a gang banger. Guess what, gang bangers practice these days.
 
From my own experience, I have pretty much given up on "small" carry guns. A good belt and holster take care of hiding and distributing the weight of a larger gun. I also carry 2 extra mags with me when possible. Mags at the ready make clearing malfunctions much easier.

My typical load out is a Springfield XD in 357SIG with 2 12 round mags on my weak or reaction hand side and the loaded XD on my strong, right for me, side. This allows me 37 rounds of 357SIG and doesn't really carry worse for me than just the pistol without the extra mags.

My secondary carry gun is a CZ SP-01 with 19 rounds of 9mm at the ready and a spare 18 round mag, soon to carry 2 spare mags for it as well. It's big, but my state laws on carry allow for open carry or concealed carry. So no big worries if my gun prints. Different states obviously have different laws, so be aware of them as they can impact your gun and gear choices.

More important than the gun is how much you train with the weapon and how well you handle it under stress. Just drawing a pistol from concealed can be a chore if you don't practice. Get the Magpul dvd set "art of the dynamic handgun" and practice all the drills till you can't stand it anymore, then practice them again the next day. Lots of dry fire practice really helped me and since I don't have the money to train under a professional the dvd's really were excellent for me.
 
Get any training availabe, you KNOW what you have to deal with.

Carry what you are comfortable with and PLACING rounds where needed.

Sound out other fellow CO's and determine what they are doing, maybe somebody from the field LEO's can be a coach for you.

For my personal carry, it varies from a J-frame with two speed-loaders to BHP, M39-2, or .45, all with two spare mags.

Good luck!
 
I like the 9mm. If I felt like I needed more power than that I'd move up to a 357. A g26 with g17 mags for reload is a force to be reconed with :)
 
I live in the city to the South that Garry refers. I carry a FNX-9 with a backup mag in a AIWB holster. When I run or wearing clothes without a belt, I carry a Taurus 709.

My advice is to carry a high cap 9mm. The 9mm with modern HP ammo(Win ranger T-series 147gr is my choice) does everything a 45 does, if put in the same place. If you are faced with 4 gang members, a 1911 gives you 2 rounds per guy without reloading, a high cap 9, you have 4+ per assailant. Considering the potential ineffectiveness of any handgun round,more is better.

Learn to get off the X and make head shots.
 
Small town, suburb, or city it really doesn't matter. Remember, when seconds count, the police are only minutes away. You need to be prepared to protect yourself and your family. CCW is a state of mind as much as anything else.

BTW, a Glock G23 with TruGlo TFOs and 180grn Speer GDs sits on my hip ready.
 
I tried the CW40. It didn't work for me due to reliability problems even after two trips back to the factory. After much thought I bought a Kahr K-40, so far it's been great. It seems that the CW9 has been far more reliable than the CW40, I just prefer the .40 cal.

You might consider the Glock 26/27 for carry. Good capacity, reliability, and accuracy. I have a G-23 that used to carry as my primary off-duty (after I got the Crossbreed Supertuck). I got the Kahr for off-duty because it fit my hand much better than any other auto I've tried.

Be safe.
 
From left field

I don't envy the Corrections Officer, or any other peace officer for that matter.

There is lots of good advice in this thread.

IMO, they need the biggest gun they can carry, with all the ammo they can manage.

I'm old and growing feeble, so I must limit myself to a 9mm, but there 13 rounds in it and another dozen in a mag on my belt. I may carry my snubbie too, when I figure out how. The day may come when it is all I can manage.
 
Unfortunately, unlike a cop, I have to follow all the restrictions. Fact is, off duty I'm in more danger than a cop. A lot more criminals know me by face.
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Why would any former jailbird want to harm the guards after they have been released? The only reason I can think of is to get paybacks for abuse.

I've watched these CCW classes, basically they make someone feel ready, right up until they get killed. I actually spoke at one, and went into use of obsticals, demeanor and awareness, ****** the instructor off. He said 'I teach the NRA way!" Well, if that's the NRA way, the NRA way sucks.

What he teaches is intro. Without tactical ability, combining UASD with the gun, and situatioal awareness, that person is lost with a gang banger. Guess what, gang bangers practice these days.
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NRA first steps or basic pistol course is just what it says basic. Its not designed to be anything more than that. In my first steps course we follow the book per NRA demands. After we are done in my class I ask if the student wish to stay for extra. Those who choose to stay get a crash course in the how to fight with a handgun from the importance of Situational Awareness to tactics like firing from the retention position, shooting your way to cover, maintaining distance, shooting on the move, weak hand shooting and much much more. Guess what? My students are no more ready for a shootout. Nope not until they begin to practice the tactics and live in condition yellow are they better ready to face an armed confrontation.

My point is take a course tailored to your needs rather than pooh poohing an instructor teaching a course properly.
 
threegun...

... I used to work out in a dojo with some CO's. They used to tell horror stories of the things over which inmates would get violent. One of the guys was supervising a road crew, and occasionally shooting the bull with a trustee, a guy he thought he got along with. However, when it came time to put the guys back on the bus, he made the trustee put out the cigarette the trustee was smoking.

Apparently the trustee thought the CO had made him look like a bitch, so he decided to attack the CO with a bush axe (one of the tools the road crew had been using). Luckily, the CO had been training at the dojo with bokken and staff take-aways; he was uninjured, the trustee ended up knocked out, and lost his trustee status.

My CO friend's point was that most of the inmates were not in there because they had good impulse control.

My cousin, a Massachusetts corrections Lieutenant, is on medical leave with a separated shoulder, because he got attacked by an inmate while he was supervising a change of cells.

A friend of mine who recently retired as a San Diego deputy sheriff told me that their department starts all new deputies in the jail, because they want the guys to recognize the bad guys when they are out on street patrol. SDSO seems to feel officer survival goes up when the deputies know many of the bad guy's faces. (Because a lot of the guys who were in jail, will do things to earn their way back to jail once they get out.)



Another
 
Why would any former jailbird want to harm the guards after they have been released? The only reason I can think of is to get paybacks for abuse.
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Seriously? You don't think that any CO is at risk unless they've abused a prisoner that then recognizes them on the outside? That's incredibly ignorant. Do you think that guards get harmed on the inside only becaused they've done something to "deserve" it? Spare me.:mad:
 
Why would any former jailbird want to harm the guards after they have been released? The only reason I can think of is to get paybacks for abuse.
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An attack on a C/O is generally an attack on the system. Kind of like "It ain't personal." Same as randomly shooting a cop.
 
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I think my only advice to the gentleman who said his P63 is inadequate, how about a glock? A Glock 20 10mm to be exact. This has quite a bit of punch for an auto loading handgun that doesn't weigh too much. There is some great 10mm ammunition out there as well.

Also of course since it's a glock they are extremely reliable. The 20 if I've heard correctly HAS some of the best muzzle velocity of any of the other 10mm glocks. In any case 10mm is decent against anything with 2 legs. Do remember that even if youuDO have to defend yourself with a firearm that you are responsible for other people.

The bigger the gun the better chance it can go through walls etc.
 
I have no question as to the effectiveness of a 9mm with the right load. CCI short barrel HP's or Sabers.

Tactically, I'm shoot and scoot. My objective is to extract myself from the situation. If a perp pursues me and I shoot him, that show to my advantage in the scene invest.
 
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