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  #1  
Old 04-29-2014, 04:43 PM
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Police Men & Police Women: Revolver or Semiautomatic? Police Men & Police Women: Revolver or Semiautomatic? Police Men & Police Women: Revolver or Semiautomatic? Police Men & Police Women: Revolver or Semiautomatic? Police Men & Police Women: Revolver or Semiautomatic?  
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Default Police Men & Police Women: Revolver or Semiautomatic?

Good afternoon all -

My missus just raised a brilliant question. I'm into semiautomatics, M&P Shield, and she is into Revolvers, S&W Model 67, .38 Special.

With that, what do Police Men/Police Women prefer, a Revolver or Semi-Automatic?

Go...

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  #2  
Old 04-29-2014, 05:12 PM
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Perspective: it's about fighting, not appearance or other silly stuff.

It varies for a lot of reasons. A good auto pistol is more ergonomic for more people. One of our firearms instructors from my academy published an article on that issue back about 1987. A female recruit was not doing well with her issued M66 because it did not fit her hand. She did great with a 1911. Of course, the agency had a fit, because even though the 1911 is a "safer" firearm from a mechanical perspective, and really hard to ND if handled at all well, it looks dangerous to people too stupid to have anything to do with LE or personal defense weapons. A friend of mine just had a similar experience. Some years back, she tried my M66 because she had never fired a gun before. Her hands were just too small. The agency at which she was recently hired issues M&P 40s, and with the smallest backstrap, she was good to go. (If anyone is thinking of advocating a J frame for a small handed shooter, slap yourself.)

Circumstances dictate tactics, and working in rural areas during most of my LE service, capacity in a pistol I could shoot well was important. Part of that is impacted by more modern thinking - a pistol is a secondary weapon, one carried because a problem is not expected. If you have reason to expect a problem you can't avoid (LE has to go), and you are not taking your M4, you are a darned fool. Of course, if one is working in an area where large animals could be a threat, it is easier to get a potentially appropriate projectile out of a revolver than most auto pistols. A decent rifle is the better answer, of course, and a shotgun with slugs (the default load - buckshot is a limited purpose specialty load) is also a winner for large animals and of course for high risk vehicle stops.

Would I carry a revolver if that was the only choice? Yes. Is it the best choice? No. It is harder to train up to an appropriate level of proficiency with a revolver. Most fixed sight revolvers have sights that are harder to pick up in a hurry. If I had a choice between an M15 S&W with a good heavy SWC, a Beretta 92/M9, or a Glock 22, I'd take the S&W most of the time.
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Old 04-29-2014, 07:37 PM
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I like Doug M.'s post, which probably isn't hard to figure out. However, for people with hands larger than mine, which includes a lot of male cops, K and even N frame revolvers with proper grips are just as good as 1911s. And they are a LOT safer to unload and load daily, if that's your idea of a good time.
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Old 04-30-2014, 05:00 PM
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My opinion to the question is their is no correct answer. No one firearm is perfect for everyone. I can use a semi auto pretty well. I like a revolver better and feel I can shoot better. The revolver is easy to load easy to check for safe easy to clean. Semi auto is not so easy to check for safe not so easy to clean and sometimes for us older folks the slide is a bit of a chore to rack back with the firearm pointed forward. These are just my opinions.
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Old 04-30-2014, 05:50 PM
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I carried a S&W 686 revolver for the first four years of my LE career. For the last 24 years I have carried a Beretta 92. When I carried a revolver I shot expert. I shoot equally well with the Beretta. I did start shooting at the age of five, so I was not a gun rookie when I was a police rookie. I can load, unload, or clear either blindfolded and with the Beretta can also field strip and reassemble blindfolded. Both guns are excellent handguns. Both operation actions are long engrained into my muscle memory, as is a Remington 870 pump.

The nationwide switch to autos in the late 1980's was ALL about capacity (in the gun and on your belt). We went from six in the gun plus 12 in speed loaders to 16 in the gun plus two 15 round magazines (18 vs. 46 rounds). What we lost was strong 38+P and.357 magnum rounds and we replaced those with the less powerful 9mm round. What we lost was expert revolver shooters and we gained officers that never ever fired a revolver. You learn shooting skills when you learn to shoot on a revolver. With the auto, some learn spray and pray.

