Hypothetical: What sidearm would you carry?

Status
Not open for further replies.
B

bestseller92

Member
Joined
Nov 7, 2005
Messages
1,038
Location
Oklahoma
In this scenario, the year is 1946, and you have just been elected sheriff of your Oklahoma county. As sheriff, you can carry any duty gun you wish, but of course you are limited by what was available in 1946. With this in mind, what brand, model and caliber of sidearm would you pack, and what load would you use in it?

My own choice would be a Smith 27 with hard cast gaschecked SWC Magnum handloads.
 
omg i cant believe im about to say this but colt 1911 .45acp
ball ammo will be fine
 
Well, since this is before crack heads, meth heads, etc. I could go with a Browning HiPower in 9mm. But, I'd rather go with a 1911. 230 grain FMJ, of course. Yeah...
 
Mauser Broomhandle - should have no problem shooting through car bodies or the BG's bulletproof vests of the period.
Besides, it gives me Gun Snob rights over all other personnel.
 
glock 20

but if it was the time period a good old 1911 with powerball amoo lol....
 
On Duty: 'Smith 27 sounds good too me, proly' loaded with some 158 grain
L-SWC's. :cool:

Off Duty: The Colt Detective Special was very popular among plainclothes
folks back then, and we were still enjoying the 1st issue of this model.
However, the 2nd issue (1947-1972) was bought to come on board,
so I probably would have toted one of these off duty or as a BUG.

You say why the 2nd series Colt DS? Cuz '47 was my birth year, and I
collect little Colt D-frames that fall into the 2nd series category~! :D
 
Colt SAA procured from long before WWII (probably dad's hand-me down from his lawman days). .45 Colt in 255gr of course.
 
Well I'll have to go with the wisodom of the day...As Elmer Keith put it. "In automatic pistols...only the 1911 in .45 ACP is adequate"

All these years and wizz bang ammo later it's still a dang fine choice as good as anything out there IMHO.

That said revolvers where more the order of the day...maybe some smiths in .45acp or colt (millitary surplus DA revolvers where a dime a dozen back then afterall. There where plenty in .45 colt and some in .455 webley (colt would have gotten the knod from me between those two of course) An apropriately hard cast keith bullet in the 250gr range of weight with some Herc 2400 driving it would have been good enough for me. I just never liked .38 as a deffense round....357 is a good round within it's limitations but I've never trusted it as much as the big-bores. I'd have dumped the cheap S&W/Colt .45 colt pistols as soon as the S&W29 (5") came out in .44 rem mag and re-equiped everyone...and there would have been much rejoicing. Anyone that couldn't handle .44 mag would have had the option of specials or keeping their original old .45 Colt surplus revolver. But I'd have pushed for upgrading with loads apropriate for shooters expirience level...perhaps offered 3 levels of loads:intro training....moderate and heavy carry loads. The .45 colt auto would have been an allowable option as long as they quallified with it.
 
1911 Colt with "Ball" ammo, hands down. Plus about 5 spare loaded mags on my belt. I'd also pack a Thompson SMG in 45ACP as a primary "arrest" implement. Include a sling for the "Tommy Gun" AKA "Chicago Typewriter."
 
If I were the Gen-U-Ine grand poobah sherrif, probably a smaller size 1911 (was the commander or officers model available yet in '47?) for around the office detail. If I could dream ("any gun I want"), I would keep available for heavier work detail a S&W Triple Lock in .44 Special, stoked with medium-heavy handloads. Don't think I would go with the 9mms in 1947, as ammo was not nearly as good as today's stuff.

Q
 
I'll have to 'fess up -- both my father and grandfather were in almost exactly that position, but in the late 1920s. My grandfather carried a S&S .38 Special and was carrying it when he was killed in a traffic accident as a member of the Logan County Highway Patrol in 1927.

My father was offered Grandpa's job, and he also carried a S&W .38 Special. Later on, while working on the Mariunion River in Venezuela in the early '40s, he carried that same gun during the Motoloni uprising.
 
4" or 5" S&W .44 Special with 240 SWC handloads.

That's what a lot of southwest lawmen carried if they could afford it.

Others still carried a .45 Colt SAA.

Course, a lot, if not most of them carried .38 Specials with LRN ammo because that's what they were issued, and they didn't know any better, or care.

rcmodel
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

GunnyUSMC
  • Locked
What sidearms do the LEOs in your area carry.
2 3 4 5 6 7
Replies
158
Views
14K
GunnyUSMC
GunnyUSMC
P
  • Locked
What sidearm for Parkour Cops?
Replies
20
Views
2K
TeamPrecisionIT
T
W
  • Locked
  • Poll
What would you use for a "dress gun"
2 3
Replies
56
Views
4K
Brian Dale
B
A
  • Locked
OC Sheriff Deputies? Which Wheelgun was it?
Replies
8
Views
918
AmbulanceDriver
A
E
  • Locked
So, it's 1910, what would you choose to carry?
2 3 4
Replies
76
Views
4K
VHSBD
V
Back
Top