In the upcoming May 2014 issue of GUNS & WEAPONS FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT, author Massad Ayoob discusses which service calibers are the best for law enforcement and why, using historical examples to highlight his findings.
He writes, “Different law enforcement agencies do different things in different places with different people. It’s no surprise, then, that different departments might choose different equipment. A Chevy Tahoe might be a more practical standard patrol vehicle in Smallville, while the Chevy Caprice might work better for cops in Metropolis. The same is true of police service pistols.
“We’re currently hearing a lot about departments going to 9mm from larger calibers. Cost of ammunition and recoil management/speed of accurate fire issues are the reasons most often cited. For Case One, consider the St. Paul, Minnesota, Police Department. It was the first big police department, roughly a quarter-century ago, to adopt the 9mm Glock 17. The .40-caliber Glock 22 hadn’t been out too terribly long before St. Paul went to it instead, seeking a more powerful duty cartridge. In 2011, St. Paul officers traded their G22s back in for G17s. Their firearms training staff had determined that modern ammunition innovations had brought the 9mm round up to a satisfactory performance level and would improve the average officer’s ability to hit at speed in comparison to the .40 S&W round.
“In Case Two, scuttlebutt has it that the Texas Department of Public Safety, famous for its high success rate in shootings with the powerful .357 SIG, 125-grain Gold Dot load in its Sig Sauer P226 pistols, will be equipping an upcoming recruit class with 9mm pistols and giving in-service troopers the 9mm option, too. Once again, ease of training and hit potential are spoken of as the reasons.”
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To learn more, check out the May 2014 issue of GUNS & WEAPONS FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT, available on newsstands and digitally March 4, 2014. To subscribe, go to https://www.tactical-life.com/subscribe/guns-weapons-for-law-enforcement
