chaim
Member
I am not a police officer, but if I was, I think I'd be happy with either an auto or a revolver. No doubt the auto has some advantages over a revolver (i.e. higher capacity and faster reloads). However, revolvers are still capable weapons, with training the reload speeds can be improved (though an auto will still be better), and they have advantages of their own (better reliability, and with a 4-6" fixed barrel revolver you may have marginally better accuracy, though autos are still great in both departments).
I have a few questions for current and former LEOs:
Some of my thoughts are similar to Jenrick. In a situation where you draw and that is enough to diffuse the situation (probably pretty common) a revolver will probably be better than an auto. There is something quite intimidating about a 6 shot .38-.45 revolver with many of those rounds visible in the open cylinder.
LEO are more likely than civilian CCW holders to need to shoot through barriers. I think a .357mag, .41mag, .44spl, or .45LC would be quite capable for that role.
These days, I don't think very many cops are out there with only the one duty gun on their belt. Many carry backup guns, and if you aren't fully comfortable with the capacity/reload speed of a revolver, you could carry a Glock 26/27 with extra mags as your BUG. If I was a cop who carried an auto duty gun, I'd probably carry a J-frame BUG (something I gather from here and other gun forums is quite common among LEOs). I'm guessing that most of you have a shotgun or carbine in your trunk should you pull up on a situation where you know you are likely to need to use a gun. Either way, you can have options to combat the disadvantages of whatever your main duty gun happens to be.
I have a few questions for current and former LEOs:
- How often have you actually had to draw your weapon?
- How often, after you have had to draw, did you need to fire your weapon?
- How many of those times did you need more than the 6-7 rounds of a typical medium-frame revolver?
Some of my thoughts are similar to Jenrick. In a situation where you draw and that is enough to diffuse the situation (probably pretty common) a revolver will probably be better than an auto. There is something quite intimidating about a 6 shot .38-.45 revolver with many of those rounds visible in the open cylinder.
LEO are more likely than civilian CCW holders to need to shoot through barriers. I think a .357mag, .41mag, .44spl, or .45LC would be quite capable for that role.
These days, I don't think very many cops are out there with only the one duty gun on their belt. Many carry backup guns, and if you aren't fully comfortable with the capacity/reload speed of a revolver, you could carry a Glock 26/27 with extra mags as your BUG. If I was a cop who carried an auto duty gun, I'd probably carry a J-frame BUG (something I gather from here and other gun forums is quite common among LEOs). I'm guessing that most of you have a shotgun or carbine in your trunk should you pull up on a situation where you know you are likely to need to use a gun. Either way, you can have options to combat the disadvantages of whatever your main duty gun happens to be.