Your perfect duty pistol and backup?

I own a lot of service pistols, and pretty much any of them would be fine for a duty pistol (hint: they're service pistols).

For backup I would prefer to have a company of Marines always just out of sight.

Or for a "real" answer...

If you carried a Glock 17 as a primary and a 26 as backup, couldn't you put the big magazines into the 26 if the 17 malfunctioned?

And I wasn't really kidding on my first line. Some, like the Beretta 92, would be annoying to lug around all day, but all of the modern duty pistols I've owned and shot have been reliable and accurate enough for the job. The PPQ is probably my current favorite.

Tallball said:

If you carried a Glock 17 as a primary and a 26 as backup, couldn't you put the big magazines into the 26 if the 17 malfunctioned?

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Yes

G17 primary G26 back up.

Probably would go all SIG with a P229 in 9mm. and a P365 as a backup.

While not LE yet, (been through one academy/injury & headed to another in the fall) but spent quite a few years working metro housing authority as an armed guard and Brinks guard. My pick would be S&W M&P 9/40 with a S&W 642 as a BUG or maybe even an LCP. I guess I'm partial because that's all I have ever known. Never could warm up to a Glock. Those new Sig 320's look pretty nice and comfortable.

DUTY:
1911, probably a SW1911TA E-Series with the rail for primary, in .45ACP.

BACKUP:
1911 OACP (3.5" bbl) or Defender (3" bbl)-sized. S&W makes a 3" bbl

With plenty of Wilson 47D mags. Probably 4 reloads.

DEEP/ANKLE:
S&W 638 .38spl

OFF-DUTY:
SW1911 E-Series ltwt cdr variant with scandium alloy frame and bob-tail

A Sig MK25 with 18 rd flush fit mags and a Surefire X400 light and a Sig 365 with 10’s.

Between military service for 23 years and as a contractor working overseas, at different times I have been issued the 1911A1, M9 (92F), Sig 228 (M11), HK MK23, Glock 19, and Glock 17. The Glock 19 was and still is my favorite, and is suitable for any purpose.

Personally I choose a Glock 22 and a 27 for backup.but I'd feel just as confident with a Glock 17 and a 26 for backup.
I think any of the full size/ compact combos that share magazine interchangeability are a great choice.

PPQ and PPQ-SC. Familiar platform for me and magazine interchangeability. If they made the sub compact in a M1 flavor, even better.

I would go with the Sig version of a few posters' Glock carry choices. P229 for duty and P224 for backup since the P224 can take the P229's magazines. Nothing against Glocks though. I've owned a few but prefer DA/SA.

Nobody seems to say this, so I will...

Duty pistol, meaning if I were on some sort of "duty" where my handgun might actually end up being my primary arm for a minute or two:

Sarsilmaz K2 .45. I've had it for years, and have yet to have a malfunction of any sort. And it's a .45. 14+1 in a magazine that fits flush. I'm thinking .45 only because it might end up being better if I actually needed it. If I had one of those Tanfoglio 10mm pistols I might go for that one instead. But I don't have one.

Duty pistol, meaning I am on some sort of "duty" where I am required to carry a duty sized handgun:
CZ-85 in 9mm, or perhaps even whatever they call their plastic-frame version of the CZ-75.

Backup (actual carry now) .45 Shield
What I wish I had (deeper concealment than the Shield): .327 LCRx 3". But they don't make it! Ruger, please take my money!

When I was a young lad, I carried a .40S&W Glock 22 Gen 2 and a .380ACP Colt Mustang.

If I had to do it now...
In uniform, it would be a 9x19mm Glock 45 MOS with an Aimpoint ACRO and a 9x19mm Glock 26 Gen5.
In plainclothes or off-duty, it would be a 9x19mm Glock 19 Gen5 MOS FS with a Trijicon RMR Type 2 and a 9x19mm Glock 43.

Even in hot weather, I conceal a Glock 22 IWB under a sloven loose fit untucked shirt., which also helps cover the Shield 40 in my weak hand front pocket; if those two pistols were sufficient for me in my normal attire, logically I should be content with those.

With my first Dept I had my Sig 226 in 9mm and my second dept i was issued the Berreta 92. Both guns were nice but I would stick with the the Sig. For a Bug I carried the Kahr K9, but would probably carry the Sig 365 now.

Gunny, why the G43 rather than G26 for a BUG?

Sergei Mosin said:

Gunny, why the G43 rather than G26 for a BUG?

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With as much stuff a uniform patrol officer has to carry these days on his person a lighter gun is a blessing at the end of the day. Working in a large city, like I do, an officer will get in and out of his car 40 to 75 times during his shift.
Also the standard mag pouch is now three mags. That would be 51 rounds of ammo on my belt and another 18 in the gun.
And then there’s an AR15 in the patrol car.

jeepnik said:

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Not sure if you post in jest, but I still have mine. Given the short bbl and that I don't want +P recoil, I stoke it with hardball. I did polish the OUTSIDE of the bbl to make it easier to work the slide and gently polished the feed ramp so it feeds super slick. Also, several thousand dry fires with snap caps smoothed out the trigger, though it is still heavy..but smooth.

I keep it around because it is 100% reliable me with hardball and is my most natural point-shooting pistol. Draw, point at target 10 yards away, fire, see holes appear COM. No sights needed.

I do have the Choice. I carry a Wilson Master Grade Colt Series 70 I had built in 1988. I carried a S&W 642 for 25 years as a bug but, for the last two years, that changed to a Remington RM380.

I’m not outgunned with 9 rounds. Because I’m confident that I, and that gun, will use each round to its maximum potential.

Mildly OT...

Apparently the officers at the local community college have some leeway in their carry pieces. I took my daughter out to lunch the other day, and two officers were already in the restaurant eating. As they left, I noticed one had what looked like a Walther PPQ, and the other had a cocked and locked stainless (or nickel?) 1911 with light-colored grips that appeared to be some kind of bone or ivory.

I would ask a cop with a backache which gun he would not carry and then start from there.

For many years as private armed security it was a Sig P220 .45 and a J frame .38 Special.
If I were doing it today the choice would only be slightly different. My P226 9mm Legion and a J frame .38 Special.

Jeb Stuart said:

I would ask a cop with a backache which gun he would not carry and then start from there.

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That’s an easy one. S&W 4046.

My current duty gun is a Glock 17 with a Surefire X300U-B. Though that is likely to get replaced with my Glock 45 later this year after I get it milled and a red dot on it. Still deciding between a RMR and ACRO.

For backup I'd probably go with a Glock 43, 43x, or 26.