Police trade ins?

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I've got a surplus 3 1/2"" S&W Model 65 I got from CDNN.

It was in great shape, but randomly had light hits.

The fellow club member who worked on my guns and I puzzled over it for a few days until I suggested that he look at the strain screw.

Sure enough, some genius had shortened the screw so that it could be tightened down all the way, but was so short that it was slipping off of the pressed rib in the mainspring. It's 100% after getting a stock screw. It's a wonder that the dope who did it didn't get killed in a gunfight, carrying a nonfunctional firearm.
 
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The Smith & Wesson M&P 45acp is my favorite recent police trade-in. It barely even has holster wear. It came with the box, extra grips, and three mags. It was $229 plus $15 shipping from Kings Online.

It's hard to find a better deal on a service pistol. The trigger is great and it's very accurate.

 
This was my best deal. A Gunbroker vendor was selling police/military surplus Beretta 96's (40 caliber) a few at a time. One of the last ones was a "Frankenstein gun". It had an Italian DA/SA frame with an American DAO slide. No one else wanted to bid on it. I got it for the opening bid of $149. It's a terrific shooter. I really don't care that it doesn't have a safety or decocker. It functions flawlessly and is one of my favorite 40 caliber pistols.

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This was another steal. It was described as a police trade-in. I'm guessing it might not have been from the US. It's a 2" S&W Model 10 from the early 1960's. It has holster wear, though not as bad as the poor-quality picture might make you think. The trigger is divine. The only problem with shooting it SA is making it go off by mistake. DA is so smooth that it's equally accurate. IIRC, I gave $260 for it. I have a lot of nice snubbies, but this one is probably the best.

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I've purchased a ton of trade in guns over the years. Mechanically they have all been excellent. If you are a person that obsesses over cosmetics, dont buy surplus guns.
 
I own or have owned quite a few former police pistols, revolvers, shotguns and rifles.

Several S&W Model 10's - a couple S&W 19's - a S&W 66 - a Beretta 92FS - a Beretta A300.something 12 Ga. with Scotland Yard stamps from Fed Ord in El Monte Ca - a Remington 870 CHP 12 Ga. - a Beretta 92S - a Sig 226 - a couple 3rd Gen Glock 22's - an Indian 7.62x51 NATO Enfield and a Bushmaster XM-15E2S from North Richland Hills TX PD (also came with a 90's dated Surefire light and light mount).

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Only two of those guns were beaters. The Sig 226 and one of the Glock 22's. The rest had some wear, but most actually looked they'd been carried some, but had been shot little.

Personally I think that mostly they're pretty good deals.
 
Back in the 80s and 90s I worked for a dealer who bought a lot of police trade in guns. There were some real jewels in those deals. I had to go through each of them thoroughly and clean them up (removing years of WD 40 buildup). Vintage S&W revolvers with years of holster time but almost NO range time on them. Tight as a new gun. Most police guns have only been fired at once a year qualifications. Even if the finish is worn they are a good deal for a high quality firearm. I wish now that I had bought more of them when I had the chance. Definitely look at police trade ins.
 
Be interested to know what dept. that came from, and who sold it?
It's one of the Lower Saxony state police guns that came into the US several years ago. They were pretty prevalent and were cheap compared to what new ones cost.
 
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It's one of the Lower Saxony state police guns that came into the US several years ago. They were pretty prevalent and were cheap compared to what new ones cost.
Very nice, would liked to have seen that when they were available.

Our range officers evaluated one of those P7's, along with a CZ, a Sig, etc. when my agency was considering going to semi-autos. I got to shoot the P7 one time during a re-qualification, very nice.

We wound up with Glocks, which I was fine with, but I have a feeling the range guys just added a few candidates for their own pleasure. lol
 
I've got two Sig p229's that were LEO trade-ins and refurbed by Sig. One 15 years ago and one 12 years ago. I've since upgraded one with a p229 Legion RX slide. Triggers are superb on both. Zero malfunctions.

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NYPD initially OK'd that Kahr K9 for off duty carry and backup, but later banned them because they couldn't get the trigger up to NYPD specs of 12lbs. like the Glocks with a NY+ trigger.
I'm sure I'm not alone in thinking this, but that NYPD 12-pound trigger concept is infuriatingly stupid: "Let's modify a perfectly good pistol in such a way as to encourage bad habits when deploying (finger on trigger before decision to fire) while at the same time reducing its accuracy (and therefore safety) when it actually needs to be used." It just makes no sense, and had to come from someone who is manifestly ignorant when it comes to firearms.
 
