LAPD and the 1917

That was a great video. Those guys holding the cigars and cigarettes must have been low seniority.
The absolute hardest members to get in for inspections and shooting were the supervisors.
 
"The most unsafe group of people that I know with guns are law enforcement officers. The have trouble qualifying and they handle their weapons in unsafe manners. Would rather be teaching novice shooters than a bunch of cops. Lots of true stories I could recite, but not enough space here."

Kind of painting with a broad brush. The shooters are only as good as their instructor makes them.
 
Last edited:
moosedog said:
"The most unsafe group of people that I know with guns are law enforcement officers. The have trouble qualifying and they handle their weapons in unsafe manners. Would rather be teaching novice shooters than a bunch of cops. Lots of true stories I could recite, but not enough space here."

Kind of painting with a broad brush. The shooters are only as good as their instructor makes them.
Click to expand...

Yes, it is. We were not tasked to teach them, just let them use our ranges. Some of their Rangemasters were good and some not so good. I did help at times and give some instruction to the officers. My job was to teach sailors how to shoot. That was an interesting endeavor at first, until you got them properly instructed and squared away. Went to CNO/CMC level Conferences at Washington, D.C. on the subject and those were very interesting also.
 
AJ said:
The most unsafe group of people that I know with guns are law enforcement officers. The have trouble qualifying and they handle their weapons in unsafe manners. Would rather be teaching novice shooters than a bunch of cops. Lots of true stories I could recite, but not enough space here.
Click to expand...

566284f08fb2239d0de14b2adb6b57ef.gif


I've had many similar experiences.
 
Dump1567 said:
There's always the letter route.

I've had a few New Services over the years that I should have kept, as I love the nostalgia associated with these guns. The one I posted above, and one in .45 Colt that lettered to Tucson, AZ (were I ended-up retiring). But as one of the Judges I used to work for always said; "You don't know what you don't know".
Click to expand...
I know... but the cheap guy in me is like "maybe my letter will say that the gun simply was sold to Bob's gun shop in 1904 and it belonged to one dude that was a janitor for fifty years." :p
 
moosedog said:
"The most unsafe group of people that I know with guns are law enforcement officers. The have trouble qualifying and they handle their weapons in unsafe manners. Would rather be teaching novice shooters than a bunch of cops. Lots of true stories I could recite, but not enough space here."

Kind of painting with a broad brush. The shooters are only as good as their instructor makes them.
Click to expand...

You can have the best instructors in the world and still have students that just don't care and never will.
 
Absalom said:
Has anyone ever made a study of when the "finger outside the trigger guard" rule/habit/doctrine actually became a thing, historically speaking?

Might be interesting to take a systematic chronological look at historical photos and footage, gun and outdoor publications, movies, and such.

I don't think it's that old.
Click to expand...

I'm thinking late '70s-early '80s.
 
Absalom said:
Has anyone ever made a study of when the "finger outside the trigger guard" rule/habit/doctrine actually became a thing, historically speaking?

Might be interesting to take a systematic chronological look at historical photos and footage, gun and outdoor publications, movies, and such.

I don't think it's that old.
Click to expand...

I believe this practice was one of the advances traceable to the Big Bear competitions and effectively institutionalized by Jeff Cooper through the training he offered at Gunsite in the late 1970's.
 
Miami_JBT said:
I know... but the cheap guy in me is like "maybe my letter will say that the gun simply was sold to Bob's gun shop in 1904 and it belonged to one dude that was a janitor for fifty years." :p
Click to expand...

Probably, but you never know. Sometimes you get lucky. I picked-up a Post war .44 HE that ended-up being one of the 50 shipped to the Washington State Patrol (it had a scrubbed backstrap were the WSP mark should have been).

Most of my letters from Colt & S&W have been dudes (some hardware store). But other times they have helped confirm some suspicion I had about a gun (like the Colt NS I mentioned above). And older guns are from an era where they could have been specifically shipped to an individual, LE Agency, or well know entity.
 
Last edited:
moosedog said:
That was a great video. Those guys holding the cigars and cigarettes must have been low seniority.
The absolute hardest members to get in for inspections and shooting were the supervisors.
Click to expand...

IIRC, I think I heard something about those being wax bullets.
 
I had a S&W 1917 revolver that lettered to LAPD a for a while (traded it off). When I was a high school kid in Los Angeles (1950s) the LAPD would go to the schools and give the same type of shooting exhibition shown by the LASD film. They did it in the school gym! Fat chance of that ever happening these days.
I carried a Brazilian model 1937 .45acp revolver for many years before my retirement in 1990. Was nearly as fast as the semi-autos in reloading with the full moon clips.
 
Rpg said:
I believe this practice was one of the advances traceable to the Big Bear competitions and effectively institutionalized by Jeff Cooper through the training he offered at Gunsite in the late 1970's.
Click to expand...

I agree with that. When Cooper began the process (in print, at least) of popularizing his "Four Rules," that is when it seemed to pick up traction. Early- to mid-70s.

Whether JC actually promulgated the Four Rules or not I do not know, but I remember him mentioning that his intention was to distill the mishmash of existing gun safety rules into something that was simple, effective, and easily remembered. Wherever they originated, the effort was successful, IMO.

When my children were growing up I used the Four Rules with them. I required them memorize them and be able to explain them to me before they could use a gun (with my supervision, of course). Not only are they competent gun handlers as a result, they are also good at spotting others who are not so competent. :)
 
MG34/bar said:
I had a S&W 1917 revolver that lettered to LAPD a for a while (traded it off). When I was a high school kid in Los Angeles (1950s) the LAPD would go to the schools and give the same type of shooting exhibition shown by the LASD film. They did it in the school gym! Fat chance of that ever happening these days.
I carried a Brazilian model 1937 .45acp revolver for many years before my retirement in 1990. Was nearly as fast as the semi-autos in reloading with the full moon clips.
Click to expand...

Do you remember what the serial number was, or have a copy of the letter to post?
Thanks.
 
OK, back to the question.
The City of LA is notoriously difficult to deal with as to their archives so I doubt that anyone else has seen this document.

David Davidson followed Jim Davis as chief in November 1938 until June 1939 when new Mayor Fletcher Bowen implemented new anti-corruption policies in the Chief's selection practices.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

lestert357
U.S. Army CPL Thomas Edison Traylor’s .38 Special Colt Peacemaker in WWII?????
2
Replies
21
Views
2K
Mike LaNier
M
RM Vivas
NYPD - Bloomingdale Trophy - S&W .32HE #520705
Replies
3
Views
1K
Truckman
Truckman
RM Vivas
New York Police Target Model ++UPDATE 08MAR24 ++
2
Replies
23
Views
2K
tt66
tt66
ddeanjohnson
For Sale WTS: 16 guns -- all offers respectfully considered -- collection liquidation
2
Replies
35
Views
22K
Heinz
Heinz
B
Introduction-LONG post warning
2 3
Replies
43
Views
2K
ISCS Yoda
ISCS Yoda

Latest posts

Back
Top