Were you law enforcement in the 70’s-80’s? What did you carry?

1975 M10....evolved to a colt Trooper mark 3. and then a M15. Later a ruger speed six. Once in the Detective Div. a M36 and finally a Beretta M92d.
As an aside I also had a Colt Det. special I carried off duty in the early 70's. I sold it to a friend for $50. Forty six years later I bought it back from him (NOT at 50 bucks either) Looks and shoots the same and of course I will pass it on to my son.
 
I started with a large department in '73. I was issued a 4" heavy barrel model 10. A few guys got model 10s with the skinny barrel, a few 4" Colts; official police was the model I think. Later we got heavy barrel 64s. Personally owned S&Ws and Colts were authorized, but only the Issued .38 125 grain JHP ammo was allowed for carry. Detectives were issued model 60s; the armory would bob the hammers if the detective requested it. In '74 I started carrying my 66. At some point .357 ammo was authorized, IF you could qualify with it. Some could not. Soon after the L-Frames were introduced, I started carrying a 586, then the 686. In the early '90s the Dept. started transitioning to Glock G17s. I retired with the Glock, but later went back to work for a smaller department, which allowed more carry options. I won't bore you with them all, but I ended up carrying the Colt Govt. I'd always wanted to carry. After retiring again in 2010, I stayed on till end of 2015 as a reserve officer. Still have the old 66 and Govt. model Colt I carried..
66, 1972 .JPGDuty 1.jpg
 
At my first part time job I carried an M58 loaded with 175 grain Silvertips. Did the academy in 1989 with a Glock, and eventually bought one. Would still sometimes carry the M58 working in small rural towns. I still have one of the few LH Safariland 070s for a 4" N frame. Went reserve with the SO where we lived after my wife got a job at a University in WA. First issue was a 1076; they broke and broke a lot. They were replaced with a 4566, many of which came out of the box non-functional. At. certain point we were allowed HK USP 45s; I bought one and carried for a while. When we were allowed to carry personal 1911s with a pretty stout training standard, I carried that. I eventually transitioned to the issued G21 because my arthritic hands made the security holster for the 1911 too slow. Most of the time now, I carry a G33.
 
Started my career in the early 80's carrying a 4 inch model 19, then one year later went to a model 66 4 inch, then in 1985, switched over to a model 659. A few years later we all jumped on the Glock wagon . Years later, I tried a Smith M&P 9mm auto and never went back . I stayed with the M&P for the rest of my career but I moved up (🤔) to a M& P 45.
 
I wasn't exactly in law enforcement until 1990 other than being an explorer in the late 70s and a reserve deputy in a rural area in the late 80s. My dad, however, made a career with a midsized, Midwest police department, then went onto work rural law enforcement. He started at the police academy with a city issues model 10. After the academy, he started carrying a four inch 28 he had, plus a Model 36 as BUG/off duty. He ended up discovering the Model 28 did not agree with his back, but ended up shelving that gun for several years when he went into narcotics, vice, and burglary investigations. When promoted and back in uniform, a rookie with Magnum fever traded an early Model 15 for his 28. He still had the 15, and carried it thru retirement with the first department, and for several years after working in the country. His last employer, after about a 15 minute transition to a P226, had him retire the revolver.

Jordan holsters, first with the safety step, and later with the thumb break were the norm in that part of the country during that time. Buckmeyer holsters were common off duty or plain clothes rigs. Somehow he managed to wear a pair of Mode 36 three inches when dressed like a scumbag to buy dope. He's still got those 36s also.

In that part of the country during that time, most departments that issued handguns issued a Model 10 or 64. But if an offer could qualify, and I use the term loosely, they could carry other Smiths or Colts in .38, .357, .41, or .44 to include Magnum. There were a few who were hardcore, enlightened 1911 fans. My dad's department finally put the halt to carrying semis when it was discovered that officers who got lured to things line Model 59s carried those pistols on duty for a spell before finally going to qualify and discovering they did t work. That department didn't get on the semi auto bandwagon until the late 80s and only after dedicated transitions.
 
