When a gun was purchased at the Equiptment section it was automatically deemed servicable/authorized. When a gun was purchased from a private vendor it was supposed to be taken to the range and approved/authorized by a range instructor. The only modification allowable was the switching of the wood grips to a rubber approved brand, ( basically Pachymyr ). So as a desk Sgt, when a cop brought me their new weapon the first thing we did was throw away the cheap original grips and put on rubber ones. ( We showed them) Then I would make an entry in the Blotter as to the Weapon, serial #, Mos, and place of purchase etc etc. Finally, we had to fill out and send a form to the NYSP which kept a NYS record of every gun owned in the state. Once a year during inspections we would print out a teletype, sometimes hundreds of pages long with the MOS and every gun registered to him. Well, some of the cops had 50 or more guns at home and impossible to have them carry in and inspect each one. Although I DID it as I was supposed to. Anyway, you can see where some may have slipped through the cracks and ended up for sale, changed, altered, or sold w/o the Department knowing. Some of the precincts had hundreds of cops and you can see the logistics of trying to account for every gun. When I left the Dept had 45,000 members. So that's basically why all these guns have rubber grips and the ( **** ) wooden ones were discarded right into the garbage can under the desk. As my Alzheimer fades and comes will add more. One last thing, with the transition to 9mm's I believe the dept gave you the gun for free, but you were required to buy and show the Desk the leather gear for the gun Belt, Holster etc etc which cost about $150. The transition course from revolver to 9mm was 3 days at the range. Many habits at the range were drilled into you and after 20 plus years I still do. However, here in Florida those habits are deemed wrong, inappropriate, and even dangerous, but that's another thread.