I was with a state agency working in NYC, and like most other LE agencies in the city, we emulated the NYPD. Our patches, shields, uniforms etc. usually looked similar and were the same as far as handguns.

Although initially when they went to semi-autos the NYPD give officers a choice, it was pretty much Glocks. So we followed with Glocks only, and went with the same NY+ 12lb. trigger. Since when we had revolvers we were trained in DA only, it really didn't make much of a difference with the heavy Glock trigger, at least to me, I still qualified expert.

Now retired 10 years, I still have my Glock 26 with the same trigger. I can, of course, now change it, but to be honest, it's what I'm used to and see no need to. I don't find it as big a hindrance as you might imagine.

The idea was to prevent accidental discharge, who knows, maybe it did.
 
I was with a state agency working in NYC, and like most other LE agencies in the city, we emulated the NYPD. Our patches, shields, uniforms etc. usually looked similar and were the same as far as handguns.

Although initially when they went to semi-autos the NYPD give officers a choice, it was pretty much Glocks. So we followed with Glocks only, and went with the same NY+ 12lb. trigger. Since when we had revolvers we were trained in DA only, it really didn't make much of a difference with the heavy Glock trigger, at least to me, I still qualified expert.

Now retired 10 years, I still have my Glock 26 with the same trigger. I can, of course, now change it, but to be honest, it's what I'm used to and see no need to. I don't find it as big a hindrance as you might imagine.

The idea was to prevent accidental discharge, who knows, maybe it did.
Maybe -- but it also might have caused friendly-fire casualties.

Don't get me wrong -- I think people can learn to shoot almost anything well. But I think the 12-pound trigger was a reaction to accidental discharges that came from habits developed when everybody carried DA revolvers. In other words, people kept their finger on the trigger all the time because they were used to that being pretty safe. With striker-fired pistols, suddenly it was dangerous. I think better re-training was what was needed rather than a heavier trigger. Then you'd have a win-win: more safety and better accuracy.
 
I think better re-training was what was needed rather than a heavier trigger.

I’d agree with that, and my training from dad was of course to keep off the trigger until I was on target. I would add that the K9’s trigger is nowhere near 12 lbs. and that if I had to choose an auto loader from my small assemblage to shoot while staged on the trigger, the Kahr would give me the most confidence. Not the heaviest trigger in the stable but you’d have to be seriously twitchy to snap a round off unintentionally with that long pull.
 
I have had a Beretta 92FS trade in that looked new, hardly a nick on it, an S&W 4586 that looked great on the left side, the right looked like it had slid across a sidewalk for about a quarter mile. Shot fine though. I had an S&W 66 that I wish I had kept. It was like brand new, but taxes had to be paid, so...

All the above guns are gone now.

Currently, I have an ex-NYPD Sig P226 9mm that was DAO (Not a Dak), that I converted to DA/SA. It's got all nickel controls on it, and only the back of the grip frame shows any real wear. I also have a Sig P220 .45 DAK that is from an unknown department, box is marked "Sgt Smith". Gun is nearly flawless, except the black finish on the front area of the slide is "faded". I've never seen it before or since on any gun. I've thought about having the slide Np3'ed or done in electroless nickel, but it's not a big deal. I can think of better ways to waste money.
 
Maybe -- but it also might have caused friendly-fire casualties.

Don't get me wrong -- I think people can learn to shoot almost anything well. But I think the 12-pound trigger was a reaction to accidental discharges that came from habits developed when everybody carried DA revolvers. In other words, people kept their finger on the trigger all the time because they were used to that being pretty safe. With striker-fired pistols, suddenly it was dangerous. I think better re-training was what was needed rather than a heavier trigger. Then you'd have a win-win: more safety and better accuracy.
But that’s the thing, training. Most new recruits in NYC have never touched a gun before, not like in the old days with the draft.
NYPD rushes through training, everything re: police work has to be covered in six months, and firearms training probably doesn’t get as much time as it should.
 
I bought a Glock 27 Gen 4 trade in two years ago. Came with all 3 mags, night sights, the works. Besides the sights not as bright as they likely once were, the gun looked brand new and all it cost me was $360+shipping&transfer.

The subcompacts like the G27 are backup guns and I know cops only do the minimum range shooting to qualify with their main gun, the backup I think they shoot once, don't like the recoil, and never shoot them again. The 9mm subcompacts idk about, I doubt they get shot much either, but the prices will always be higher than .40's.

That goes for any police trade in with any .40, not just Glock.
 
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