Are used police department issued pistols often available? I picked up a 4006TSW CHP a couple of years ago and just saw an M&P from Mass. State Police last week. Might be something neat to collect if enough are available. TIA.

There's probably always some PD changing out their duty guns and briefly flooding the market with their old surplus but with the exodus from .40 and the final end of 3rd Gen S&W production over the last few years I doubt there will be as much available for a while as there has been for the last few years. CHP was probably the last major agency still issuing 3rd Gens.

I'm not an expert, but I think there are plenty out there to be had. I have a former Police S&W 4506.

A local LGS has a bunch of Colt Detective Specials. I see used Glocks, S&W Model 59s, Remington 870 shotguns etc.

As a slight tangent, I've been hit by the foreign /Cold War police gun bug. I have a Bavaian Police Manurhin PP, and an Italian Police Beretta M1951 and Israeli CZ85 on layaway.

So, to close up a long response, they aren't that hard to find and a pretty neat collecting niche.



Sent from my SM-G781V using Tapatalk

If anyone sees a ConRail Police marked 4043, please give me a heads up. The 681 revolvers marked "CRPD" are out there. I've only read about the 4043.

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BTDT, Got The T-Shirt

I have a Kentucky State Police 1076 and an unissued KSP 4566 TSW. Then there's the model 15-2 stenciled with FCSD (whatever County Sheriff Dept). My 66-1 has some old department engraving, but I haven't had the grips off in so long I don't recall what it is.

My 4046 has some agency's number laser etched on the slide, but nothing more. I'll take a Police pistol any day. Still hoping to find a KSP model 60 one day!

Searched many years to find this Ventura County SO marked Model 37.

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The typical department replacement cycle should be about every 10 years; sooner if the pistols were becoming a maintenance headache. The night sights are usually good for 12+ years and most departments don't want to replace the lamps. Most times these show lots of holster wear and very limited actual range time. They will be a good value shooter.

If a police service pistol looks too nice then beware. Sometimes a department will unload pistols sooner, typically if it seems they got a bunch of "lemons". A few dumped their FNS when they repeatedly spontaneously fired, occasionally while sitting in the holster. A good sized department changed to Glocks and received some of the first of that generation produced. Problems ensued. They immediately went to Springfield XD's. Many years ago a department went to S&W 681's and received early production examples. The revolvers were out of spec and quickly went away. Not all in a lot will be lemons but enough will to purchase yours carefully.

Those MSP guns are very new. The story is that there is something about the M&P 2.0 guns that the state bought and that they are now moving to Sig.

That's the story anyway, but it's all speculation.

No matter what, that seems like a good deal.

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Can open, worms everywhere.

It comes in cycles and for the most part the cycles are done and over with.

The first big wave or police surplus guns was when a large number of agencies officially ditched the revolver and jumped on board with the semiautomatic. Then you had agencies ditch 9mm for .40 S&W and .45 ACP. Then the great reversal back to 9mm.

Now, for the most part. The final big switch that recently happened and wi happen for the time being was the big swap from hammer fired to striker fired polymer framed guns.

Industry wide in LE circles, the majority of agencies are sticking with what they have and that in a 9mm, polymer framed, striker fired pistol. The only new change is RDOs becoming more accepted and in use.

But not every agency will jump on that bandwagon just yet.

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GOA FL Dir. & Nat. Spokesman

You might want to check one of the auction sites for 4046s. Not exactly police guns, they were issued to Brink's guards and are going for under $300. DA only (but very nice DA) but in decent shape (at least the one I got; as was the 5946 ex-Brinks gun I got from the same dealer).

I have a model 3953, N.P.D. #188, that is so sweet that it has been my EDC for years. Old service weapons aren't just for collecting.

I have 6 NYPD guns. A 5946, Glock 19, and a 3953 TSW. Also a post war M&P, Ruger GPNY, and Ruger Service Six. I also have another 5946 from Garden City Police Department. All work just fine. I like guns with some history.

Hell, when my agency was going from .40 S&W back to 9mm, I had thr chance to buy the gun. I declined for two reasons.

