[Anna's Dad]

I was reading another thread that and the subject of buying a handgun that was a law enforcement trade-in was brought up.

This may be a dumb question, but how do you buy a gun that is a law enforcement trade-in? Do they just sell them through gun shops or are there auctions or some other means of obtaining them?

I would think this would be a great way to buy an inexpensive gun for range use.

Thanks!

[Old Fuff]

Usually the old guns are traded in to the distributor or manufacturer that sell the department new ones. They are then passed on to the retail trade through local dealers.

For examples of such arms, go to: www.cdnnsports.com and download a copy of their regular hardcopy catalog in .PDF format. They don't show guns on their website.

[evan price]

The larger local gun shops especially in larger towns/cities will often have some. Here in Ohio Buckeye Outdoor/Vances has gotten in a large selection of very lightly used but holster worn Sigs of various types, including some P239 .40's that look darn near NIB for $500!

[mete]

Sig has some that are reconditioned and inspected - good deals .There are others I've seen that are in excellant condition. After all sometomes the chief just wants new guns and trades or sells off the old ones !!!

[geekWithA.45]

Hogue's down in southern NJ opened a retail gunshop/range a few years ago, their first foray into retail space. Prior to that, they'd been police suppliers.

They had some monster trade in deals back then, when they first opened.

A barrel of Berreta 92's, your choice, $280.
Misc foldging stock "tactical" shotguns, your choice, $150.


As to how frequently it's been shot, or how well maintained they've been, that's probably all over the map, so caveat emptor. If getting a police tradein, I'd make sure I either knew how to evaluate the gun in detail, or give preference to the "certified pre-owned" types of deals like Sig's inspect/recondition program.

[RNB65]

A lot of PD's are switching to .40S&W which means that there are lots of low mileage, police-trade-in 9mm's on the market. CDNN usually has tons of them.

A good condition Sig is never a bad addition to your gun cabinet. A buddy of mine bought a 228 from CDNN a couple of months ago. It shows some holster wear on the slide, but does not appear to have been heavily used and shoots great. He loves it.

:)

[Quintin Likely]

A gun store in town has some police trade in Glock 22s for like $400.

[cocojo]

Departments on average trade in their weapons every ten years or so. I can tell you this there are not a lot of shooters in police work today,as there were 20 years ago. Again on average an officer will shoot only when the department has range time scheduled, once, twice to three time a year.
They will shoot 100 to 200 rounds per session. There are some officer who do shoot a lot but that's about one percent. Most guns have low miles and high wear. If you don't mind the look of wear the guns will work for you fine. Plus any guns would be repaired by the department armorer anyway.

[ACP230]

Buy a copy of Shotgun News. Many advertisers there have police trade-in pistols. Some have shotguns and carbines on occasion too.

I have several ex-cop guns. They all have finish wear, but shoot very well.

[Anna's Dad]

Thanks, everyone for the replies. I appreciate all of the advise and will definately seek out a LE trade-in or two and see how it goes.

Thanks again!

[cxm]

The S&W trade-in guns for the most part come with the S&W lifetime warranty.. which is worth a lot by it's self. It makes buying a used S&W much less dicey than other brands.

FWIW

Chuck

[DougW]

My Glock 17 (1st gen) started life with the Washington DC Metro Police. (With Glocks, you can search the Glock Talk site and find its birth date.) It was traded in and rebuilt in 97 (by Glock), and I bought it in 2003 at a local gun shop. It is my primary 3 gun side arm.

[rock jock]

I would think that CDNN and other reputable places check these guns over, but if buying from a local gunstore, check them thoroughly. Many cops are not gun people and don't maintain their guns very well. That coupled with being worn every day and subjected to rain, sweat, dust, etc. may mean that they have seen lots more abuse, if not actual use, than a typical used gun.

[Rockrivr1]

I bought a Sig 229 a few years back that was a police trade in. It was traded in by the Springfield, MA police dept and it was being sold by a Springfield, MA dealer. I've had it now for 6 years and it's always shot great. The officer that had it must of taken good care of it because it's in good shape. $400 out the door. Came with a 40S&W and 357 Sig bbl along with 5 mags. Sig had refurbished it and it came in a Sig plastic box. Great deal as far as I'm concerned. I added a Bar-Sto 9mm bbl for it and it's the only gun I own that can shoot three different calibers. All of them reliably through the same mags as well.

[xenatexas13]

My dad is a pretty knowledgeable gun guy and he advised me to never buy a police trade in. He said cops shoot so often that they basically turn their guns into pudding. Then trade that ‘pudding pop’ in on a new gun and start all over again. Just an opinion but being as it’s my dads I give it a lot of credence.

[MICHAEL T]

Today you have to make most cops go to the range and shoot The city also doesn't like to spent money on ammo. So as every one has said here, carried but not shot often. As you can see many of above have X police guns and are very happy. I have one and its a very good gun. Sorry I say its you father thats ‘pudding pop’ :D Welcome, to the board.

[isp2605]

Only warning on LE trade ins is to look them over before you buy. Inspite of "pudding pop's" opinion cop guns can be a very good buy if you look them over. The one you pick may be the one that was carried for 10 yrs and only fired 50 rds or less a year. Some agencies have no mandatory annual qualification so you might get lucky and find a gun that hasn't been fired in 10 yrs. Or it could have been the SWAT officer's gun that was carried for 3 yrs and has 30,000+ rds of service ammo and used hard. When you examine them don't confuse holster wear for abuse. Holster wear will just be the wearing of the blue or shiny stainless on places. None of that will matter. Abuse will be deep nicks, dinged up corners, cracked in places. Also look for those that were home-fixed where some ham-handed cop decided to do some kitchen table gunsmithing. Look at the sights to see if they are centered. Sights pushed to the extreme either way may indicate a poor shooter or poor maintenance. If you are picking up one with night sights just remember that life on those are 12 yrs. After that they are very dim and will need replaced if you want to keep the glow.

