What Firearms Do the Feds Use

If you're thinking of 9mm, 9mm is NATO-spec: there's a lot more of it produced than there is .40 for a couple of Fed agency contracts.

There's also the bullet weight and etc. - as someone said when I inquired as to the 9mm/.45 price difference, the brass and powder might be approximately the same weight-wise, but the bullet is twice as heavy...

 

Well .40 S&W is substantially cheaper than .45 ACP.

 

The P228 is still made in Europe and available to LE/MIL (CID and other smaller military units use it as the M11) but is simply not sold commericially anymore.

 

I know a good chunk of DOJ uses Ruger P93 9mm's and AR15/M16's. I hear them training a lot of the time in the mornings at the Federal Prison, FBI also trains on the same range though, not sure if they use the same guns.

 

When I took the Phase I test in October, I asked the same question. I didn't get a very good response. Only that the list is rather short. He did mention that it was short because FBI armorers would have to fix whatever it was and they didn't want to have to find parts for everything under the sun.

 

U.S. Secret Service SIG 229 (generally, there are exceptions)
DPS (Defense Protective Services) Either Glocks or H&K

In both of the cases above there are exceptions.

 

Air Marshalls

The U.S. Air Marshalls use the Sig P239 in .357 Sig. Although they are trying to go the 9mm as it has less power and they are constantlyl worried about overpenetration since their fields of fire have a lot of bystanders.

 

FWIW, the SIG 228 isn't off the civilian market, it's just not available until SIGARMS get caught up with their gov't contracts. Small batches show up from time to time, and IIRC, you can find them thru SIG's CPO pgm.

 

Quote:

i know what ICE is an abbreviation of,but if they are not going to do any enforcing,what do they need weapons for?

If you want an idea of what they do go to:

http://www.ice.gov/

They deal with a a variety of BGs and do need weapons.

 

I thought I read somewhere (I'll see if I can find it again) that FBI agents are issued a certain weapon, but may choose another weapon of preference from an approved list (at their own cost of course).

 

I believe that some VERY clandestine agents use the ASP 9mm. Right?

 

"some VERY clandestine agents use the ASP 9mm"
They did at one time... 60s or 70s era, IIRC. Nowadays, they'd probably carry a Khar or midget Glock.

 

The BOP is the largest federal law enforcement agency.

Ruger P-89 is the issue weapon

 

The US Coast Guard

The US Coast Guard is one of the military branches. Yes we do work for Homeland security and prior to this Department of Transportation. For the record we have had people in all wars ranging from WW2, Korea, Vietnam, and both gulf wars. And as we speak we have armed patrol boats patrolling the coasts of Iraq along with a patrol boat maintenance detachment in Bahrain. We carry Berettas 9mm as standard issue and some units are getting the sigs like our CGI. We do carry 12 ga Mossburgs, AR15, .50 cals you name it... we do a lot with a small amount of people and budget. The people getting hoisted in them pretty baskets after Hurricane Katrina were in our Helos some crews worked non stop for months.
We do...
1.Law enforcement
2.Pollution response (oil spills) remember the Exxon Valdez
3.Major disasters
4.Aids to Navigation
5.Migrant interdiction
6.Marine Safety inspections on all types of vessels
7.Search and rescue 24/7 (we go out when others dont dare)
8.And now Homeland security at all US ports and US and foreign vessels in the US. Our Motto is Semper Paratus (Always Ready)

Next time you see a Coastie buy him a soda if hes in duty and a beer if hes not

 

At least some of the FBI Swat teams carry G22's. I've read that HRT does have a .45 option.

BP remains the second largest law enforcement agency. FBI is still larger for now. BP will be getting only HK P2000s (Sk's for some) to replace the Beretta 96D Brigadiers and HK USPc they currently have. No govt issued Sigs past, present or future.

BOP is a DOJ component, but they aren't law enforcement as they enforce no laws and cannot make arrests. The do carry Rugers unfortunately, part of Bill Ruger's bounty for selling out to the Klintonistas. They have a difficult job and deal with the filth of society that society doesn't have the guts to deal with properly. Many friends are BOP and I respect the job they do and the difficult environment in which they work.

As for the others, Marshals generally have G23s. SS and FAMS carry Sig 229s. ICE, I'm not sure. They had Sigs but I don't know if they are updating to P2000s. I think I've seen some of the uniformed ICEE Lites carrying Glocks, but it could have been a P2000. DEA use G23's, and, as we all know, they are the only ones qualified to shoot themselves with them.

Their are literally hundreds of other agencies with agents (criminal investigators) or officers. For example, the some VAMC's have special investigators. I don't know why. EPA has a SWAT team.... I guess to fend off an attack by radical envirowackos led by Steven Seagal. Most of the agencies have special handguns options for undercover operations. Most have longarms that are generally an M4 type AR. A few still allow officers to carry certain agency approved personal firearms.

 

What about DHS organizations like ICE? And what about NSA investigators? Does the CIA issue a weapon?