1. The gun was a beaten and abused GLOCK 23 Gen 3 model that was simply a COTS purchase with no distinguishing markings whatsoever. It was no different than any other GLOCK 23.
2. The agency sold it to a distributor and that distributor wanted $420 for it, plus tax and background. I could get a brand new GLOCK for $399 plus tax and background.

Every agency I worked for didn't have specialized and specific guns. They were all COTS purchases. They were never agency marked, had specific serial numbers, engraved, or requested to be made a certain way with certain features.

A GLOCK 17 purchased by them was no different than any other GLOCK 17. It is not like my WVSP 4566TSW for example. That gun is specific to the WVSP.

Also, every agency I worked for issued me a GLOCK. I have about thirty GLOCKs in my personal collection and half of them, I personally qualified with as back-ups and duty guns anyways.

So in the end, specifically hunting down and collecting police marked guns don't do it for me unless it is a rare model that an agency ordered (like the WVSP 4566TSW). Because the vast majority of agencies simply ordered a COTS purchase from a distributor or the manufacturer and they're no different than any other gun.

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GOA FL Dir. & Nat. Spokesman

I also have scored Brinks guns . The only one I kept is a 5946TSW , mainly because the bible states they were only made one year . It also was very clean , I don't think it was ever in a holster . The guy who owns Shoot Straight , a gun store , seems to buy a lot of police turn ins , he always has a table at his gun shows . I don't know if he puts them up on the internet .

I hear ya. I wouldn't buy a beaten and abused anything, much less for more than I can get a new one. Only reason I have the NYPD guns is I was a member of that department and I kind of like tracing the lineage of them, from 1946 post war M&P, to blued guns with hammers, to the spurless DAO era, then to the introduction of the semi auto guns in the 90's. I got a kick out of the Garden City PD gun, just because I grew up about 10 minutes way from that department and it reminded me of my youth.

But marked or not, I like having a PD gun. Just like knowing they walked the beat instead of being bought at Joe's Guns and then spending their life in the sock drawer.

Yes, used PD firearms are constantly available on the internet. I collected the metal ones back in the day, but don't think that I will pursue too many of the polymer PD trade ins. I do have a original M&P9 that I am fond of. Mine were, and are still, in good condition and when not minty and great buys all.

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>>Those MSP guns are very new. The story is that there is something about the M&P 2.0 guns that the state bought and that they are now moving to Sig.<<

I bought one and they are in fact new/never issued. That being said, mine is out having an Apex "flatty" installed as well as a Dawson sight set.

A very long time ago, I owned an Atlanta Police marked 5903 that I always thought was pretty cool. Now that I’m retired after a 20 year LE career of my own, I am no longer interested in LE marked firearms. I’ve seen firsthand that most of these weapons spend years in the holsters of people who mostly only shoot when required by policy to do so, and see little maintenance if any in between those sessions. The spend long periods of time exposed to rain directing traffic, they get coffee and sodas spilled on them, they get banged against door frames and seat belt buckles day in and day out, they get scuffed up on pavement while wrestling with idiots, and more often than not if they are used for any noteworthy purpose, they are purchased by individual officers when an agency switches to something new or they are presented to officers upon retirement.

They can be an interesting collectible, but I’ve got a box full of patches, badges, and challenge coins accumulated throughout my career that takes care of the LE collectible side of things for me. To each his/her own though. Enjoy what you enjoy. There’s no wrong way to do it.

If you can establish a relationship with a Police Supply House.... you might be surprised

In the 90s and early 2000s I had a "friend" (son of owner who also worked for his Dad) who's family owned one. They or the Department would often order a "few extras".... that were never issued or the Shop held as stock if the Dept needs more or replacements.

I got a number of Beretta's and 3rd Gen Smiths that were still "new in the box" that the Shop wanted to clear off their shelves.

This honey pot dried up when one of the 4th Gen Grandsons' set up selling these "trade in's'' on the internet.

Wow, nice collection!

A Brinks gun? That sounds interesting!

