What would you choose?

C

cana

New member
Let's imagine this situation. You graduate from police academy and soon you'll start working as a federal investigator. You must buy your own handgun, and it must be a .38SPL, a .357magnum, a 9mm or a .45ACP. However, in your country, you can only buy guns from Taurus or Springfield Armory. If you decide to choose another brand, you have to travel abroad to buy it. Also, if you choose another brand, it's gonna be very complicated to buy replacement parts for the gun in your country. At last, if you don't buy a .38SPL, by law, you can only buy 50 rounds every month. Considering all these factors, what would you choose? Oh yeah, if you wanna know what country has so stupid laws, I'll tell you right now: Brazil. Here we DO have gun control!
 
I would plan a vacation, so that I could buy TWO Glocks and a batch of spare parts. Short of that I would go for a stainless Springfield Armory 1911 Government model.

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BOYCOTT SLICK & WESSON

"To be wronged is nothing unless you continue to remember it."
Confucius
 
I'd buy a medium frame Taurus 6-shooter in .38 spl so as to have no restrictions on the amount of practice ammo I could buy.

I would then make a religion out of mastering that little .38.

Jim Cirillo killed more men than Cecil B. DeMille with a more or less identical setup while he was a cop...

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"..but never ever Fear. Fear is for the enemy. Fear and Bullets."
10mm: It's not the size of the Dawg in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the dog!
 
My heart goes out to you. For autos I'd look into a Taurus PT92. If you're on a tight budget, and if you work for the national police you probably are, look into a god used one. The older Taurus are very well made, I actually prefer the old style safety system. Taurus also makes fine revolvers, so a good short barreled 38 might work well too.

Springfields are of course well made, but unless you have a lot to spend you'll end up with a very basic 1911. This isn't a bad thing if it works out of the box, if it doesn't you'll regret it.

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"Get yourself a Lorcin and lose that nickel plated sissy pistol."
 
Can you buy the SA 1911 "bureau gun"? This gun is used by the FBIs Hostage Rescue Team (I think, please someone correct me if I am wrong) Are you able to get SA Custom Shop pistols or are those considered American made guns?
 
I Quit ;)

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We preserve our freedoms by using four boxes: soap,ballot,jury, and cartridge.
Anonymous
 
Taurus revolver, six shot in .38spl. No question.

Remember gentleman, with appropriate practice and training, there are very few guns available that can surpass the reliability, and shootability of a medium frame revolver.



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"By His stripes we are healed..."

PeterGunn
 
Thanks for your answers. And no taco, there's no bullet restriction. You can but HP, FMJ, SWC... And regarding custom guns, I'll try to explain: in fact, we can't buy Springfield Armory' guns here. We can buy guns from IMBEL, a company that makes and sell 1911's for Spriengfield Armory. In the US, Springfield Armory simply puts their logo in it. However, some models (like the one for the FBI) are sold only for SA, not for the brazilian market. Like I said, we have pretty stupid laws...
 
I don't recall that Cecil B. DeMille was anything more than a filmmaker. I could be wrong.

:)

[This message has been edited by Clips_Forgotten (edited July 28, 2000).]
 
You should give thought to a Taurus in .357 which gives you the option of shooting .38 special for practice. Is IMBEL still making the Browning High Power? That's a very nice weapon too but it doesn't sound like you'd ever get to shoot it unless reloading is an option open to you. Good luck.
 
I love my SA 1911, but the ammo restrictions IMHO make it a no go. Can you buy 2 handguns? If so, then a small Taurus snubbie in .38 for concealed, and a mid-frame .357 for regular carry. The .38 ammo would work in both of them, allowing you to practice with the .357. If you're restricted to one hangun, then go with a small frame .38 with a 3" barrel. It's not that much harder to conceal, and the longer barrel is easier to shoot accuratly. As always YMMV.
Eric

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Teach a kid to shoot.
It annoys the antis.
 
Without a doubt, you will be best served by a 4" 38 wheel and plenty of practice.

Don't know what you can get for duty ammo, but I recommend a 158g LSWC-HP. And more practice.

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"All my ammo is factory ammo"
 
http://www.taurususa.com/revolvers.html

Take a look at the selection of .357 magnums available. That's the best one-shot stopper of the loads you listed. And you can practice with .38's if you want to save some money.

I would get a 4" barrel so you can tuck it away inside your belt if you ever want to carry it concealed.
 
I would either get a Taurus .357 Mag. revolver, or go abroad and get a Smith & Wesson .357 Mag. and bring some parts back.

By picking .357, hopefully you can get your 50 rounds of Mag. ammo a month PLUS your unlimited .38 Spl.



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Beware the man with the S&W .357 Mag.
Chances are he knows how to use it.
 
Hmm I would probably go with the Taurus tracker in 357 [a 7 shot revolver]if you can get speedloaders for it[I think the HKS 587A speedloader will work but you can ask Taurus http://www.taurususa.com/speed.html] and also a Model 85 ASAP. Two guns are better than one!

I am assuming that you could buy your 50 rounds of 357 per month, plus whatever amount of 38's you want?

Or a 1911 and a Model 85 would make sense also.
 
The Taurus 945, or one of their 7-shot .357s would be my choice. You can accomplish quite a lot with dry-firing alone. Provided that you have otherwise done well with your basic marksmanship training in the academy. :) But, I do agree with the posters who encourage you to buy both a primary, and a back-up/CCW, if this is permitted under departmental policy. If the budget is paramount, the two-revolver method is preferable. Stay safe down there!
 
Could you buy the gun in Argentina?

I would be interested in knowing how restrictive other S. American countries' gun laws are. I know Argentina has had some tradition of allowing guns to civilians in the past, so that is why I suggested it.

That said, if you buy a Sistema Colt in Argentina, assuming they haven't exported them all as surplus, you will have an excellent US made gun, from the era when America built the best, that you will be able to find parts for, since 1911 parts are interchangeable, especially the critical ones that are likely to break.

My last question is why do police have their ammo allowance restricted?
 
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