Winchester Ranger

C

Caboclo

New member
I was under the impression that the Ranger line is made specifically and exclusively for law enforcement. If that is true, why do they make it in 380 ACP? Does any cop anywhere carry a 380?
 
Sure

The Sig 230 is authorized as a second and off duty gun by my agency and pretty common. It is chambered in .380. ( our primary handguns being full size SIGS)

I've known at least one plain clothes officer (Hot Springs PD, AR, street crimes unit) that carried the Browning BDA?(double stack .380) in the mid 80's.

The .380 was/is (?) common in Europe as an LE ctg. PP & PPK as example(police patron kurtz, I think)

Knew an officer in Gettysburg PA that carried a Mauser HsC in .380 as a back up and off duty.
 
Bamaranger is correct (except for the 'PPK' part, where he's close—it's Polizeipistole Kurz). They also make .38 Special in the Ranger line, most of which must surely be destined for off-duty and BUG use.

They also probably make the .380 largely to serve the civilian market as well as law enforcement. All makers who put out "Law Enforcement" lines know that a fair amount of it gets sold to regular folk. They create an air of exclusivity, but in the end, they don't seem to really mind the rest of us buying it, as it expands their market and keeps the price up. The only Ranger load Winchester seems to go to great pains to restrict to LE (and the only one they actually mark Law Enforcement Only) is their Ranger 127 gr. +P+ (RA9TA). And, while it can be difficult to obtain, it is still generally available to civilians.
 
I own three .380 pistols that were police trade-ins. Of course they use .380... and not always as a BUG.
 
PSP, that's an eye opener, were these trade-ins from a U.S, PD? I can understand European Pd's still using it, but I thought every PD in the U.S. had at least 9mm as the approved primary carry caliber as a minimum.
 
.380 is a fairly popular caliber for backup and undercover guns. While most cops these days carry a larger gun on their belt, a small .380 is fairly common in their pockets and on their ankles.

Also, PPK stands for Poletzei Pistole Kriminal (the Poletzei Kriminal are the detecives).
 
PSP, that's an eye opener, were these trade-ins from a U.S, PD?
Click to expand...

Yes, They are from LE agencies in Indiana, Maine, and the other unknown, but sold to me as a trade-in. They are a Beretta 84, Sphinx AT380 and a Sig P232, in that order. These types of gun were usually carried by detectives/investigators, not street cops, unless as a BUG.

None of my European trades are .380acp. They are .32acp or 9mm, they are a Sig P230, a Walther PP and a HK P7
 
I was under the impression that the Ranger line is made specifically and exclusively for law enforcement.
Click to expand...

Maybe specifically, but not exclusively. I've got a box of it in .45acp on my desk now and a few in .40 and 9mm in the safe.
 
Also, PPK stands for Poletzei Pistole Kriminal (the Poletzei Kriminal are the detecives).
Click to expand...

Hah! Yes, it is. Apparently I was to busy keying in on the 'patron' to notice the 'kurz.' Nicely corrected.
 
Winchester sells exclusively to LE. However, that has to do with liability because the higher pressure Ranger loads increase wear and tear on a firearm. They have to sign a waiver saying they will not hold Win responsible for accelerated wear.
 
I think the Ranger line is sold to LE only because it's basically a tweaked version of the Black Tallon which Winchester pulled from civilian sales, due to media hysteria. I bought some of the Tallon loads back in 1993 (I think) at Wal-Mart; I still have some of it.

Like people have said, I've also been able to obtain several boxes of the Ranger load even though I'm not supposed to be able to. My theory being, if it's good enough for law enforcement to protect me with, I need some of it for when law enforcement isn't there yet.

Cor-Bon is loaded hotter than the Winchester Ranger, but Ranger does produce more velocity than most other loads.

If anyone knows where to find the Ranger load in 380, I would like to be privy to that information.
 
Winchester sells exclusively to LE.
Click to expand...
Well, they try to sell exclusively to LE, anyway. How successful they are depends on how much bargaining power they have with their local gun store. Mine does good volume and has few competitors for Winchester to turn to. Consequently, he feels comfortable selling me the RA9TA no questions asked. He knows I'm not LE, and I don't have to sign any waivers.

And that +P+ load is really the only one in the Ranger line that causes real safety/longevity concerns pressure-wise. For the most part it is all CYA. Winchester has their often toothless restriction in place for plausible deniability. If something bad ever happens involving their Ranger ammo, they can say: "the vendor clearly violated the 'stringent restrictions' we have in place…"

As CDW4ME rightly points out, they had a bad media experience with the Black Talon.
 
Last edited:
LAw Enforcement only is a marketing ploy. It's availiable to anyone old enough to purchase it. You can buy it online or anywhere you see it all day without a badge.
 
Kind of like the 20 round magazines Ruger made for the mini 14

they were and as far as i know still are stamped for law enforcement use only.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top