Please help me choose a gun for my law enforcement career

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and103

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Well I am going to be a man in blue. I am leaning to a Glock, but I want some other opinions on what to carry. Of course, this gun wll be my life, and I NEED it to fire. I am allowed a 9mm, a 40, or a 45. I have kind of ruled out the 9mm, but if you have a statement to make about it I am all ears. (please no 9mm 40,45 fights.)

About me. I am 6'5 and have big hands, so I think maybe I need a full size gun. I have shot a Glock before a few years ago and I liked it. My dad has a S&W 40, and I like the gun, but it has a funny trigger that I would not trust with my life. I am going to shoot a couple and see what I like, but I want you guys to give me some ideas on what else to try. Thanks for the help.
 
I'd say G21 all the way....You're a big guy and .45's are easy to shoot....My G17 has been 100%. Never one malfunction, it shoots perfectly, even dirty.

I'm not a man in blue but I'd put my life in the hands of a Glock.

My brother has an HK....that gun has been 100% also.
 
and103 said:
Well I am going to be a man in blue. I am leaning to a Glock, but I want some other opinions on what to carry. Of course, this gun wll be my life, and I NEED it to fire. I am allowed a 9mm, a 40, or a 45. I have kind of ruled out the 9mm, but if you have a statement to make about it I am all ears. (please no 9mm 40,45 fights.)

About me. I am 6'5 and have big hands, so I think maybe I need a full size gun. I have shot a Glock before a few years ago and I liked it. My dad has a S&W 40, and I like the gun, but it has a funny trigger that I would not trust with my life. I am going to shoot a couple and see what I like, but I want you guys to give me some ideas on what else to try. Thanks for the help.
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The Glock 19 9mm is probably trusted by more Law Enforcement Agencies than any other side arm. The Glock 19 is also the flagship of the Glock line from what I have read. My question is why you have to buy your own service weapon! Every Department I worked for supplied ours.
 
One thing to consider is a good retention holster. For this you won't have trouble if you go with any Glock or a Sig. Also consider what your co-workers will be carrying while working with you. If you're leaning toward Glock, then chances are high that your partners will have a Glock mod. 22 in .40 cal. Nothing wrong with the 9mm, .45, or maybe a .357 sig, (I have always wanted to carry the .357 sig myself), but you will have the same ammo and magazine compatability with your backup if you carry what most of them carry. My $0.02.
 
Thanks guys. I have not gone through the academy yet, I am signed up for it in March. Our local Sheriff's office does not issue you a gun for some reason. You have to buy your own.

Also, they only gave me the 3 calibers to choose from. I just want to get a gun now so I can practice with it alot before I am on duty.
 
That's a rare luxury. What are the cartridge choices?

The Glocks are fine workaday pistols but if given the option you might as well kick it up a notch. The Sig P226 would be my choice as well. The USP also has a great rep, but I've never been able to afford one.
 
I will look at the Sig. How about a Springfield XD? How would that compare to a Glock or SIG?
 
Assuming large hands, stick with fullsize guns. The G19 doesn't net you anything as a duty-sized gun except a smaller frame.

Are you going to be paying for your own ammo as well, especially practice stuff?

Consider that for caliber.
 
Our department supplies so much ammo for you. However, I want to get a good bit or practicing in with the gun, so I will have to buy my own for that.
 
When I saw that you have freedom to choose your sidearm and have large hands, the Glock 21 came first to my mind. :) Honorable mention: the S&W M&P, also in .45. It "only" holds 11 rounds topped up vs. the G21's fourteen, but that should still be adequate. ;)
 
Greetings and Welcome

Since this is going to be your duty pistol, you tend to the larger calibers - and - you're a big kid, you might as well get a full sized pistol. There's no point in carrying a hideout gun as a belt gun. Shorter barrels give shorter sight radius and therefore more difficult to shoot accurately, shorter grips are harder to hold properly.

If you are money tight and have to have one gun for both belt carry and off-duty (concealed) use, you'll have to make compromises. I'd still advise going for a full sized gun and dress around it for off duty, rather than purchase for concealment and then have 'half a gun' for duty.

I've carried a Glock as the deparmental issue gun for nearly five years. Up front, mine never blew up (it was a 9x19) and it worked reliably. It is better than a baseball bat for general use, but I could never warm up to it. Departments and individuals like them as they are very inexpensive and they are 'minimum training required' pistols.

If you have a background as a handgun shooter - your question here leads me to believe you are not - go with what you know. For simplicity of use, I would suggest a 'double action only' design pistol. Smith & Wesson and Heckler & Koch both make such pistols. The H&K is a full price pistol, but a sidearm is no place to go cheap. I have used both the USP and the P1000 pistols by H&K and find them both excellent pistols. The USP has a larger (wider) grip, by the way. I personally do not like striker fired handguns.

Read the excellent essay on holster requirements by David E in the "Holsters and Accessories" forum. His observations are spot on about what to seek in a holster.
 
I had not considered off-duty carry. That would depend on your department's policy. If you are required to carry a sidearm and are expected to exercise full police power off duty, consider a Glock 19 or 23. These are still very shootable but are much more compact and concealable in street clothes.
 
Thanks for the replies everbody. I think I am leaning to a Glock 22, as the most popular caliber is 40 in my area. Off duty cary I am not worried about, I will probably pick up a Glock 357 for that.

I will test fire the Glock, SIG, and XD in .40 and .45 and see what I like the most.
 
Whatever you choose, if it's going to be for work, make sure you have someone nearby geographically who can service it.


From duty belt gear, to parts and maintenance, to magazines . . . it's no fun to have to constantly send the gun away any time it needs repair and maintenance. Remember - night sights get replaced every 7 years, so you WILL be doing it.

And ordering gear that you can't find locally sucks. If you have to buy your own duty sidearm, then I'm betting you'll be on your own to choose duty gear, too. It's nice to be able to make sure you like the holster before you buy it. Mail order doesn't lend itself well that way.


Were I you, with your level of gun knowledge and situation, I'd be more concerned about those factors than any other thing. Period.
 
I have to buy my own weapons; for that I am GRATEFUL. In 1997, the authorized choices narrowed down to certain DA .40 pistols made by SIG, Beretta, and S&W, with certain pistols by Glock and SA, Inc., added later.

Originally, I opted to "grandfather" my 1911 pistols, because only new-hires HAD to carry the DA forties, but for reasons I won't get into here, decided to switch to the G22 in 2002. Glocks are good pistols, if they fit, and work the way one's hands work. The G22 did neither very well for me. I now use P229 pistols, and they, too, are good pistols, which both fit, and work well. FWIW, my hands are very skinny, and Glocks sit so low in my hand that my trigger finger rubs the frame. OTOH, one of my co-workers is a BIG guy, and a Glock's slide "bites" his hand, so he, too, uses P229s. (Yes, we both own multiples of our duty guns.)

I won't pretend this is a definitive answer to anyone's quest for a duty pistol, but it is stuff I can personally attest is the truth for two very differently-built police officers.
 
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