As I age it seems that all new (or used) guns that I now buy for personal carry/use are revolvers. The semi-auto is the duty gun today because it offers the capacity of nearly fifty rounds quickly sent down range. I will carry the semi for another five years until I retire, then it will also retire. I will carry a revolver long after I retire.
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Old 04-30-2014, 07:34 PM
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Love my revolvers-no secret about that. However if I was po po wearing every day and putting myself on the "blue line" so to speak, I would want a hi cap 9mm like an M&P because it firs my hand well, is reliable and has lots of bullits in it. Big difference from a civi and a police officer whose side arm is his primar means of fefence. Let's face it, the side arm of choice way back when was the Coly SAA. It was supplanted by the S&W M&P and other double action revolvrs because they provided a tactical advantage over the old single actions. Like it or not, the Semi's do provide a tactical advantage over the double action revolver as a primary arm in police work. But since the average shootout involving a civilian is between 1 and two rounds rounds at less than 7 yards, a revolver as a defensnve arm does indeed fill the bill.
Now if we're talking about being a police officer in bear country than that's a whole different thing-then I would want both a .44 AND a hi cap 9. I would then shoot them both until either the bear gets me or they both go "click". If at the end I was still alive, I would then change my trousers.
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Old 04-30-2014, 07:45 PM
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All of our officers carry self loading sidearms. Male and female.

Not sure about the aliens, that are forum members. Phasers have mentioned. (Not tasers, we all have them too)
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Old 04-30-2014, 08:31 PM
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Interesting arguments being posed here.
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Old 04-30-2014, 08:45 PM
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Great question. I love the capacity of my semiautos but I love the simplicity of my revolver. I have never ever had one single FTF or FTE with my revolver. I pull the trigger five times and it goes "bang" five times.

I work in the EMS industry and every single LEO I have had contact with has a semiauto side arm (although some use a revolver as a back up weapon). On the flip side, almost every armored car security worker has a revolver on their belt. I have always wondered why.
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Old 04-30-2014, 09:29 PM
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I too carried a S&W 686 for the first about 9 or 10 years, then the department went to the Glock 20 (10MM), and later to the Glock 22 (40 cal.). I retired after 22 years and I will say I still enjoy shooting a revolver, but it sure is nice to have the extra capacity of a semi-auto. I just like to shoot handguns and during the winter with the snow I tend to shoot a revolver, looking for brass in the snow just isn't fun anymore, and in the summer I shoot both so I don't really have a sure fire preference. Now that I am retired, I carry what ever will best suit the enviroment I am in on any given day. I know this isn't the solid answer you were looking for, but when we went to the semi-autos I did feel, I was on a more level footing with the weapons we were seeing on the streets. I believe the semi-auto pistols did increase my on the job safety. The Glock is one ugly gun but the dam thing is 100% reliable. Just my thoughts and worth exactly what you paid for them. I will add being a Police Officer has to be one of the best careers a man or woman can ever have if not THE best. I have no regrets as I retired while I still enjoyed the work.
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Old 05-01-2014, 09:25 AM
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There’s a reason the revolver has been dead as a police service weapon for years now. Modern semi-autos are just better for that kind of work.
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Old 05-01-2014, 10:40 AM
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Revolvers work just fine. Times have changed however and so have the bad guy's and their tactics. You are now dealing with better armed assailants not to mention multiple ones to boot. Professional armed robbers seldom act alone and should you have the misfortune to run into these types of characters you will be hard pressed to convince me that a six shot revolver, no matter the caliber, would be better to have than ANY duty type semi automatic pistol in as far a engaging said multiple adversaries and rapid reloads. I don't know much but I do of what I refer to in that regard.
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Old 05-03-2014, 05:18 PM
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Default LEO men/women

Spent 42 years in LEO covering 6 states

Carried model 10's
Carried model 5906
Carried model 1911 Colts
Carried model 686's
Carried Glocks 21'2 and 17's

Women did same
Never had an issue

Women LEO's did same
Training is the common thread
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Old 05-03-2014, 05:36 PM
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I carried a model 10 my whole career and a model 60 snubby backup, and off duty. Two years before I left they were experimenting with automatics. I passed on the chance and kept my 10. Today I still feel a revolver is more dependable. My carry today is a 642. But as (badge) mentioned prior to my post times have changed and you are dealing with a better armed assailants not to mention multiple ones. Also today many departments the LEO is riding solo. In my days unless you were a traffic officer you never went out without a partner. So after all is said I might reconsider the automatic just for the fire power, with my trusty 60 as backup, if were on the job today and alone on the street.
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Old 05-03-2014, 06:53 PM
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As said above, the critical factor is training. During my 28 years of working for the Man I have carried a Model 27-3, a Model 627-0, a Model 686-3, various 1911's in .45 ACP, a Glock 21, 22, 23, and 27 (bug). I would feel pretty comfortable with any of them. But, Doug M. is right, if you are heading into harms way with time to prepare, grab your M-4.

One old timer who was a firearms instructor left me with this bit of advice; he said, "If you know you are going to get in a gunfight tomorrow, call in sick." He'd been in a few and didn't recommend the experience.
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