Ash_J_Williams
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Just wondering, I know most carry modern autos, but I wonder if it's required or by choice.
Do any service people still carry revolvers?
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rcmodel
Member in memoriam
Modern army's issue you a pistol, and thats what you carry.
You generally don't have a choice, unless you are a General!
For the most part the U.S went all auto pistols about 1980 or so.
Prior to that, revolvers were still issued to pilots, air crews, and some specialized investigative units.
And I suppose today, SEAL Team 6 or the like can carry a S&W 500 Magnum or a .22 Kit Gun if it serves a mission specific purpose.
But for the average grunt that is even issued a handgun in the first place, it's going to be a 9mm auto.
And most likely a Beretta M9.
rc
You generally don't have a choice, unless you are a General!
For the most part the U.S went all auto pistols about 1980 or so.
Prior to that, revolvers were still issued to pilots, air crews, and some specialized investigative units.
And I suppose today, SEAL Team 6 or the like can carry a S&W 500 Magnum or a .22 Kit Gun if it serves a mission specific purpose.
But for the average grunt that is even issued a handgun in the first place, it's going to be a 9mm auto.
And most likely a Beretta M9.
rc
Ash_J_Williams
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I was mainly thinking police officers, not so much military. I know they get issues something, and I'm sure most of those guys want something tactical as hell when they finally get a choice.
MagnumDweeb
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It all depends when it comes to law enforcement. In college one of my professors had been a cop for more twenty years(detective for ten of those, and before that he did special squad assignments) and I asked him about revolvers. The thing was you could carry a .357 magnum revolver but you couldn't load it with .357 magnum ammunition(fear that the bullets would go through BP vests and if the BG got it away from the cop he would kill him with it). So naturally when left with only the .38 special in revolver or 9mm auto, he went 9mm auto. Mind you this was Orange County Florida and they didn't even let cops carry .45 ACP autos for the longest time till Glock created the .45 GAP.
Then if you go to Volusia County in Florida where cops make like $14.50 an hour, if you can qualify with it and it's not a .44 magnum or bigger you're fine to carry it if it is a reasonable service revolver. A buddy of mine told me he carries his Dad's old Model 28 with a 4" barrel(never seen it) because he's had his service auto jam too many times during practice for him to be comfortable with an auto plus the big gun scares folks into listening to him he says(I think it's a psych thing, bigger the gun the more dangerous it must be).
If you are a Sheriff's deputy and live out in the sticks, and the Sheriff don't mind. My cousins tell me deputies out in Georgia carry .44 Magnum revolvers(probably loaded with .44 special).
If you can't carry .357 magnum or .44 magnum there isn't much need to have a revolver if it's not a BUG snub nose .38 special. Some departments let the officers carry autos with .357 SIG as the caliber so the return value then on a 4" barreled .357 magnum starts to diminish.
Then if you go to Volusia County in Florida where cops make like $14.50 an hour, if you can qualify with it and it's not a .44 magnum or bigger you're fine to carry it if it is a reasonable service revolver. A buddy of mine told me he carries his Dad's old Model 28 with a 4" barrel(never seen it) because he's had his service auto jam too many times during practice for him to be comfortable with an auto plus the big gun scares folks into listening to him he says(I think it's a psych thing, bigger the gun the more dangerous it must be).
If you are a Sheriff's deputy and live out in the sticks, and the Sheriff don't mind. My cousins tell me deputies out in Georgia carry .44 Magnum revolvers(probably loaded with .44 special).
If you can't carry .357 magnum or .44 magnum there isn't much need to have a revolver if it's not a BUG snub nose .38 special. Some departments let the officers carry autos with .357 SIG as the caliber so the return value then on a 4" barreled .357 magnum starts to diminish.
rcmodel
Member in memoriam
Oh!
I thought you said Service People, so I just naturally assumed you ---- Aw never mind!
rc
Guillermo
member
^^^^^^^
hehehehehehehehe
hehehehehehehehe
A lot of guys still carry them as back ups (even in jurisdicions where they're not supposed to).
Some officers can be specially qualified in some jurisdictions. There was a precinct in a pretty rough area where I once lived (I won't mention which one to keep people out of trouble) where the guys often had (against regulation) .357 magnums. They told me that their superiors "looked the other way".
On the military side, 2 of my former roomate's cousins are Navy Seals. They told me that some of their guys and some Delta boys carry big bore revolvers (usually on a per mission basis). One guy apparently also uses a quad-Derringer-knife (a knife blade with double-barrel derringers on either side replacing the grips) chambered in .45-70...
Spec Ops guys do some crazy stuff, I tell you what.
Some officers can be specially qualified in some jurisdictions. There was a precinct in a pretty rough area where I once lived (I won't mention which one to keep people out of trouble) where the guys often had (against regulation) .357 magnums. They told me that their superiors "looked the other way".