NYPD has some very specific guns made for them and that's different. Like the 3914DAO, that was a agency specific contract. But a commercial off the shelf purchase of a run of the mill GLOCK 19 is no different than a GLOCK 19 that spent a decade in a sock drawer.

I have an ex-FDLE gun and a ex-UFPD gun, both are a Beretta 92FS. I have them because the price was right, not because they were former LE guns.

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GOA FL Dir. & Nat. Spokesman

Same here, when I hanged up the badge. I threw away a lot of junk. I still have my patches, a few uniforms, all my badges, and such.

Specifically hunting down LE guns isn't my thing.

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GOA FL Dir. & Nat. Spokesman

Some international LE pistols come available from time to time as well. The ex-German Sig P6s come to mind, and there were some Swiss HK P2000s imported recently as well.

+1. My retired Aussie LE M10-5 (3”) is one of the nicest revolvers I own (& most of my S&W revolvers were purchased new).

Physically, the guns might be the same, but I’d still prefer a former PD gun. Of course, I wouldn’t prefer a beat up PD gun to a much better condition gun if the same make. My most treasured gun I own is a S&W M&P from 1946. It’s no different than any other M&P from that time period, but it is special to me. It letters to the NYPD and an NYPD historian looked up its history and provided me with the officer’s name, and newspaper articles of him winning the Medal for Valor for using that gun in a shootout with 4 perps. He was even assigned to the same precinct I would be assigned to 45 years later.

Guns are inanimate objects, I know. But the ones carried in service mean more to me. Same reason I spent $1000 on a real GI 1911.

I had one of those. Stupidly sold it. Square butt didn’t look right in a 3” revolver. Got it from Bud’s years ago when they were available.

I assume the 5906 Tactical I got from AIM belonged to a LE agency, but it is not marked. Neither is my fullsize M&P 9 that AIM marketed as a LE trade in. That gun was every PD gun cliche going when I got it. Touch of holster wear, very little wear on the hood, so not shot much, but filthy and bone dry.

Then there is the weird LE SKU M&P 9L I picked up for under $300. No box, backstraps or spare mags, but the gun appeared to be still full of shipping oil.

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Release the Kraken

A number of my 3rd Gens are or were PD trade ins, the Fresno County Sheriff 4566TSW and the CHP 4006TSW speak for themselves. I had a 1076 with some sort of PD inventory number on it that I sold, never bothered to find out who issued it other than that it definitely wasn't an FBI gun. I also have a 5906TSW that I thought was a pretty scratched up PD trade in but it actually had an evidence number scrawled onto it and now I'm quite curious as to its story. Recovered stolen gun that was never returned? A gun an officer used in a shooting that was never returned? Just straight up a criminal's gun?

Same here. I also bought a retired Aussie M10-10, Heavy Barrel & Round Butt (which also looks a little different).

Your particular gun is both a desirable old gun, and it has an interesting, documented history with a major LE agency. I’d go for a gun like that. An average, modern LE trade in? No thanks... I traded mine all in when they issued me new ones.

Aim Surplus has a small selection of LEO turn in stuff right now. I just got a Gen 3 Glock 21. Very, very dirty but cleaned up well.

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Just Say No - To Social Media

A lot of northeast departments don’t recycle firearms. The officer pays for it and the gun is expected to last as long as the officer- in other words, until he or she retires. That’s one of the reasons why certain guns get approved and others don’t.
The NYPD does a 10,000 round 124 grain +p gold dot torture test on its service pistols then has its own gun smiths to work on guns if needed in addition to service contracts . I believe the authorized off duty guns had to survive a 5,000 round test. The NYPD hires anywhere between 0 to 6,000 officers an any given year and trains thousands more from other departments who’s firearm policies mirror theirs and/or piggyback on their firearm contracts, firearm companies tend to cater to them.
The times you will see a flood of Used NYPD guns on the market is if there were a big wave of retirements, when a new gun was added to the one of the approved lists or one was taken off like the Kahr k9. When the Kahr K-9 was no longer approved for off duty use, a least a thousand used Kahr’s hit the used market for a steal- the only issue was the trigger would lighten below the NYPDmodified 10 to 12 pound trigger weight to a normal trigger.