[foghornl]

MOST of the Police Agency Trade-Ins do fall into the "carried a whole bunch, shot very darn little" category.

Usually a pretty good buy.

[SaxonPig]

The vast majority of police pistols hardly get shot at all. Most cops (especially in big cities) are not gun guys and their sidearms are mostly for decoration. Maybe 50 or 100 rounds per year for qualification (if the gun goes off they pass).

But, the guns get carried a lot in bad weather, dropped, banged against car fenders (and people's heads :)) so they often look like Hell. Particularly on the right side since most people are right handed and a holstered gun gets beat up on the outward side.

I have a bunch of retired cop guns, mostly revolvers. Never had any complaint with any of them as long as the price I paid matched the condition of the finish. Wish some could talk. I like the character and history of retired duty weapons.

My daily carry gun is a Model 659 that came from the Atlanta PD. A cop (or cops, it was issued) carried it for 14 years and then I bought for $232 complete with 2 magazines (stamped LEO). Woo woo.

http://www.fototime.com/08A98F1B2F331FD/standard.jpg

This is my favorite ex-cop gun. A 3.5" pre-27 it was sold by the Carbon County (Utah) Sheriff's Dept. to a local gun shop around 1999 along with about a hundred Model 19s. This lone N frame sure stuck out amongst the rows of K frame magnums. All were priced at $275 and maybe I should have bought some of the 19s, too. No idea how this one N frame wound up with the department. Lots of blue wear but mechanically perfect and a joy to own. Double woo woo.

http://www.fototime.com/EDBD2A497F0B167/standard.jpg

[pete f]

I have a safe full of them. reasons are simple

nickel model 13's 4"HB SB 2@$125 or so. high 90% condition

blue mod 36's, 3 at $100 all at 90% or above

blue model 10 hb. $90 95% everywhere except right side on barrel and cylinder leading edge. scuffing from seat belt is my guess.

blue model 10 PB $100 if you scrap the stocks it was NIB.

model 39-2 as NIB $200

model 6903 two at $230 with 10 mags!!!!

a 659, well worn $150

a Colts official police, $110

two ruger mini 14's. 150 for BOTH. stocks looked like a mouse had gotten fat on the birch. metal was fine.

several 870's, model 37's and a 1100 for about 125 each.

two glock 23's for 300 each, with 8 mags between them

plus some others all from a few police supply houses

all but the 659 would qualify as the shot little carried some. A few were clearly desk queens. The 659 has always worked, but it is ugly as sin.

[EOTechRulesAll]

I honestly have to say that when it comes to guns I have a sort of "Don't want another man's used goods" policy... I don't know who has done what to it or who has done what with it... I don't want the FBI knocking at my door saying, "Did you buy a gun from so and so, we think it is a murder gun..."


Although I would instantly make an exception for an HK P7M13 or P7M8... That's just how I am with that particular gun. Damn lovely gun...

[BluesBear]

So you think a police trade-in might be a murder weapon? :scrutiny:


And just how are they going to ballistically trace a gun that you have lawfully purchased? :rolleyes:

[rich e]

Me and 4 others ordered Glock-22 Police trade-ins a few months ago from Territorial Supplies in Idaho...They came with 3 mags and night-sights..Price was $299 plus shipping and all of them were in excellant condition...One of the best handgun deals I've found....

[RNB65]

My dad is a pretty knowledgeable gun guy and he advised me to never buy a police trade in. He said cops shoot so often that they basically turn their guns into pudding.

That's true for mil-surp handguns, but I think he's wrong in regards to police handguns. I've seen some 50 year old ex-police revolvers that were in great shape other than holster wear.

[isp2605]

There are some very nice M-1s and 03a3s that came from DCM/CMP that weren't "pudding".

[ilbob]

That's true for mil-surp handguns, but I think he's wrong in regards to police handguns. I've seen some 50 year old ex-police revolvers that were in great shape other than holster wear.

I think ex-cop revolvers are different. Back when most cops had revolvers, they rarely practiced with them. They started getting more training when they started using semi-autos.

I once worked with several retired cops. One retired ISP guy actually had 38SW rounds in his belt loop and a .357 magnum revolver that mold had grown on to the point it would not come out of the holster. True story.

[isp2605]

"I once worked with several retired cops. One retired ISP guy actually had 38SW rounds in his belt loop and a .357 magnum revolver that mold had grown on to the point it would not come out of the holster. True story."

When was that?

[hub]

i think your best deal is to ask some police officers if you know any. my dad and i have a few good friends that are policeman and when the department decides to get new ones they give them the option to buy them from the dept before they send them off. we have gotten 4 sigs that are in great condition, a old colt .38 special. and a ithaca riot shotgun. like said before most carry pistols show wear but have been shot very little. the shotgun probably never even had a box fired through it. its a pretty good deal, good price with no dealer markup if you know someone.

[EOTechRulesAll]

1- Many police guns have wound up being murder weapons (Rampart police, etc)...

2- Glock does ballistic test-firing of one round from each gun and they keep these on file... They then record which guns are sent to which dealers...

[BluesBear]

Popcorn anyone?

;)