Golly Molly, where to begin? LOL In 1972 AL DPS issued S&W 4" Mod 10 pencil barrel .38s. They then bought a few Colt Border Patrol .357s and issued them to the DCG (riot squads), but I did not get one of those. They then upgraded to the S&W M-19 4" .357 for all Troopers. Then in the late 80s, they went with the S&W 5906 9mm. Just after I retired in the late 90s they went with the Glock 22 .40.
Up until they issued the 5906 we were allowed to carry personal revolvers of .38 caliber and above. .44 magnums were riding in more than a few holsters. As a young impressionable rookie I was always looking for the ideal sidearm, went through a bunch including M58 41magnum, model 27 .357 5", Ruger Security Six .357 6", personally owned M19s before they issued them, Model 28 .357 with 6" bbl....maybe a couple more but I'm old and forgetful now. Issued long arms were at first the M-1 carbine and the Mossberg 12 ga. The rifles were recalled by the Dept and Remington 870s issued as replacements for the Mossbergs, which would slam fire if you did not release the trigger when you pumped the slide.
When they issued the 5906 we were told we could carry it only, with exceptions for those who were closer to retirement and allowed to carry the issued M19 if they did not want a semiauto. Those were the only two sidearms allowed after the 9mm's were issued.
 
usmcsgt said:
So cleaning up the gun locker today and got my S&W Model 57 (no dash) 41 MAG out to clean up. I purchased it as a blue steel new in the box with target hammer and wide target trigger when I was on Embassy duty in West Germany in 1975. The wiesbaden Air Force Base had a gun store back in those days and of course we always hit the gun store when we had to pickup supplies. I really wanted a model 29 (thanks Dirty Harry), but they we just impossible to get then.

When I got out of the USMC in 1978 I was hired by a small Midwest police department- they furnished everything but your underwear, boots and gun. The gun requirements were it had to be 38 special or larger, Colt, Smith & Wesson, or Ruger and you had to be able to qualify with it. If you carried a 38/357 Mag the department supplied you with a 1000 rounds of 38 WC reloads per year. So the training Sgt found me a well worn N Frame holster and I was off carrying my 41 mag.

Factory ammo was very expensive on a cops salary so most of us were carry our own reloads on duty- I settled on a Lee cast lead 240 grain SWC (Elmer Keith recommendation) with a gas check and pushing about 900 fps. Speed loaders on my belt had 210 grain jacket hollow points loaded hot to punch through vehicles was the idea.

So after about a month of wearing short sleeve shirts and the Model 57's checkered target hammer rubbing the skin off the underside of my arm- it became a bobbed double action only Model 57. A few months later I had the gun Magnported and not only did it help with recoil but helped my night shooting scores go up.

Summers in the Midwest getting in and out of air conditioning was tough on blued guns in leather holsters, so I sent it off and had it and it coated with a new metal product that was being used on oil drilling bits- sorry can't remember what they called it. No more surface rust- yea.

I carried the gun during my tenure as a city cop and later as a Sheriff's patrol deputy all the way until I made detective- it was too heavy to wear in a shoulder holster for a 10 hour shift in plain clothes.

So for all you old timers who were cops back then what were you carrying? In the Midwest in the 1970's and 1980's and the agencies I worked for it was most S@W and Colt, and folks were very vocal about what they carried. Lots of Colt Python guys and lots of S&W Model 19, 27 and 28 guys, I also loved the 3 inch round butt Model 13 heavy barrel when I was a Detective.

Cheers,

Jeff
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I started in 1975 at age 22 at my first department and was issued a 4" S&W Model 15 . I left there and moved on to another department from which I retired with 35 years service. At that time we carried personally owned revolvers .. we were authorized either a S&W or Colt. I carried a S&W 4" Model 28 Highway Patrolman then transitioned to a Colt Python. When the auto pistol days arrived in the 1990's our department went to issued sidearms and we adopted the Beretta 96D. That turned out to be a disaster and we replaced them with the Glock 22 which was what I was carrying when I retired. Was not a big fan of the Glock "plastic fantastic" at first but it grew on me over time. Now quite fond of them...they simply work and are reliable, durable and easy to work on!
 
Base security patrolman 1984-1987 Naval Air Station Millington, TN. Base consisted of two major commands. The air station and the naval aviation training center. Patrolled both facilities, including on and off base housing areas. Was issued a police service six then a speed six. Both chambered in 38 specials with 4" barrels. Did get to work and train with Millington PD, the famed Shelby County Sheriffs, and Memphis PD SWAT, the Cobras.
 
moosedog said:
Started in Detroit PD carrying my personally owned 29-2 6.5 inch with Remington 240gr midrange loads while waiting for my police lettered 4 inch 29-2. Always carried my S&W 49 an ankle holster as a backup.
Went to Clinton Township and had to carry a S&W 4 inch 19-4 in nickel with TH,TT, and rubber Pachmyer grips. Later we were issued
Glock 19s in 1991, then Glock 23s. Still always had the 49 as back up while in uniform. Always had my personal Remington 870 Police Shotgun in the car.
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I need to purchase a personal shotgun when I moved to the sheriffs patrol, I went to a old time local gunsmith and asked him if he had anything cheep that worked, got that Remington 870 3 inch mag duck gun that the guy got mud in the barrel and fired it, guess I could saw off the barrel-got $90? Yep I do- and then put a pistol grip and sling on it-kept on the floorboard transmission hump of the take home patrol car.
 