And more importantly what kind of holsters do they use?

 

Holsters, Pistols, and Sundry

FBI and IRS-CI are currently issuing Glock 22 or 23 depending on the agent's preference. HHS IG was getting the Glock 23. Secret Service, the Sig 229 in .357 Sig. Customs (now ICE) used to issue the S&W DA/SA pistols, then went to the Glock 9mm. The last time I was on a task force with an ICE agent he told me they were switching to the H&K USP, he wasn't certain of the caliber. The last time I asked a rookie Bureau agent, they were getting Fobus holsters with their issue kit but many agents were buying their own. IRS guys were getting Galco FLETCH holsters and Blackhawk SERPA CQB holsters. The Blackhawks are far and above the most popular holster with the tax cops. The HHS guy had no clue what piece-of-garbage brand holster his agency bought but had bought a personal Galco for carry.

The last time I was at the FLETC in Artesia, NM, Border Patrol was looking at buying H&K USPs for their guys but I don't know if they followed through on it.

As far as holsters go, agencies typically buy us crap. They ususally have a committee of firearms instructors make a recommendation for several holsters. Then some dip-dunk in purchasing will look at our recomendation and peruse catalogs from several manufacturers. Very often, the purchasing agent will find something that looks similar but is far cheaper (read "crap") and buy that. The end result is that most agents serious about living until retirement put their issue holster in a desk drawer and user their personal funds to buy what suits them. I see a LOT of personally purchased SERPA holsters in the field.

Don't place too much stock in what the government buys us, whether pistol or holster. The government buys what is affordable and justifiable. The muckity-mucks in the upper echelons of my agency would much rather have a dead agent on their hands than have to explain to Congress why they spent beaucoup bucks on an expensive imported pistol like a Walther or H&K. Same with the crappy holsters they buy us. Who cares if I get my gun snatched from a crummy issue holster? If I get shot and live, Labor pays off my disability and my agency is off the hook. If I die, another agency pays off survivor benefits. Either way, my agency saves a bunch of money!

DAO or similar triggers are becoming standard in federal agencies for one reason: they reduce the initial learning curve. When my agency switched from the Sig P228 to the Glock 23, we observed two trends. New agents shot qualifying scores at the academy 2 weeks earlier with the Glock than with the Sig. The best experienced agents in the field experienced a 3% drop in their scores. In other words, we could teach neophytes to shoot well sooner with a Glock but the guys shooting 99s and 100s saw a drop in their scores from switching to the "Safe-Action" trigger system.

Don't ever base personal tactical decisions on what the feds do!

Now, speaking personally, if I were in charge of issuing weapons and holsters to my agency, I would choose the H&K USP Compact in .40 with Variant 1 trigger configuration and a Blackhawk SERPA holster or a FIST Model 19 IWB holster for those who value concealment.

 

Quote:What about DHS organizations like ICE?

ICE is issuing Glock 17, 19, and 26s and S&W J frames. These were carried over from the Office of Investigations, US Customs. They also have H&K USPs carried over from INS Investigations. Long guns are 870s, M4s, AUGs, and MP5s. They are transitioning to some model of a SIG 40 (DAK?). There is a limited list of personal handguns authorized (no personal long guns). There are also some special weapons in the inventory that are not used for general issue.

 

083 VA police officers/LE-Beretta 92D

I'm interested to know if BerettaUSA will issue new 9mmNATO pistols(like the 90two or Storm models) to replace the 92D pistol used by LEOs in the US Dept of Veterans Affairs. I know many 083s use the 92D 9mmNATO now but what about the near future?

If I ran the VA's law enforcement office I'd issue the HK P-2000 LEM in .357SIG.

Rusty S

 

I just read a book on CIA Special Operations, written by a former member that worked operations in Afghanistan and more than a few members, including Mike Spann (CIA employee killed during a prison riot) were noted to have carried Glock 9mms. The author didn't specity the model, but the magazine capacity he listed is concurrent with Glock 19's. The book was Jawbreaker by Gary Berntsen, excellent book. A book written by Gary Schroen, one of Berntsen's associates, makes mention of one of his teammates carrying a "Browning Automatic" (Browning High-Power 9mm). That book was called "First In" but I am not finished with it yet. It's pretty good so far.

 

From the reports I've heard they're still using their original Rugers from the 90's, original parts, and I've also heard that they haven't had any problems with them.

Why change if what they got still works well?


And Bill Ruger is dead...get over it. They seem to have, as soon as the AWB sunset they made sure all stocking Ruger dealers had replaced their 10rd mags with 15rd mags, and now they have a 17rd 9mm out.

Though I still can't explain the mini14 mag issue...

 

What the heck is BOP? It's not the same as Border Patrol, is it?

 

BOP is Bureau of Prisons.

 

AHA! Thankyou. Is that like Federal Prisons only, or State prisons count too?

 

Diplomatic Security

Where did you get the information about DS?

All the uniformed DS officers I've seen were carrying revolvers. Not sure what model, but looks like a 4 inch barrel.