Going back in time to what a smart cop might have put together

One of my duty revolvers was a 4" Model 19. My backup was a 2.5" Model 19. When I carried either a Model 29, my Model 27 or my Model 53, my back up was my 2.5" Model 19. The 29, 27 and 53 were all 8 3/8" nicklel with a smooth trigger, target hammer and Oversize Birdseye Maple stocks. It helped to know people at the factory
 
five 0 said:
I think you're looking at this in the wrong light. When I started in 76 we did not make a lot of money. A 1946 cop would not be making enough money to afford a 38/44 let alone a second gun. Probably bought a used gun and whatever brand it was, he made it do with it. He also had to buy his uniform, belt, holster as most Departments in 1946 did not supply anything.
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The key is that in 1946 he might have "coming back from the War money" depending on how he set it up to receive his payroll.
 
mtgianni said:
The key is that in 1946 he might have "coming back from the War money" depending on how he set it up to receive his payroll.
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When Skeeter Skelton got out of the Marine Corps after the end of WW II, he was in Chicago and used his mustering out money to buy a Colt SAA. The only one he could find was a 7 1/2" .32-20.
 
Club Gun Fan said:
One of my duty revolvers was a 4" Model 19. My backup was a 2.5" Model 19. When I carried either a Model 29, my Model 27 or my Model 53, my back up was my 2.5" Model 19. The 29, 27 and 53 were all 8 3/8" nicklel with a smooth trigger, target hammer and Oversize Birdseye Maple stocks. It helped to know people at the factory
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How’d you carry the 19? Ankle rig or somewhere else? Pat Rogers carried a small revolver in a rigged appendix position that actually rode slightly below the duty belt.
 
I like playing that game, and I almost always come up with two M&Ps, a 2-inch round butt, and a 4-inch square butt. My general thought is ordinary 38s for practice and 38/44 for carry. I know 38/44 wasn’t approved for the K frames, but how often are you really going to shoot that load? A few occasionally aren’t going to hurt anything.
 
Dad started in 1938...... his first gun as a motorcycle [Indian] officer was a 6" Colt New Service in .357 worked over by Kings of Calf including their adjustable sights. This remained his primary duty until he became the Capt. in the mid-60s

Added a 4" S&W M&P in 1946 when he got back from the South Pacific "vacation". with the Coast Guard. I remember it being his house /car gun

Added a 2" Colt Detective Special sometime in the 50s; off duty carry and as Capt. Mostly desk duty.

He was on the Dept Pistol Team from the mid-50s till about 1970. Added a S&W Model 41 in the late 50s.

He was good to go until he retired in 1977 with 39 years in!
 
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BAM-BAM said:
Dad started in 1938...... his first gun as a motorcycle [Indian] officer was a 6" Colt New Service in .357 worked over by Kings of Calf including their adjustable sights.
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Do you still have it?
 
Be interesting to check photos of the cops on duty back in the 1940s to see what they actually carried. The average cop probably was on a walking beat and whatever revolver he carried wasn't anything special, a S&W or Colt hand me down either issued or purchased. Throw in a club, cuffs, 6 or 12 spare rounds and call box keys was enough to lug around for 8+ hours in all kinds of weather. I'm sure there were exceptions.
 
NYPD, 1946

Mr. Vivas tells me this one went to the NYPD soon after WW II (1946) and was sold to probationary patrolman Vincent O'Shaughnessy. I have since sold the gun with copies of the documentation. I do have newspaper articles about him using the gun to foil criminals.
 

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I remember that in the sixties and seventies my Dad carried a Colt revolver in .38 special.
His duty rig was a swivel holster with cartridge loops. His department issued and required the carry of 158 grain RNL cartridges.
The exposed loops held the required rounds but he carried Super-Vel rounds in drop boxes and in the weapon. He also carried loose rounds in his pocket.
He told me he had no confidence in the RNL rounds and wanted a round he could depend on, he’d take the heat if and when he shot someone. I believe it was a common practice in that simpler time. Thoughtful and prudent IMHO.
 
More than a few years ago the Des Moines, IA PD had a display case in the lobby containing memorabilia of a long time chief whose career went back to the 30s or maybe 20s. It included a 4" M&P and a .38 S&W top break (don't think it was a Safety Hammerless). Don't know if they were his only guns, but both showed a good deal of use.
 
Something is off here. This is a short action gun. The short action came out in 1948.
Retired W4 said:
Mr. Vivas tells me this one went to the NYPD soon after WW II (1946) .................
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