Most common caliber for police duty handguns?

[AStone]

So I've done my homework before asking this question.

Well, at least some homework. I've done two searches in Handguns: General Dicussion: one on "police, handgun", a second on "duty weapon". I've scanned (though not thoroughly read) many dozens of threads (at least their title) looking for an answer to this question: what is the most common caliber of police duty handguns in the US today?

But so far, I haven't found an answer. (If you know of a thread that addresses this question in some substantial fashion, please post it here.)

Maybe some other day, I'll share why I'm interested in that question, but for now, I'll keep it short.

Extra points for posters who can back up their answers with a source.

Nem

 

[sd]

.40 SW

 

[Cueball]

You will find a strong presence of both the 9mm and the 40 depending on the dept. The vast majority will fall into one of those two.

 

[cbsbyte]

In Mass the .40 S&W is the more commonly police issued caliber.

 

[2k5Adam]

Here in TN....usually a Glock 22/23 (40sw).

 

[IV Troop]

In the rural West ( Nevada, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming) I have seen more 40 and 45 by far. 40 is issued by more agencies but I see more 45 being carried by those who are allowed to choose.

My outfit is issued a choice of Glocks in 40 or 45. The vast majority choose 45.

 

[Universal]

In the midwestern states it seems to be the .40S&W. With regards to sources, I was a police officer in the area and a firearms instructor. I taught at a state academy and saw many basic students come through. Most with weapons chambered in the .40 and most with GLOCKS 22s.

 

[lyricsdad]

Pine Ridge Tribal Police.. - Glock 22 in .40 sw
had a friend who is a cop shoot my p99 in .40, loved it, wished the agency went with walthers rather than the glocks. Also he said if given the choice he would carry a 1911.

 

[22-rimfire]

Homeland security folks primarily use the 40. Mostly Glocks because they the magazines interchange between guns. Of course, they have quite an arsenal available to them in addition to a 40.

 

[Jim K]

I think the 9mm is still the most common, mainly because police departments can get free military purchase ammo through the LEAA.

Jim

 

[poppy]

This is probably somewhat of a moving target. I have seen evidence of LE agencies switching from 9mm to 40 S&W in my SW Ohio area as LEOs take their 9mm pistols to gun shows to sell. My recent knowlege is that the Cincinnati PD uses 9mm while the Hamilton County Sheriff's Dept uses 40 S&W. I have seen at least one local PD that uses 45's. And as far as I know the Ohio Highway Patrol uses the Sig P226 in 40 S&W. poppy

 

[carolinaman]

Hi there poppy,

In South Carolina, it is the .40 S&W among most of the local LEO's up my way and the State Troopers.

Chris

 

[Prof]

Our local police carry Sigs in .357 Sig. Our sheriff's department carry Glock .40S&W's. Our state Highway Patrol carry Smith &Wesson .40S&W's.

 

[psyopspec]

Fargo PD - Glock 22
(neighboring cities)
Moorhead PD - Glock 17
West Fargo PD - GLock 21

.40 used to be the caliber for the issue weapon of the ND Highway Patrol. They were considering switching sidearms a few months ago, but I don't know if the switch went down or what it was to.

If I had to place a bet for the most common in the USA it would .40, with 9mm a close second.

 

[f4t9r]

In my area 9mm has been replaced with 40
now we are starting to see more and more 45

People just keep getting bigger and stronger

 

[NMshooter]

.40 S&W, 9mm, .45 ACP in that order.

The .40 and the 9mm are pretty close, though.

9mm wins the prize for most common handgun caliber in the US, available even at reservation trading posts.

 

[AStone]

the 40's seem to have it; next question: why?

Thanks for all the responses. Interesting reading.

Hmm. Even though the sample size is small, it seems like 40's are pretty popular among police.

Now - on a Friday night when I've got a little time after an extra long week of work <oh, my aching body> - to the reason I started this thread.

In my area 9mm has been replaced with 40
now we are starting to see more and more 45

People just keep getting bigger and stronger

I sort of suspected that 9's had fallen out of favor a bit with police depts, etc, and that they were in the process of adopting larger calibers. I just wasn't sure which larger caliber.