On the military side, 2 of my former roomate's cousins are Navy Seals. They told me that some of their guys and some Delta boys carry big bore revolvers (usually on a per mission basis). One guy apparently also uses a quad-Derringer-knife (a knife blade with double-barrel derringers on either side replacing the grips) chambered in .45-70...
Spec Ops guys do some crazy stuff, I tell you what.
Tallinar
Member
I know several LEO's who carry revolvers when off-duty.
Quoheleth
Member
Houston Police Department and Harris County Sherriff's Officers can carry revolvers as service belt guns if they are grandfathered in - you have to be with the respective agency since a certain date and have qualified with it the whole time. They can carry them as BUGs, though, as long as they qualify with it.
A friend who was HPD and now with the county Constable's office said he knew a few guys who carried .357 and .38s as regular belt but they were few and far between. He was with HPD long enough ago that everyone carried wheel guns. He said back in the day K-frames were very popular with a few guys carrying bigger Smiths and Colts in .357, .41, .44, and .45. Don't see them much any longer, though, as most guys went to autos.
Couple of years back, the balliff who was monitering the jury I was serving carried a Ruger Service Six. It was well-worn. I asked him about it at our lunch break and he said he shoots it weekly in a local club.
Q
A friend who was HPD and now with the county Constable's office said he knew a few guys who carried .357 and .38s as regular belt but they were few and far between. He was with HPD long enough ago that everyone carried wheel guns. He said back in the day K-frames were very popular with a few guys carrying bigger Smiths and Colts in .357, .41, .44, and .45. Don't see them much any longer, though, as most guys went to autos.
Couple of years back, the balliff who was monitering the jury I was serving carried a Ruger Service Six. It was well-worn. I asked him about it at our lunch break and he said he shoots it weekly in a local club.
Q
Lawdawg45
Member
Our large metropolitan department here in Indy (IMPD) issues a Glock .40, and the only on duty option for a Patrolman is a Glock .45, but for off duty revolvers are ok, and many carry a J-frame. I do know of a few Detectives that carry a full size .357. Just a side comment, if I were still on the road I'd carry the new S&W scandium frame 8 shot .357.
LD
LD
goodtime
Member
WIth very few exceptions here and there, law enforcement has moved to pistols exclusively for duty use. You'll still see a few old timers in places like Chicago PD who still carry revolvers, but they're the relics who are grandfathered in and have been carrying them since starting decades ago; the department just doesn't want to force them to convert.
Off-duty carry is another story, and many departments allow revolvers for off-duty use, as the revolver can fit this task well.
Off-duty carry is another story, and many departments allow revolvers for off-duty use, as the revolver can fit this task well.
Bobson
Member
Sounds like Chicago should be hiring soon.
Aside from while off duty or as a backup gun, no, cops aren't issued revolvers any place I've ever lived or visited in the US.
rcmodel
Member in memoriam
As Quoheleth said above:
I was watching COPS on TV not long ago and some of the older Houston TX police officers were carrying S&W revolvers.
rc
I was watching COPS on TV not long ago and some of the older Houston TX police officers were carrying S&W revolvers.
rc
BADUNAME37
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I do building repairs (service) and I carry a revolver.
PRM
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We have several agencies in our state that authorize their officers to carry revolvers.
I would not say the are exclusive to "relics" who were "grandfathered in" either. Although the exception, we have a few recruits come through our State Academy each year with them.
I would not say the are exclusive to "relics" who were "grandfathered in" either. Although the exception, we have a few recruits come through our State Academy each year with them.
trikster
Member
I am currently on my honeymoon and while waiting in the train station, two of the private security guards that were roaming the station were both carrying revolvers. Not 100% sure the model, but they were S&W .357's. They also had lanyards and were stainless. The higher ranking of the two also had an M36-2 just like mine as a backup. Their broken English and my lack of French hindered finding out more than that. Seems the M36-2 had been the guys backup for a very long time, he talked about it very fondly.
Trikster-
Are you honeymooning in France, then? Some French police (not just guards) have used Ruger SP-101's quite recently, and may still. Maybe detectives. One that I saw in a news photo was on a female detective. That's probably why Trautsch (sp?) makes grips for the SP-101. But the girl I saw the pic of had regular Ruger grips 0n her gun.
French and Austrian police have also used a lot of Ruger-based Manurhin MR-88 revolvers and some MR-73's. GIGN and other special ops people use what they want, if they can get it, from what I can tell. I think all French cops carry issued guns. Not sure. But GIGN and the Spanish equivalent and German agencies have definitely issued some revolvers.
If you see regular French cops, are they carrying Beretta M-9's (M-92G) or the newer issue SIG's with polymer frames? I forget the model number. 2022?
