Revisited: What unlikely guns have you seen LEO/security guards use on the job?

W

Wyatt Burp

Member
Joined
Dec 9, 2008
Messages
6,777
Reaction score
17,709
Location
Northern California
I brought this up before but ask again because I find this fascinating and we'll get new responses. Around 1972 a stocky security guard in front of the S.F. Winterland concert hall was dressed in dark clothes, sunglasses at night, a black cop style hat, thick black mustache, and a DOUBLE black basketweave Sam brown type rig with a Ruger Blackhawk on one side and what looked like a 4" S&W Highway Patrolman on the other. He just looked BAAAAD! I was 15 and the image was just cool to me then. What unusual. weird, useless, or unlikely guns or holster arrangements have you ever seen a policeman or security guard use?
 
Register to hide this ad
I guess this sort of qualifies though I do not know what kind of a guard this person was (civilian type or military/LEO)

We were down in Acapulco Mexico, on a cruise and went ashore and ended up at a huge Jewelry/Diamond place. They had a bunch of shotgun guards wandering around and this one person that only carried a holstered 1911 type pistol hammer down. Nothing strange about the pistol but his spare ammo was carried in belt loops. Did not see a magazine on belt.:D
 
Last edited:
This isn't really weird, just a bit dated, but just three or four years ago, I saw an armored-car rider doing cash pickup (on a reserve military base) with what looked like a 4" K-frame gun in a holster which put the grips way out in the breeze, far away from his body, and rather low. Not exactly a retention holster, AFAIK, but VERY accessible to the owner, if necessary. To me, at least, it screamed, "Stay away from me and you won't get shot." The owner looked fairly young and probably physically fit.

P.S. Even without the gun, I think that there was quite a bit of metal in that holster.
 
Last edited:
Had an armored car guard (young) at Xmas come in with a semi auto pistol modified to look tactical something. Looked like a suppressor,but wasn't, had an extended high cap magazine and a shoulder sling. He got complaints, so he changed to a Mossberg 12 gauge pump gun with an extended magazine tube, a ventilated heat cover over the barrel, pistol grips, and a sling. And again, he got complaints. I figured if he started shooting with either, I was dead, the windows would all be shot out, customers would be bleeding, and the bad guy would die laughing.
 
A couple of months ago, I visited the National Air & Space Museum's Udvar-Hazy Center, which is next to Dulles Airport in Virginia. The federal government police officers there were armed what looked to be S&W Model 65s. It's been many, many years since I've seen cops carrying revolvers and speedloaders...
 
Years ago, an old cop in our town carried a Ruger Blackhawk as his duty gun with a .22 derringer tucked in a little holster that he had sewn on the inside of his cowboy boot. I can't remember the caliber of the Ruger. I want to say .45 Colt, but not sure.

Most of the officers in our town at the time were carrying double-action revolvers, but this guy stuck with a single-action. And, I can't explain it, but he just had a look that said, "Don't mess with me."
 
Last edited:
While visiting L.A. in 1965, I saw a LAPD motorman with what I now recognize to be the grip frame of a Colt New Service, the only time I have seen an "active" New Service.

I've mentioned several times on this Forum about the undercover NYPD officer who would practice at our range with a small attache case with several 'mouse guns,' cheap .22 and .25 autos and derringers. Carrying a .38 snub would have gotten him killed.

There was a now-defunct security firm in NYC that would always issue the same non-functional nickel S&W break-top .38 to new guards who had just obtained their carry permits from NYPD. PD's License Division wised up and ordered the company to dispose of that broken gun.

The strangest: Any tri-staters remember the Anchor Bank TV ads of the 1970s with the guy and gal bankers: "Your Anchor banker, He (She) understands." They walked into our range one day with carry permits to practice. The bank had issued them ancient Colt snub DA .32 revolvers chambered for the .32 Colt Long ctge (not the .32 Colt New Police). We had never seen that round outside of a book, so sadly, did not have any ammo for them to practice. I did ask them politely if they would repeat the commercial's refrain for me, and they gladly did so.

Kaaskop49
Shield #5103
 
A couple of our guys carried Highpoints . One guy carried in a cheap Uncle Mike's until it split down the middle and dumped his gun on the floor of the bus depot
 
I was on patrol one day and stopped by my bank. There was a young rent-a-cop standing outside, smoking a cigarette. He was not wearing a Sam Browne belt or even a holster on his waist belt. I asked if he was armed and he pulled a Raven .25 auto out of his pocket!!! :O

I seriously considered changing banks that day.
 
Years ago the security guard at the local hospital carried a Clerke nickel revolver chambered in 32 S&W Long. At the time I worked in a store that sold guns and ammo. One day he came in for a box of cartridges and showed it to me. He thought it was a Smith and Wesson because it said S&W on the barrel.
 
Years ago (about half a century worth) I was in Vera Cruz, Mexico. A cop there had a luger in a holster on his belt. I couldn't determine caliber or markings, unfortunetly.
 
Well, there was this one great big guy who carried a brass Napoleon IWB.

I did see a skinny little security guard iin a store where I moonlighted many years ago who carried a blue S&W .41 Magnum half his own size and weight. He liked chatting up some of the dimmer young women who worked there and boasting about how some punk teenager had mouthed off to him till he drew the .41 cocked it, and yadda-yadda...

Most people there couldn't stand the twerp, but management wouldn't do anything about his inattention to and unfitness for his job.
 
Back in the olden days, before I became a LEO, I worked for a security company that wanted everyone to wear single action Rugers in .357 in cowboy leather. I was the only one that didn't have a single action so I wore my Model 10 HB in a set of regular cop leather. One of the guys had a really nice leather rig with about forty-eleven shell loops, always full of nickel plated .357 shells. Was talking to him one night about guns and shooting and I asked him if he carried the same ammo in his Ruger. He said that he didn't carry any ammo in the gun because it was all in the loops and if he loaded the gun he would have 5 empty loops on his belt and that wouldn't look good. I caught a lot of grief from the boss because I didn't sell my 10 to buy a Ruger. It took me over 40 years to buy a single action .357 Ruger (and I really don't much care for it!)
 
Once in the early 80's I was traveling through Mexico, I had stopped to gas up my jeep. While trying to figure out liters/gallon and pesos/dollar ratios I noticed a 4 door 1968ish Impala pull up across the street in a wooded section and two men wearing green uniforms get out of the back doors with M1 carbines and step into the woods. I'll assume they were LEOs. Then the car sped off.

I didn't wait to see what else was going to happen.
 
The company I work for now is all about uniformity so they issue everyone an M&P .40.
 
Cyrano said:
Years ago (about half a century worth) I was in Vera Cruz, Mexico. A cop there had a luger in a holster on his belt. I couldn't determine caliber or markings, unfortunetly.
Click to expand...

In 1969 I spent about three months there installing some new equipment in the TAMSA mill and I saw that dude or his brother carrying a luger in a hip holster near the plaza.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

M
Do you have a wish list? What is on it?
2 3
Replies
40
Views
695
Redcoat3340
Redcoat3340
R
The oldest firearm you have
4 5 6
Replies
110
Views
4K
SteveA
SteveA
tlawler
The most fun you can have in your garage!
Replies
5
Views
566
tlawler
tlawler
D10
Have you seen this?
2
Replies
39
Views
1K
D10
D10
Llance
The best deal you have ever gotten on a firearm?
5 6 7
Replies
135
Views
4K
heeter3
H

Latest posts

Back
Top