By steve tracy I Editorial director
steventracy@hendonpub.com The Arc of the Duty Pistol I
cautiously asked while trying not to sound over- zealous, “Is there a list covering which duty pis- tols I can choose from?” I was speaking with my department’s Executive Offi cer fi ve days before I was assigned to attend the police academy. It was 1988 and I needed to purchase a duty weapon right away. “Welcome to the department kid, now go and spend a small fortune that you don’t have for a gun and gear.” T e G.O. was simple; my duty pistol had to be a double-action 9mm or .45 ACP from a short list of manufacturers (the .40 S&W didn’t exist in 1988). I opted to carry a .45, so my choices were split between the S&W 645 and the Sig Sauer P220. T e W. Ger- man-made Sig was $150 more than the Smith, so I went with the big stainless-steel .45 from Massachusetts.
Just one year later, the Chief made a declaration with the stroke of his pen that we would all switch to a single sidearm. He mandated that the range offi cers sort through the options and choose a win- ner. Sig Sauer won, but a department-wide vote tied between 9mm and .45, which left us with the choice of either caliber. In addition, offi cers with small hands could opt for the single-stack 9mm P225 instead of the high-capacity P226 or the .45 caliber P220. My barely fi red S&W was sold to pay for my second new duty pistol in as many years. A short time later, I became a range offi cer and a Sig Sauer armorer. I carried the alloy-frame Sig .45 for 23 years and it earned my trust and respect. Over the years, police-duty sidearm technology progressed steadily. Glowing tritium nights sights, lightweight polymer frames, striker fi red actions, triggers with built-in safety tabs, and Picatinny tactical light rails became popular. T e .40 S&W car- tridge arrived on the scene and rose to the point where today it’s the most common round carried by police offi cers. Several Chiefs later, our newest did away with the Sig Sauer man- date. Many more options had become available since 1989 and the fi eld of duty gun off erings had greatly expanded. Fellow offi cers asked me several times, “What pistol are you changing to?” My re- sponse was that I wasn’t planning on changing. Twenty-three years of training and practice was diffi cult for me to just casually toss aside. My Sig displayed many scratches, dings and some missing patches of electroless nickel that gave it character. T is pistol and I had gone
through some memorable times together. It even wore dark-stained walnut Equinox handles that I was rather proud of. But the standard double-action trigger always gave me a bit of concern. I knew that fi rst shot’s long, 12-pound double-action pull was diffi cult for me to master. I shot the gun well, but that fi rst DA round wasn’t always in the same group as the rest of my single- action shots with their 4-pound trigger pull. Mastering two trigger pulls is always more diffi cult than just one. An advantage of striker-fi red pistols is their trigger pull’s consis- tency from fi rst to last shot. After researching and shooting several candidates, I decided on the S&W M&P Professional chambered for the .40 S&W cartridge. Fitted with the medium grip, the M&P points naturally in my hand and the tritium night sights line up quickly on target. I also like the 15-round magazines on my duty belt. At the 2014 SHOT Show, Sig Sauer displayed their fi rst striker
fi red pistol, the polymer frame P320. T is modular design has a serial numbered chassis, which accommodates several grip frame sizes and heights as well as various calibers and slide/barrel lengths. We choose our duty pistol based on several factors. Cost, feel, reputation, and even brand loyalty. What fi ts one offi cer’s grip may not work well for another. Are you carrying the duty pistol that you really want to carry? If your department issues your duty gun, there may not be much you can do about it. But if you’ve got a choice, are there new duty guns available that may be a better option for you? If you’re currently carrying an original, fi rst-generation Glock 17 pistol, are you aware that they have become a collector’s item? You may be able to sell your fi rst-generation Glock for enough money to purchase a brand-new Gen 4 version and even have some money left over. Even my 1989 Sig P220 has gone up in value compared to how much I paid for it originally. I started my career with a Smith & Wesson, was forced to change to a Sig P220, then made the diffi cult choice to start fresh with a new pistol after more than two decades of carrying my P220, and I now carry an S&W again. T e arc of the duty pistol spans an entire career. I haven’t fi red the new Sig Sauer P320 yet, so perhaps my own personal history will repeat itself. PM
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www.policemarksman.com
Steve tracy I Editorial Director
Steve Tracy is a 26-year police veteran with 24 years of experience as a fi rearms instructor. He is also an instructor for tactical rifl es, use of force, less-than-lethal force and scenario-based training. He can be reached at
steventracy@hendonpub.com.
“ Owning a handgun doesn’t make you armed any more than owning a guitar makes you a musician.” – Col. Jef Cooper
To post your comments on this story, please visit
policemarksman.com 3 The Police Marksman Jan-Feb 2014
www.policemarksman.com
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