In Dallas, TX, I think cops can still carry S&W .38 or .357 guns, but few do. Most use SIG autos, which is what the dept. sells to them and considers to be official. The few revolvers I see are usually on black officers, often female.
I think they may have bought them cheaply or are afraid of autos. (This is an observation, not a racial slur.)
The city security people have S&W M-64 .38's that I suspect they got when the real cops went to 9mm's. (Cops can also carry .357 SIG autos. One I asked said they got this approved by pointing out to the chief that they could carry .357 revolvers, so what was the issue?)
Private security people sometimes carry issued guns here, but most furnish their own. I moonlight three nights a week in security, mainly because I need the money and can write on the job. I use a S&W M-66 with four-inch barrel in a Bianchi basketweave-stamped No 5BHL holster. I carry lead .38 Plus P HP's indoors or in very populated areas. With few people there at night, I may load Federal 158 grain .357 JHP's. Those are also preferable if I have to shoot into a vehicle.
Hope the honeymoon goes well!
Thanks,
Lone Star
Are you honeymooning in France, then? Some French police (not just guards) have used Ruger SP-101's quite recently, and may still. Maybe detectives. One that I saw in a news photo was on a female detective. That's probably why Trautsch (sp?) makes grips for the SP-101. But the girl I saw the pic of had regular Ruger grips 0n her gun.
French and Austrian police have also used a lot of Ruger-based Manurhin MR-88 revolvers and some MR-73's. GIGN and other special ops people use what they want, if they can get it, from what I can tell. I think all French cops carry issued guns. Not sure. But GIGN and the Spanish equivalent and German agencies have definitely issued some revolvers.
If you see regular French cops, are they carrying Beretta M-9's (M-92G) or the newer issue SIG's with polymer frames? I forget the model number. 2022?
In Dallas, TX, I think cops can still carry S&W .38 or .357 guns, but few do. Most use SIG autos, which is what the dept. sells to them and considers to be official. The few revolvers I see are usually on black officers, often female.
I think they may have bought them cheaply or are afraid of autos. (This is an observation, not a racial slur.)
The city security people have S&W M-64 .38's that I suspect they got when the real cops went to 9mm's. (Cops can also carry .357 SIG autos. One I asked said they got this approved by pointing out to the chief that they could carry .357 revolvers, so what was the issue?)
Private security people sometimes carry issued guns here, but most furnish their own. I moonlight three nights a week in security, mainly because I need the money and can write on the job. I use a S&W M-66 with four-inch barrel in a Bianchi basketweave-stamped No 5BHL holster. I carry lead .38 Plus P HP's indoors or in very populated areas. With few people there at night, I may load Federal 158 grain .357 JHP's. Those are also preferable if I have to shoot into a vehicle.
Hope the honeymoon goes well!
Thanks,
Lone Star
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goodtime
Member
I mentioned the "relics" who are "grandfathered in" with express relation to places like Chicago PD. In departments such as CPD, pistols have been mandatory for new officers for many years, but the officers who were carrying revolvers at the time of the conversion were allowed to continue to carry them.
I also mentioned that there are "very few exceptions," and there are. Sure many LE guys know of a few departments who still issue or allow revolvers, such as one of the hospital PD's here in Chicago, but the total number of agencies nationwide who issue or allow new officers to carry revolvers is very small compared to the total number of agencies who issue or allow new officers to carry pistols only.
I also mentioned that there are "very few exceptions," and there are. Sure many LE guys know of a few departments who still issue or allow revolvers, such as one of the hospital PD's here in Chicago, but the total number of agencies nationwide who issue or allow new officers to carry revolvers is very small compared to the total number of agencies who issue or allow new officers to carry pistols only.
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Lawdawg45
Member
"Revolvers as a primary sidearm for law enforcement? None I know of off the top of my head. I am sure there are some, but few and far between.
As a backup? Lots of officers in that category."
And that's interesting to me. I'm guessing that shot capacity was the major issue in retiring the wheel gun, but in off duty/back up situations where small high capacity semi auto's are available (Kahr PM-9, Ruger LC9, subcompact Glock, etc) many still choose the J-frame!
LD
As a backup? Lots of officers in that category."
And that's interesting to me. I'm guessing that shot capacity was the major issue in retiring the wheel gun, but in off duty/back up situations where small high capacity semi auto's are available (Kahr PM-9, Ruger LC9, subcompact Glock, etc) many still choose the J-frame!
LD
When talking small backup guns of a sufficient caliber the difference in capacity between a revolver and a semi is not as significant as it is with duty size weapons. A lot of officers also seem more concerned with the reliability of their backup if fired off hand, injured, upside down, at contact distances, etc. The extreme reliability of the wheelgun and the difficultly of jamming one up seems to come out on top for a BUG
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