Started with the Highway patrol in 1970. They provided the weapons and ammunition. Weapons were either M28's or M27's, and I carried them both at various times. Ammo when I started was all .357 mag, and for far too many years was either 158 grain Winchester Lubaloy SWC, with Winchester 158 grain armor piercing in a 6 round belt slide. Nobody fired either load for fun or practice, since both leaded horribly, weren't accurate at all, and we were only issued 6 rds of each per year. The AP was a weird brass capped round with an exposed soft lead body inside the case, and didn't penetrate anything any better than the Lubaloy bullet. Many years later we were finally issued JHP ammo, 158 grain, then later, 110 grain JHP. The 110 grain was accurate, probably effective on soft targets, but didn't work well for me, since in my patrol are I had to put down a lot of livestock that had been injured in accidents. The lightweight round would simply splatter or rivet on the skull of large animals. Finally had to start using my AR or more usually, a 12 gauge slug.

We later switched to the HK P7M13 - cute but puny. Felt like holding a 2x4. Switched to the Beretta Cougar DAO .40. Shortly after, the department authorized optional carry with approved brands and calibers. I immediately began carrying a Sig P220 for a short time, then a Kimber 1911 until I retired in 2003. The department has since gone to Glock 9mm exclusively.

I loved the S&W revolvers. Still have way too many, but the fact is, that for me, the autos were simply easier to carry through long shifts, carried a few ( or many ) more rounds, and were easier to reload.
 
poledorus said:
Army MPs in the 1980s, of course, mainly carried the 1911A1. But female MPs were issued the S&W Model 10 in .38 Special, with 4"-barrels and round frames. Smaller hand size and lower recoil tolerance were the reasons given at the time for the disparity. Needless to say, women did generally shoot better with the revolvers than they did with the 1911s. Ironically, hand size was not a concern when the M9 Berettas were issued in 1987-88. Despite having a grip size slightly larger than the 1911, they were issued to everyone across the board and the M10s were withdrawn. And yes, in my unit some women -- as well as some men with smaller hands - experienced difficulty adjusting their hold to the new sidearms. Qualification scores dropped.

Interestingly, some MPs in Alaska carried S&W Model 29s in .44 Remington Magnum in case of encounters with bears. And some CID and MP Investigators carried the S&W Model 36 with a 2" barrel. I have no idea when these revolvers were finally withdrawn from service. I did, though, find two Model 36s in my arms safe when assigned to Fort Sam Houston in the mid-1990s. Both were in exceptionally poor, well-used condition. If there were other sidearms issued to MPs in that period, I am unaware of them. Cheers
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That reminded me that the Defense Investigative Service (DSS)- the folks who inspected defense contractor security and did background investigations - the only armed positions were Alaska, appears the bears had no respect for flashing a gold badge.
 
kiyoty said:
Started with the Highway patrol in 1970. They provided the weapons and ammunition. Weapons were either M28's or M27's, and I carried them both at various times. Ammo when I started was all .357 mag, and for far too many years was either 158 grain Winchester Lubaloy SWC, with Winchester 158 grain armor piercing in a 6 round belt slide. Nobody fired either load for fun or practice, since both leaded horribly, weren't accurate at all, and we were only issued 6 rds of each per year. The AP was a weird brass capped round with an exposed soft lead body inside the case, and didn't penetrate anything any better than the Lubaloy bullet. Many years later we were finally issued JHP ammo, 158 grain, then later, 110 grain JHP. The 110 grain was accurate, probably effective on soft targets, but didn't work well for me, since in my patrol are I had to put down a lot of livestock that had been injured in accidents. The lightweight round would simply splatter or rivet on the skull of large animals. Finally had to start using my AR or more usually, a 12 gauge slug.

We later switched to the HK P7M13 - cute but puny. Felt like holding a 2x4. Switched to the Beretta Cougar DAO .40. Shortly after, the department authorized optional carry with approved brands and calibers. I immediately began carrying a Sig P220 for a short time, then a Kimber 1911 until I retired in 2003. The department has since gone to Glock 9mm exclusively.

I loved the S&W revolvers. Still have way too many, but the fact is, that for me, the autos were simply easier to carry through long shifts, carried a few ( or many ) more rounds, and were easier to reload.
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The Patrol Capt I worked for always carried Winchester 158 armor piercing rounds in his 6 inch python-beacuse the Oklahoma HP guys told him it was a car killer. He had been a motor officer most of his career before moving to management.

I had direct experience with 357 and 110 HP not working on animals- we hunted coyotes that were raiding farms and they were too fast- punched right through and out with very little damage. Finally got dialed in on 146 grain jacket lead nose hollow points loaded hot- one shot kills- drop them dead.
 