I've had just a smidgen of second guessing myself for buying my 9. (My K9 is my second; first was a SW 3914.) I've sometimes wondered, "Hmm. Wonder if I should have gone with a K40?"

Don't get me wrong. I love my K9. I love the fit (way better than the 3914, which was too large for me), the way it shoots, the way I shoot it. I like its weight, its balance, even the way it looks.

But I've wondered for a second or six, on ocassion, if its big and bad enough for the increasingly dangerous times we live in.

I like the fact that 9 mm is so common, that the ammo is everywhere. For a SHTF/TEOWKI type situation, I suspect it'd be better (due to ammo availability) than the 40's.

But it's interesting that - judging from the admittedly unscientific data showing up on this poll - the police seem to be shifting "up" to a larger caliber.

Even though several have noted (paraphrasing) that the 9 and 40 are similar, one has to wonder if the 40 doesn't have just that much of an edge over 9.

Any thoughts about what is ostensibly driving the police towards use of 40s, even with the possibility of free ammo for 9's, and even though there is only a small difference?

Nem

 

[AStone]

Any thoughts about what is ostensibly driving the police towards use of 40s, even with the possibility of free ammo for 9's, and even though there is only a small difference?

Just found this thread that relates to my question.

Nem

 

[Oldtimer]

While the .40 and even the .45 caliber handguns have "caught on" in the USA, world-wide it's the 9mm for police work. Also, if you consider the fact that military police are still issued 9mm pistols, that's a BIG chunk that has to be added in.

Most foreign police agencies have NEVER issued any handguns that were chambered for American calibers such as the .40 and .45. For that matter, several foreign police agencies have only recently transitioned to the 9mm pistols....having changed over from the .380 pistols (9mm Corto/9mm Kurz).

Then, you have to toss in that many police agencies throughout the world are not only issuing 9mm pistols to personnel, they're also issuing "sub-guns" that are of the 9mm variety.

I can't give you any documented proof, but the .40 and .45 pistols don't even come CLOSE to how many 9mm pistols are being used in the world-wide community of law enforcement.

 

[jc2]

In the US, the 9x19 and .40 S&W run neck-in-neck in LE use--far too close to call--with the .45 ACP running a strong third and the 357 SIG running a very distant fourth (one step of ahead of "also-ran").

The major metropolitan LEAs have largely stuck with the 9x19 so it's still holding own. There are probably more LEAs using the .40 S&W than the 9x9, but the truly large agencies have stuck largely with the 9x19. For example, there are probably more 9x19s in use in New York alone than 357 SIGs in use world-wide.

 

[waterhouse]

Border Patrol carries .40, currently in the process of switching platforms (but not caliber) to the H&K p2000

 

[bearmgc]

In Wyoming, I see alot of the Berettas in 40SW in the larger agencies and the S&W 4500 series.

 

[JMusic]

My guess would be 40 s@w but I have no conclusive proof. I think the trend started over ten years ago when the FBI lost some of their people in a shootout in Florida. It was found later the bad guys had taken several hits from 36 caliber rounds and could still function. The 10 mm was too much for some people to handle hence the shortened version .40 S&W. Most issues with 9mm vs 40 in my opinion are a mute point now with the bullet development that has occured over the last few years. With that said I keep a Glock 27 in my private vehicle and carry either a BHP 9mm or a Kimber CDP Pro in 45.
Jim

 

[Rezin]

Local and state police here in PA carry 40S&W

 

[NMshooter]

Nematocyst, I was wondering when you would get around to it...

When the majority of the folks carrying .45 1911 pistols on a given department are all serious shooters, putting 10K-20K or more downrange each year on their own dime, the statistics for that department will show that the .45 1911 is more effective than the issue pistol, but will not explain why.

The 9mm is enough to get the job done. Many calibers, and pistols, are enough to get the job done, if you can get the job done.

I like buying equipment, and discussing equipment, but equipment needs to be used to have any effect. If you can not use a particular piece of equipment, no matter how good it is, it does you no good. Learning how to use any piece of equipment is very important, the more skill you have the more you can do with it.

Years of experience with constant practice make a big difference, whether we are talking about a pistol or a soldering iron or anything else. Good training helps teach you which things to practice.

Just a few thoughts, I hope they help.