When the Glock 26 was approved for off duty use, a lot of snub nose revolvers hit the used gun market. These weee personal sales by the officers .

When the M&P shield and Springfield xds were approved for off duty use, a lot of Glock 26 became safe queens or up for sale on the used guns market.
Since “cop” guns in the northeast are typically privately owned, the care for them can run the gambit from well maintained to hard ridden. I would inspect carefully before making the purchase or buy from a place who’s inspections are trustworthy

Yes, there are police officer/vendor dealers that buy police equipment/guns/etc and sell them at gun shows. Great prices.

I remember that off duty gun. I chose a Glock 26 instead.
Another contract gun was the 640 centennial but chambered in 38 instead of 357. A 357 frame but a 38 cylinder. The NYPD also has a similar set up for the Springfield xds and M&P shield. It’s basically a no external safety shield with an a MA complaint trigger. It has its own sku number when ordering it.

Continuing down this rabbit hole, does anyone know of any agency anywhere that issued the Model 639 or 3906?

Froggie

Hi Puddingdr,

I enjoy collecting old police-marked firearms. There are a few other collectors here and on the Facebook s&w groups. I collect them for the same reasons I used to collect old military rifles; they are tangible pieces of history that were used by brave men and women to protect the rest of us. This may sound corny, but honestly that's how I feel. I also like the neat engravings that some companies put on them.

Here is a list of some pieces from my collection
1) S&W 27-2 Utah Highway Patrol
2)Beretta Cougar, 40 S&W, Utah Highway Patrol
3) Wisconsin State Patrol S&W 66
4) Oklahoma Highway Patrol S&W 681
5) Indiana State Police Beretta 96G
6) Nevada Department of Public Safety Sig P229
7) California Highway Patrol S&W 68, still marked CHP
8) USPS Police S&W 36. They actually have a law enforcement branch.
9) Arizona Department of public safety safety S&W 15
10) Austin Texas PD S&W 27, nickel, 3.5" barrel.

I just picked up a s&w shotgun that was issued to the Delaware State Police as well. I'm always on the hunt for more, but the last ones that I really want are the S&W 66 from the Arkansas state police and the s&w 686 from the Missouri state patrol.

I bought an LE trade in Sig 229R in 40 cal. The case had CPD-324 written on it. Not many marks on it and shoots great.

I know some here say "buy the gun, not the story".

But in this case, that doesn't apply. That's pretty cool, post a pic of the gun.

Also, if you spent only 1k on a real USGI M1911A1, you did very well.

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BTDT, Got The T-Shirt

I have a whole thread on it here, but I’ll see if I can post new pics from my tablet. And I agree $1000 isn’t out of line for a GI 1911, but plenty of others disagree. I got it from the CMP in the 1911 lottery and lots of people think they’re a rip-off, commenting $1000 is too much for them, when you can get a GI replica for much less.

Funny thing about the M&P is I almost didn’t buy it. Saw it at my local shop for $350 and figured I didn’t need another .38. The shield number on the back strap led me to believe it was an NYPD gun, since they did that back then, so I took a chance and bought it. But the shield number on mine was sloppily applied, rather than neatly applied using a punch. That’s a mystery that will never be solved. The back strap is heavily sanded down, as if to erase an initial number, but the NYPD records show the shield number on the gun, 13855, was the one issued to the officer in the articles. Only thing I can figure is the first number was stamped incorrectly, and they had to correct their mistake.

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+1 on this. I just picked up one of these. Just a superb DA trigger. I already owned a 4006 and a KCPD 4026. This Brinks 4046 is more accurate than either of my other 3rd gen 40's.

San Jose Police issued the 3906, and from what I understand anyone who started with one is still approved to carry it.

The only handgun I have right now that is agency marked is a SW 1076 marked "GPD".



