Service weapon recomendations for law enforcement [NA]

FlyNE said:
My younger brother has been hired on with the local police department. He starts academy in about 6 weeks. He's been looking around trying to pick out his service weapon.

I told him I knew where I could find a good number of gun people and LEOs. What say you? Any recomendations for him? He currently has his eye on a Glock .45.

EDIT: Also, does anybody know of any good web boards for LEOs? Like a PoA for cops? :)
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I'm surprised that the agency didn't tell him what he was going to be carrying. Usually they'll provide the handgun when it comes time for range work, the student will pick it up the night before and return it after class that day.
 
I've shot one of the Glock .45s quite a bit that my step dad carried (police), along with an array of other handguns throughout my life. I always liked every Glock I've shot.

They're basically ready to shoot as fast as you can get it out. That is a good thing--provided you were the one to get the gun out of the holster and not the other guy. I don't know Glocks that well but all of them that I've seen have no manual safety. Glock's philosophy is that if you pull a trigger on a gun it should fire. That said, Glock does build in three safety systems to prevent accidental discharge from something like the gun dropping. The gun will only fire if you pulled the trigger.

I really don't follow the conceal and carry or law enforcement scene so I have no idea how common this is. When they went to Glocks he got some sort of holster that made it near impossible to remove the gun from the front. It was designed in a way where you basically had to be wearing the holster to easily remove the gun. Seemed like a good idea to me--since firing the gun is just a matter of pulling the trigger--you don't want someone taking it from you.
 
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jmaynard said:
Yeah. The current Europeans generally just don't get it. I've never understood that, especially when they have the sterling example of the Swiss right in front of them.
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As an ex-European, I cal tell you that I didn't get it when I was over there either. That's mostly because a) there was no need whatsoever to carry a gun with you and b) the "sport" aspect of it just wasn't developed.

-Felix
 
Jesse, that was most likely a level III holster, where you had to 1) unsnap it, 2) tilt the weapon a certain way, AND 3) twist it a certain way to get it out of the holster. I loved those holsters, when I was in a position to be having to fight knuckleheads. I knew they were not likely to be able to get the gun out of the holster and as soon as they started trying, I knew it.

Glocks are great - PROVIDING you don't limp wrist it when firing it. A soft grip on a Glock will get you a jam, more times than not. :eek:
 
etsisk said:
Jesse, that was most likely a level III holster, where you had to 1) unsnap it, 2) tilt the weapon a certain way, AND 3) twist it a certain way to get it out of the holster. I loved those holsters, when I was in a position to be having to fight knuckleheads. I knew they were not likely to be able to get the gun out of the holster and as soon as they started trying, I knew it.
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That sounds about right. I remember there being some tilt and twist procedure and whatnot to it. During that time there was a lot of knucklehead fighting.
 
etsisk said:
I'm surprised that the agency didn't tell him what he was going to be carrying. Usually they'll provide the handgun when it comes time for range work, the student will pick it up the night before and return it after class that day.
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Perhaps because they don't want the trainee teaching himself to shoot so they have to unteach him before they can teach him they way they want it done. See discussions on folks using PC flight games to teach themselves before starting flight training with a real CFI.

"There's three ways of doing things, son -- the right way, the wrong way, and the Navy way. As long as you're in my Navy, you'll do it the Navy way." - Unknown Chief Petty Officer, Great Lakes Naval Training Center, circa 1912.
 
jesse said:
I don't know Glocks that well but all of them that I've seen have no manual safety. Glock's philosophy is that if you pull a trigger on a gun it should fire.
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This is correct. Glocks aren't the only pistols out there with no manual safety, either; there are more and more from many different manufacturers. The Ruger LCP I bought today is another example: it's more double-action, in that the hammer is partially cocked and only fully cocked when the trigger is pulled. Makes for a longer trigger pull, but it also means that when you really, really need it to go bang, it will.
 
I love it. We apparently have an (unofficial) representative of Wilson Combat on an aviation forum! :)
 
jmaynard said:
This is correct. Glocks aren't the only pistols out there with no manual safety, either; there are more and more from many different manufacturers. The Ruger LCP I bought today is another example: it's more double-action, in that the hammer is partially cocked and only fully cocked when the trigger is pulled. Makes for a longer trigger pull, but it also means that when you really, really need it to go bang, it will.
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I can't remember which gun it was, but I want to say it is the Walther 9mm, but it has a decock built in, but its the dumbest design I've ever seen. You decock it, and the only way to cock it again is to pull the slide back, ejecting the round that is in the chamber.

Most decocks I've seen will allow you to just pull the trigger further, double-action as it were, to fire after decocking.
 
gprellwitz said:
I love it. We apparently have an (unofficial) representative of Wilson Combat on an aviation forum! :)
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So I guess that means we have a couple of fans out there:smilewinkgrin:?

I'm just the wife and the pilot, but since I've done a little competition shooting and a fair amount of hunting I guess I know a little about firearms:blush:. And a little about the company and even littler about flying, that's why I'm hanging out here.:D
 
jlwilson said:
So I guess that means we have a couple of fans out there:smilewinkgrin:?

I'm just the wife and the pilot, but since I've done a little competition shooting and a fair amount of hunting I guess I know a little about firearms:blush:. And a little about the company and even littler about flying, that's why I'm hanging out here.:D
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Cool! Welcome! Wilson Combat is one of the best!
 
etsisk said:
Glocks are great - PROVIDING you don't limp wrist it when firing it. A soft grip on a Glock will get you a jam, more times than not. :eek:
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My wife wanted to buy a gun for herself. Of course being a fan of semi-autos, that's what I thought she would want. We want to our local range where she shot some of mine including a CZ-75B, CZ PCR, and a Sig P228. Then we rented a Glock 19 and Springfield XD-9 (Croation made HS2000). She had FTF/FTE's on every pistol except the two CZ's. I guess their frames are heavy enough that she couldn't limp wrist them.

She ended up buying a Smith & Wesson revolver. My point is, try before you buy when selecting a personal firearm, even the vaunted Glock.
 
Glocks are great guns but they tend to really show up a 'limp wrist' type problem. Semi-autos take a little practice with failure drills to be able to clear one effectively with FTF/FTE type problems. Revolvers are really good for newer shooters especially those interested in concealed carry. Put a set of laser grips on it and they can be almost foolproof.

Thanks for the welcome, Anthony, it's great to be here!

Joyce
 
Thanks so much guys for the great welcomes! This board is so much friendlier than some of the other aviation boards:smile:

I'm too new (as a pilot) to contribute too much to the flying side, but if you need any info about handguns or hunting, I may be able to add a thing or too. Guns and planes, yep, life is good:D

Joyce
 
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