Texas Highway Patrol guns?

The last time I talked with a DPS trooper they had some leeway in terms of what they could carry. He carried a 1911 at the time. That's been a few years back so I can't say for certain that policy is still in place. I never queried him as to the number of different types of pistols firearms approved for carry.
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Texas Rangers were, and maybe still are, incorporated into the DPS. I believe Rangers had, and still do, the option to carry a variety of pistols. Many have a preference for the 1911 in one form or another--I detect a little tradition involved here.:D The Commander has been one of the popular ones.

Didn't know that State Troopers had as much leeway and could also carry 1911's.

I wonder if the P229 is an issued weapon, or a personal choice. I'm just guessing that the P226 is still issued.
 
I just saw a trooper in my store with a large caliber revolver. Didn't ask (seemed weird) what it was. A .357 would come close to what I saw. He was a little older trooper, maybe they get a choice if they were hired before 19XX.
 
Odd thing is that out of a state of 20 million +, there are less than 150 Texas Rangers (I think).

Yes, they are part of the DPS with the Highway Patrol--

Good guys (Highway Patrol and Rangers)-- I tlaked with a Rnager at the local Office Depot one day--he definately was carying a 1911 in .45ACP, Looked to be a Kimber SS with some sort of nice wood grips. Every DPS trooper I have talked to carries a Sig in .357 SIg, as a friend I have in the Air MArshall program--

The .357 SIg makes sense-- excpet for the AIr Marshall-- I thought it would be wiser to carry a .45acp with some sort of frangible type round..

To each his own..
 
I registered just so I could clear some things up for yall.

DPS is issued the Sig 226, Troopers are only allowed to carry this weapon. Exeption: Those Troopers with smaller hands, they are issued the smaller framed .357 from Sig....229 maybe? I dont recal the designation number.
Almost any firearm can be used as a back up or off duty gun as long as the Trooper qualifies with it and is approved by their Sgt.

Texas Rangers are a part of DPS. They are able to carry almost what ever they want. Most go with a 1911. It is also tradition for a Ranger to 'decorate' their weapon and holster. There are currently 134 Texas Rangers with 26 support personel.
 
For those that ate not familer with the texas rangers.

The rangers are basicly the states own version of the fbi.
Due to the low numbers of the Texas rangers and extreamly strict qualifications it is bar none the most elite law enforcement agency in the us.
To become a ranger you must first meet the qaulifications for the Texas state troopers aka Texas dps. Then once you are on with them you must serve a minimum of 8 years before you can even think about applying for a ranger position. The only time a postion opens up is when some retires. They tend to take only the most decorated dps officers and it is my understanding that it helps if you are on the govenors detail at some point in your time as a dps officer. There will typicly be 200 plus applications for 1 ranger position when there is one open.

The rangers don't deal with typical traffic stops (if you get pulled over by one your not getting out of the ticket) they basicly police the police and elected officals in the state.
 
I'm with the Texas Highway Patrol and 13 MW pretty much covered it. We are issued Sig 226 in the 357 Sig. Like he said, some with smaller hands are issued the 229 and we even had a couple that were issued the 239. There is no leeway. You have to carry what is issued and that goes wit the ammo too. The only ones with any leeway are the Rangers. A lot of them carry the nickle plated 1911's with the fancy grips, although I've seen more and more going to the issued 226 lately. The ones out of uniform that are in the investigative divisions are given the choice between the 226 and the 229. Most go with the 229 due to it being easier to conceal. There are also issued the 232 as well. We switched over to the double action only 226's 2 or 3 years ago. Before, we had the same thing in the DA/SA, which I much rather preferred. The Texas Game Wardens are still issued the Glock 22. I don't think they have any leeway either, but not exactly sure on that one. Never seen one carry anything else. Oh, and by the way, it would most definitely be jail time for going 137 MPH. I would let you take your military ID with you to jail if you liked and call your Captain when you got there.
 
Off topic but I have to throw this out there.

About 9 or so years ago I got stopped well more of I stopped on my own for doing triple digets outside of austin by a county sheriff.
Long story short he let me off with a verbal warning mainly because I stopped and wouldnet have chased due to he couldent catch me and also because I had recently got out of the army and he found our had I been an mp in the army.
Needless to say I have not done 173 in a 45 sense.
I got real lucky althou my g/f at the time almost killed me when we got to copeland
 
There is no leeway.
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I'm trying to figure out how my trooper friend was carrying a 1911...

This happened around 20 years ago--is the "take what's issued" policy new? Or did they issue 1911 pistols back then?

I'm pretty sure he wasn't a Ranger.
 
The .357 SIg makes sense-- excpet for the AIr Marshall-- I thought it would be wiser to carry a .45acp with some sort of frangible type round..
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The head of the program is apparently ex-Secret Service so what is good enough for those agents is good enough for the Air Marshals. In reality, it's a good choice as it gives them a round capable of penetrating whatever is between them and the hijacker's central nervous system.

There is no real risk of bringing the plane down with a single pistol round (or even a few mags worth). Planes are built with redundant control systems and, contrary to what is seen in the movies, they already have holes in them to relieve pressure. Putting another few holes in them does nothing but make the pressure systems work harder and the passengers relieve themselves.
 
JohnK, I have know idea. We might have had different policies back then. Now, they won't. Back then, maybe. That was before my time. That would have been back when a lot of agency were transitioning from the wheel guns, to the semi-auto. There was a lot of public scrutiny over LE being under armed after the FBI shoot out in Miami. So, maybe if you had them, you could carry them if you wanted to as long as it was approved and you qualified with it.
 
I work in Dispatch for one of the larger cities in Texas...

Our officers are all issued a Glock in .40 and are required to carry that for the 1st year after they are out of the academy. After that they are allowed to qualify with any personal weapon of choice and can carry it.
 
trooper3385,

Is the DAO Sigs now in use by the DPS equipped with the DAK trigger?

I've heard some very postive things about the DAK, but I have do admit I would like the SA option just incase a precision shot is needed.
 
waco

all gun nuts should check out the ranger museum in waco if ever in that area.
LOTs of colt single action and 1911s.
interesting info about the good and bad side of ranger history.
 
Deaf Smith. Yes, that what we are issued now. There not bad, I just preferred the DA/SA more. The firearms instructors at the academy have said that they have seen a big increase in the groupings and scores since we have switched to the DAO. Mine have go down a little since we have switched. The courses we shoot are based on a 300 for a high score. With the DA/SA, I usually shot between 292 to 298. Now they are down around 288 to 292. But I have to admit, as a LE weapon, they are probably a little safer in a critical incident type situation.
 
There is no real risk of bringing the plane down with a single pistol round (or even a few mags worth). Planes are built with redundant control systems and, contrary to what is seen in the movies, they already have holes in them to relieve pressure. Putting another few holes in them does nothing but make the pressure systems work harder and the passengers relieve themselves.
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This is absolutely right. The idea that a pistol bullet would create a hole sufficient to create explosive decompression has been disproven many times over. You would need an artillery shell to create a hole large enough to accomplish this.
 
But I have to admit, as a LE weapon, they are probably a little safer in a critical incident type situation.
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trooper3385,

That I can understand. I'm a Glock man (with a NY-1 trigger on my carry Glocks), and I have several Sig DA/SA handguns. You have to practice decocking the Sigs very often to make sure you don't stick a cocked gun back into your holster! It takes alot of training to automaticly do that, plus left handed shooters have to be even more careful when they decock using the trigger finger!

I wonder guys, does anyone make a Sig .22 slide to allow practice with .22? I would think that would be a good idea.
 
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