Although the discussion of what these large departments "issue," authorize or forbid is interesting from an academic point of view, it should be noted that most of these larger departments are years, and in some cases, decades behind the learning curve on weapons, and it is nice that hobbyists are not bound by the sometimes silly rules put forth by the firearms people in some of these places. Most of the rules are for the convenience of the armorer, for uniformity or for other reasons unrelated to practical use or usefulness of the individual weapons and ammo. In a surprising number of cases, the rules are the result of political pressure by busy-bodies with no knowledge of firearms or ammunition. One example of this was NYPD's initial requirement that 9mm ammo be ball ammo, which, as even a "duffer" knows, lacks stopping power and is over-penetrative, resulting in increased chance of harming an innocent bystander, thus increasing the likelihood of litigation against the department. A hollow point is less likely to over penetrate and more likely to stop an adversary, but, improperly labeled a "dum-dum" is announced by morons as "inhumane" or some drivel, thus driving a department to cave into pressure not to adopt the more effective round. New Jersey has the same problem related to ammo and its requirement that "civilians" not be permitted the safer hollow point ammo. Truly bizarre.