1978 I started as a reserve with a 6 officer (reserves included) department in northern Michigan. My only centerfire handgun was a 1920-something 6" M&P .38 Special. The chief nixed it for carry based on barrel length (We're cops, not cowboys). I traded the .38 and my 870 12 gauge to a former deputy for an unfired 4" M28, which I loaded with Speer Lawman .357 140 gr. HP. Spare ammo on speed strips in dump boxes.

1981 I went full time with a 100 officer department in the Rocky Mountain west. BYOG, .38 or .357 S&W, Colt or Ruger 4 or 6 inch authorized, issued .38 125gr. SJSP +P ammo only. Safariland speedloaders mandatory. Duty ammo was replaced annually and we were required to shoot what we had in the gun and loaders as the first 18 rounds of qualification. We were encouraged to shoot up the rest on our own time. 100 rounds of Zero 158 SWL reloads were issued monthly as practice ammo and were quite effective on jack rabbits.

After several years of Speer ammo the range master got a deal on S&W 125 gr. +P SJRN (that's right Round Nose). In the only shooting that year the round shed its jacket on the suspect's down vest. The core penetrated one lung and the perp fled on foot. He still had fight in him 10 minutes later when I picked him up a few blocks away. In public the chief said the ammo performed admirably, but quietly ordered it replaced with Speer, now in HP.

The 28 stayed with me until I went to detectives later that year and I switched to a 2" Colt Lawman as primary and continued to use a Colt Agent as BUG. Detectives were authorized
9mm SA/DA semis and I carried a 39-2 and (very briefly) a 469 before reverting to the Colt.
Ammo was Silvertip until reports of poor performance elsewhere led to replacement with Federal 115 gr. HP.

In the late 80s Beretta 92s, 3rd Gen S&Ws and Ruger P85s were authorized for uniforms. I bought a Ruger in anticipation of an eventual return, with never occurred. I used the 28 for raids and stakeouts the rest of my career, but it eventually escaped me. The Lawman was my engagement present and will be buried with me unless my bride wants it back.
 
walkin' trails said:
I wasn't exactly in law enforcement until 1990 other than being an explorer in the late 70s and a reserve deputy in a rural area in the late 80s. My dad, however, made a career with a midsized, Midwest police department, then went onto work rural law enforcement. He started at the police academy with a city issues model 10. After the academy, he started carrying a four inch 28 he had, plus a Model 36 as BUG/off duty. He ended up discovering the Model 28 did not agree with his back, but ended up shelving that gun for several years when he went into narcotics, vice, and burglary investigations. When promoted and back in uniform, a rookie with Magnum fever traded an early Model 15 for his 28. He still had the 15, and carried it thru retirement with the first department, and for several years after working in the country. His last employer, after about a 15 minute transition to a P226, had him retire the revolver.

Jordan holsters, first with the safety step, and later with the thumb break were the norm in that part of the country during that time. Buckmeyer holsters were common off duty or plain clothes rigs. Somehow he managed to wear a pair of Mode 36 three inches when dressed like a scumbag to buy dope. He's still got those 36s also.

In that part of the country during that time, most departments that issued handguns issued a Model 10 or 64. But if an offer could qualify, and I use the term loosely, they could carry other Smiths or Colts in .38, .357, .41, or .44 to include Magnum. There were a few who were hardcore, enlightened 1911 fans. My dad's department finally put the halt to carrying semis when it was discovered that officers who got lured to things line Model 59s carried those pistols on duty for a spell before finally going to qualify and discovering they did t work. That department didn't get on the semi auto bandwagon until the late 80s and only after dedicated transitions.
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Yes I remember when some DEA agents starting carrying model 59's undercover because they had high mag capacity- they soon learned the hard way that they were pump action 9mm LOL. Shoot one, jack the slide, shoot one. Early model guns. Most LE back then did not trust autos except for 1911's, High Powers, and the occasional Beretta.
 
In 1975 my initial issue revolver on Coast Guard Intelligence(spare us the oxymoron comments🥴😂), was a Colt Detective Special. Issue ammo was anything we could find in the office or wherever. Several years later policy was changed and said that our duty ammo was to be the 110gr. +P+ "Treasury Load". Our district legal office however said we weren't allowed to purchase it from Winchester because Winchester required a signed waiver of liability which would effectively commit fiscal obligations beyond the fiscal year😲🤦!! Along with the ammo requirement, we were then issued the USAF contracted Smith & Wesson Model 56. Little did I suspect that these would eventually become a $5,000 to $7,000 collectable. In order to procure the approved ammo for the M56s, our office "unofficially" traded round for round of .45 230gr. Ball to officers from a friendly local/state agency that were also issued the Treasury Load.
 
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