I have other guns that were sold as being former police guns but are not marked or special, including:

1) Glock 19 from Pennsylvania Probation and Parole Board.
2) Glock 21 SF unknown agency
3) Sig 229 DA in .357 Sig unknown agency
4) Federal Riot "gas gun" 37mm launcher with property tag from City of Montgomery

Plus "surplus" European pistols that probably came from police departments, like Beretta 92S, 1951, 81 and 84; Walther PP and P1.

I like deals on cool guns and having markings or other info about a specific agency is neat, but I don't really seek them out or buy them because of the markings.

Rob

I am lucky enough to own three revolvers from my former department, the Suffolk County NY PD: all stamped by the old Armorer’s Unit.

Colt Detective Special 2”
S&W Model 10 2”
S&W Model 15 4”
My original issued Model 64 4” was never stamped and subsequent issued GLOCK pistols (19/23/45) were never stamped.

I’ve also got an NYPD 3914DAO and a few 64 NY-1s, all former NYPD used guns but their specific histories are unknown to me..

I did come across a couple of weeks ago, at a LGS, an SCPD stamped Model 64 4” in the showcase. I did some research and confirmed it was a previously issued Suffolk County PD gun, to a guy who retired not so long ago. I didn’t buy it, but it’s definitely good to go!

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Stay Safe...
jd SWCA #3276

Other than my KCPD 4026, I have a few other ex-LEO guns. My SIG P220 served with the Connecticut State Police. I also own a Swiss SIG P228 was a Zurich Kantonspolizei pistol. I own two Mishteret Y’Israel (the Israeli civilian police) pistols, a SIG P226 and Beretta 84B. My Beretta 92s and 1951 were surplus Carabinieri guns. Lastly I have two revolvers in my collection, a 4" NYPD NY-1 DAO M64 and a Buffalo NY PD marked Colt Police Positive Special in 38.

Thirty five years ago, departments were selling off revolvers the possibility of buying a former LEO gun were gun were actually pretty good... if you wanted to buy a used gun in those days, that was what you would probably get... my Model 66 no dash came to me that way. I had the opportunity to buy a 559 when my local city's department went to "the next best thing" but other than that, back in the mid-eighties, I just don't remember seeing the huge numbers of ex-LEO weapons I remember being available many years ago. I won't be looking for old plastic though... I'm too old and set in my ways to even think of that!

Froggie

The only LEO handgun that I have ever owned (sold it, wish that I hadn't) was a K14 in 38 sp. I'm not sure what dash #. It had the firing pin on the hammer.

I bought it from the officer that carried it. He had to sell to finance cancer treatments.

He told me that it was only fired in annual qualifying.

Accurate as all get out. Weekend shoots with my son, my buddy, his son and grandson would see over 1,000 rounds shot between the five of us each Sunday afternoon. Both of us bought casting set ups and progressive loader to keep up with the kids. My calculations showed that the handloads with home cast bullets cost less than the 22lr ammo at the time (less than $0.035 a round).

Man, I miss that gun.

I was lucky enough to score a CHP 4006 TSW 2 years ago for an AMAZING price. Little holster and seat belt wear... but shoots great!

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Here are a few I got last summer from a police supply shop. A Huntersville NC PD G27. A Warrenton NC PD G22. A Boone NC PD G23.the shotgun is Monroe NC PD moss 500. A Wendel NC PD SW40c A Manteo NC PD G30 A Southern Pines NC PD G26. the G26 is my off duty now. I have several other NC dept guns. some I have were not issued as all depts have to keep extra in stock yo sub out for various reasons.

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God save the SOUTH

I am a police firearms instructor and several agency's firearms control officer for over 25 years. Most agencies have policy and inspections to ensure the individual officers do not "tune up" or alter the gun at all. The department also has professional work done on any handgun that needs repair. If you are buying a handgun sold by an agency, that is changing models or caliber, you are probably OK. If you can, find out the agency and ask their firearms control officer why they are selling what you are buying. Be careful buying a handgun from an unknown to you individual officer, a lot of them do home repairs and trigger jobs that are poor quality. Much less likely with shotguns and rifles (other than AR15's, cops monkey with those a lot).