Questions about LEO personal side arms among others

I'm not recommending everyone go out and do this. Most officers I'm around shoot once a year and that's when qualifying. And then they just barely do that. I've had this Glock about 1 1/2 years and shoot it about 4-5 days a week. I shoot tons of anything and everything. For most it probably would be an accident waiting to happen for them or others. After you shoot thousands upon thousands you should know everything about your gun. This is not recommended for the average shooter that's shoots a box a month.
 
Here is my off duty loadout

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Sig 226 357Sig & S&W 340PD .357Mag. With Pepper Spray, Mini light and extra 12 round Mag.
 
An ICE agent who gave me his business card has a Saiga 7.62x39 and either an HK or Glock as sidearm. Don't remember which handgun caliber.
He plinks at a very popular location.

A coworker's husband is a detective in a small town in a nearby state.
I don't remember which duty guns he uses (owns an M-1A), but a deputy in his office let me handle the Mini 14 with red dot sight in his patrol car.

Two years ago a deputy from either Shelby or a nearby county told me that his department was swapping their standard Sig 5.56 rifles for ARs.
He said something about a problem with the Sigs.

LockedBreech: A friend who is retired has a family of milsurp rifles in a vault with a Huge heap of centerfire ammo. My ten thousand won't quite compare...
He would like to live in beautiful, gun-friendly WY except for the winters, will soon visit your state and might buy a small summer cabin.
 
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BuckRub, I've got the Ghost 3.5 and the competition spring set from glock store.com. I haven't measured the trigger pull after the change, but I estimate it somewhere in the 3 to 4 lbs range. Really happy with it, but even so, I don't recommend it for all LEOs. With most officers only firing their weapons once or twice a year during a basic qualification course and most not being gun enthusiasts, the lighter trigger isn't the best choice. Fine finger control is lost during high stress situations(tachy psyche effect).

I also don't recommend a .380 for CCW/off-duty for officers and/or civilians who aren't experienced and/or are gun enthusiasts. I believe shot placement and quantity generally play more of a larger role with this caliber.
 
I work part-time for 3 depts. and all issue Glocks. One issues the 21, one the 21SF and the third issues the Glock 23. The dept that issues the 23 does not mandate it for carry so I keep it in my warbag and carry either my Remington R1 or my 6in. Python or a S&W Model 14 6in. or 19 4in. depending on my mood. I have also carried a S&W 5906, Colt Trooper,and a Browning Hi-Power with that dept. An old Colt 1903 serves as my BUG.
Only one dept. issues body armor and I have to provide my own for the other two. One dept. has a sweet little 10.5 inch AR for the patrol rifle but allows a personally owned Mini-14 or AR or shotgun if you wish. One has the S&W M&P 15 as a patrol rifle or WIn. 1300 or Rem 870 at your discretion and the other just uses the 870.
 
Horseless Trooper said:
I work part-time for 3 depts. and all issue Glocks. One issues the 21, one the 21SF and the third issues the Glock 23. The dept that issues the 23 does not mandate it for carry so I keep it in my warbag and carry either my Remington R1 or my 6in. Python or a S&W Model 14 6in. or 19 4in. depending on my mood. I have also carried a S&W 5906, Colt Trooper,and a Browning Hi-Power with that dept. An old Colt 1903 serves as my BUG.
Only one dept. issues body armor and I have to provide my own for the other two. One dept. has a sweet little 10.5 inch AR for the patrol rifle but allows a personally owned Mini-14 or AR or shotgun if you wish. One has the S&W M&P 15 as a patrol rifle or WIn. 1300 or Rem 870 at your discretion and the other just uses the 870.
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I love the R1, have you run it enough to prove its reliability as a duty weapon? Do you use a JHP round? I'm really fond of the Remington Golden Saber in small guns and 1911s. The smooth ball profile makes it feed easy and it's very effective.
 
Nobody carries any XD's or XDM's? I used to be a big 1911 guy but bought a Glock and now that what I carry daily, but I recently got my wife an XD and I absolutely love it which I was surprised by because before I got my Glock I looked at the XD and hated it. Planning on getting me one soon,
 
Of the police agencies in my immediate area, I know the duty weapons are as follows:

Columbus IN- Glock .40 caliber (pretty sure they issue the G22)
Bartholomew Co. IN- choice of Sig P226 or 228
Seymour IN- Glock 21
Hope IN- Ruger P345
IN State Police- Glock 17

I've also observed the Columbus, IN police during a training exercise (carried out in a local high school during summer break) with an older AR-15/M16 of some sort (20" barrel with older style triangular handguards).

Also, with very small departments you may find a wide variance from officer to officer as many small departments require the officer to buy his own gun. Before moving to IN in 2002, I know of one small IL Sheriff's Dept. that mandated either a .357 Magnum revolver or .45 Semi-auto of reputable make. I also knew at least one small town city cop in central IL that carried a Colt Python as of the late 90's and, on a recent visit, I observed another small town cop carrying a S&W 4506.
 
Ky State Police carried S&W 3rd gen 10mm forever- 1076 and a Walther PPK .380 as the only allowed backup/off duty. They now carry a Glock 22 and 23, both issued.
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You are correct, it was the 1076. IIRC, the KY State Police adopted the 1076 in 1993 shortly before the 10xx series was discontinued. As part of the contract, S&W agreed to provide parts and service for the KY State Police for 10 years. Once that timeline ran out in 2003, the switch to .40 caliber Glocks was made. Also, IIRC, the KY State Police chose to issue the more powerful Winchester 175gr Silvertip as their duty load rather than the downloaded "FBI Lite" ammo.
 
Like many, many other officers working for small depts, I have to provide my own weapons and gear, including body armor. I am reimbursed for everything except my guns. I can carry any quality handgun I want of appropriate caliber - 9mm, 357 SIG, .40 S&W, .45ACP - plus a patrol rifle in 5.56mm or. 308, and a 12gauge shotgun if I want. BUGs and off duty guns are also up to me, same basic criteria. Luckily for me, in addition to being a LEO, I'm also a respiratory therapist at the local hospital, so I can afford to buy and carry the guns I like/want.
I carry the following guns:
Duty handgun - FNP45 Tactical equipped with a Trijicon RMR02 mini red dot sight.
BUG - Pinnacle/Dietrich custom 9mm S&W 360J snubby
Off duty handgun - Novak/Joe Bonar custom Colt Commander
Patrol Rifle - SIG 556 Classic
Shotgun - Mossberg SPX930
 
LockedBreech

I have put about 500 rounds of ball, 200 rounds of Gold Dot and 100 of HydraShock through the R1 without any problems. The only modification I have done is to install a Smith & Alexander arched mainspring housing w/ lanyard loop. Night sights and possibly a long trigger in the future but thats about it. I prefer my 1911s fairly simple. I am using the Gold Dot for my duty load.
 
I work in Security, but a few good friends and former co-workers are now LEO's.

One is issued a Glock 22, and isn't *required*, per se, to carry that weapon off-duty, but if he is involved in a shooting the dept will only back him up legally if it was the dept-issued weapon.

In his case he ended up selling all of his other pistols and carries that G22 exclusively as a result.
 
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