The first of many lasts - my final qual.

Congratulations! Hope you enjoy retirement as much as I do. Did about 33 years full time and stayed on as a reserve for 5 or so more. Shot my last qualification last November. Thought I'd miss it all more, not so much;)
 
sigp220.45 said:
I reach my FBI expiration date at the end of the month and will become a used-to-be agent. Today I shot my last qualification course.

As always, I used my faithful Sig Sauer P220 pistol. It is personally owned, so it will go with me to the pasture. I got it while still in the academy, on my Dad's FFL. When I got to my first office I shot a qualification course with it and gave them back the issued 226.

Over the years, the list of personally owned, Bureau approved weapons has dwindled down to nearly nothing. I suspect soon the whole POW program will go away. Its a shame - I'd hate to carry a gun for 20 plus years and then have to turn it in to the smelter. Through it all, my Sig kept getting grandfathered in until it became a conversation piece amongst the new guys.



So today I gathered up the pile of mags it takes to get through our 60 round course and we did our thing for the last time in 25 years. Its not the best target I've ever shot, but I went out on a 100 percent score. I'd make an excuse for the outliers that I was choked up by the emotions of my last qual, but the fact is I could never shoot worth a damn with my weak hand.



It turns out I'm getting the boot at an opportune time - no more .45s will be authorized for carry as of October. Bye Bye to the few remaining 220s, as well as all the Springfields for SWAT and the currently approved Glock 21.

And while I have no inside knowledge, the rumor in the Bureau is that the Sig 320 will be the new issued handgun. What goes around..........
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Congratulations on becoming NOT a "use-to-be agent", but rather a "Secret Agent" ;)
 
Congrats on your pending retirement. I retired three years ago after 36 years. Kind of hard to move on but I like it and I bet you will as well.
 
I retired twice. :p

Seriously, I retired, then a company asked me to work as a consultant, which I did for about 9 months.

You will miss the people you worked with, well most of them. ;) But that's the only downside I can think of. Well, there is also the fixed income thing, but if you planned properly, that's not an issue either. Good luck in your retirement. Both my father and his uncle were retired longer than they had worked. That's a worthy goal. :D
 
I pinned on my first badge in June 1976, that of a reserve deputy interning for college credit. Got an A!!!!

In October 1976, the sheriff's department offered me a job as a deputy jailer. Been wearing somebody's badge and gun almost continously since then.

I'm a thinkin' it's about time to hang up the Sam Browne. 40 years seems long enough....
 
The first of many lasts- my final qual

I believe that this is my 500th post. I've been saving it for a very special occasion, and this is surely it.

Congratulations on the completion of your career.

I don't know if you've read this post, but it's one of my favorites from the past five years of being a forum member:

CQB27 said:
I spend my days working in the training division; my title is "range master". Last Friday morning I met three retired LEO's on the range. There were three of them, one retired city officer, one retired deputy, and a retired federal agent (DEA). Their mission for the morning was to complete the Georgia POST LEO handgun qualification course and secure another year of LEOSA carry credentials.

The morning was very nice, cool and sunny, a pretty much perfect day to be on the range. After a short class on "Use of Force" and a safety brief, we headed outside to get the fun part done. All three passed the course the first time around, with mid-range scores, 260's out of 300, about 80-85% for the group. They performed like most retirees do, looking a little rusty on the draw, a little jerky on the movements, the indicators of what time has a way of doing to us all. No worries. I always allow this group to stay on the range and continue to shoot on their own. It makes the drive, about an hour for the closest and 1.5 hours for the long man, worth it to all. It also gives them a chance to bring along a few extra firearms to knock the dust off of.

As I headed off the range to complete the qualification paperwork, the retired deputy said; "Hey, I was wondering if I could qualify with a revolver too?" The Georgia POST Council requires retirees to qualify with either a pistol or revolver, or both. The qualification is type specific, not model/caliber specific, so any pistol/revolver will do. I said, "Yeah, no problem", expecting to see some sort of IWB/J-frame sized/exercise unfold. Imagine the look on my face when the deputy pulled his old, and I mean OLD, Sam Brown duty rig out of his range bag!

Now this rig was a beautiful thing, well-worn black basket weave with a silver buckle, standard "Law Man" for sure. The belt sported a baton loop, a handcuff case so worn it had spots that looked just like brown suede, a double speed loader pouch, and a right hand six inch revolver holster. Nothing more…Nothing more, save a radio, really needed. The holster looked like a Tex Shoemaker, but I didn't poke my nose into that too much. Resting in the holster was a 6 inch 686, good old Pachmayr Presentation rubber grips on the square butt. Again, straight "Law Man".

The deputy picked up that old rig, swung it around his hips, and secured the buckle…..And that's when it happened. I Saw It With My Own Eyes! He stood different. He walked different. His face changed. Not bright and cheery. Not cold and hard. Stern…."Seriously Stern" is how I describe it. He moved to the 25 yard line, made ready, and when those targets faced that 686 came so effortlessly out of that old holster, like sweet tea pours from the pitcher. Just tip it, and out it comes, every time. The old deputy double actioned that 686 from the 25 yard line all the way to the 3. Like a well-oiled machine, round after round, smooth and deadly accurate, on and on he went. Watching the whole thing, it was so amazing, at times I felt like my head was detached from my body. I don't remember, but I think my mouth was open during the whole course of fire.

When it was all over, I walked forward to score the targets, but I already knew. I had watched every hole magically appear in the SQT-1……298 out of 300….99.33%. I completed the paperwork, still reeling over what I had just seen. When the trio was through for the day, they stopped in the office to say goodbye. I wanted to say something to the deputy, somehow acknowledge what I had witnessed. I just couldn't think of what to say. So as I shook his hand I said, "You sure can run that 686." He just smiled and said, "I don't know. I think sometimes it runs me."
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Congrats - there's a whole 'nuther world out there away from the stresses of the job.
I retired in 2008, and at the time was in a staff position. That last couple of months I'd occasionally insert myself into different groups being run through qualifications. Think I qualified about 4 - 5 times those last few months!
I got some sort of cruel delight from out-shooting most of the youngsters.

My department 'gifts' your last service weapon, so I got my M4566. Within months, the department went to the M&P .45 FS.

Enjoy your new life.
 
Congrats and good luck on your next venture. Seems like the Sig 320 must be the best pistol on the planet. Lots of agencies choosing it. I imagine it has nothing to do with SIG replacing current models with 320's for free. Joe
 
So what are you going to do now? Didn't you just move to Denver? Gonna move to some place without brown air?

OK, my brother was an agent from the 1960s until about 2000. He had them tell him when it was best for him to retire. Since then he's been writing books. One about the early laser and the commies attempts to learn about it. And now a few about railroads. I think "The White Pine Route" is one of them. I guess it keeps him busy. That will be your big problem soon. Good luck.
 
BSeabrooke said:
I believe that this is my 500th post. I've been saving it for a very special occasion, and this is surely it.

Congratulations on the completion of your career.

I don't know if you've read this post, but it's one of my favorites from the past five years of being a forum member:
Click to expand...

I have the same rig. I bought the Sam Browne when I got out our academy. We transitioned to collapsible batons but my rig still also has a baton ring hanging from it, cuff case, speed loader pouches, and radio holder. It is a combination now of black basketweave with patches of brown suede. The only real change over the years was a Bianchi retention holster for a 4" 686. Our qualification course was not especially difficult. I was a competition shooter for years before joining my agency. I made it through my entire career without dropping a point during quals. I don't have much in the house to remind me of the job. I gave my uniforms away to guys that had been working for me. I kept my new 511 jacket but removed the patches and the bars. No academy graduation photos, badges are locked away in the safe, not much to suggest what I used to do for a living. Looking back, my grandfather was much the same way after he retired. My old crew and I have an occasional get-together and dinner out. I was blessed to have (mostly) a fine group of dedicated and hard working sergeants and officers. I do enjoy these infrequent reunions. We went through much together and looking back, I came to love many of them like brothers and sisters.

There was a brand new pair of Danner Acadias, still in the box and unworn, in my closet when i retired. I had planned on using them for shooting boots but came home one day to find out that my wife had sold them on eBay.:eek: I replaced those with a new brown suede pair.:p

The Sam Brown does hang on a coat rack in my home office. I guess it is my gold watch.

Regards.

Bob
 
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