An interesting observation.

[pawncop]

Recently purchased a Blackhawk in .41 Magnum. Was at the range to try it out, and there were two officers from my agency that I did not know (I retired in 2019). Introduced myself, both had been on the force for about two years. One asked what I was shooting, told him a single action .41 Magnum and he looked at me like I had a third eye and said he had never heard of a .41 Magnum. Of course I gave him the opportunity to shoot it and provided a little history of the cartridge.

I just found it a little odd but then I guess the newer ones just don't have the interest we did when I started (1979).

 

[eveled]

My observation, most cops know very little about firearms. This is not a recent observation.

Even the gun savvy ones are interested in the tactical stuff. They may have known more about Glocks, AR's and tactical shotguns than most of us.


Today's cops may be worse or better I don't know. The internet certainly makes gaining knowledge much easier.

 

[turd]

Cool, you took the opportunity to introduce some new people to my favorite cartridge! Who knows, maybe one will check it out and decide to go there.

 

[41Dude]

Several weeks ago I was at our local range to pop off some .44's with longshot powder.
Use same powder for my 10mm. Very happy with it.
Had a guy a few lanes down in full tactical gear up. Not sure if he was LEO. Many expensive handguns on bench in front of him. (I was a little jealous)
He was banging away for a while at 7 yards with full size man silhouette with his variety of weapons.
I was fascinated by his skill. (I am no expert)
The safest place in the range would be BEHIND his target. He was spraying everywhere on the paper except where it needed to be.
Scary stuff. I Hope he was not LEO but you never know.

A few years back I was at the same range with my Savage 99 from 1947.
I let a few of the younger people take turns shooting it. They had much fun but you can see by their looks. It's a lever action and it shoots?
Yes it does

 

[thinckley]

While picking up my new Hunter in .41 Mag I had a chance to talk to an old, retired cop (he retired a lot longer ago than 2019). He carried a .41 Mag as his duty revolver for most of his career.

 

[rugerguy]

yessir , they either do or they don't,,,to many, the firearm is only a "tool" ,,...

...used to watch, see some of their reactions when going through some such "hogans alley" or other training , situational training video...."shoot, don't shoot" and I would bet many of YOU would 'react' wrongly...best one ever was the person being approached along the railroad tracks, in the dark and reaches behind him for his card that said "DEAF MUTE" and points it at the camera..............

Yes the 41 mag is an anomoly, recall many years ago, one local PD some carried the S&W Model 58 4-inch .41 mag revolver......I still like that one......

 

[arfmel]

San Antonio Texas police, and I believe a department in California may have as well.

 

[Chief 101]

Recently purchased a Blackhawk in .41 Magnum. Was at the range to try it out, and there were two officers from my agency that I did not know (I retired in 2019). Introduced myself, both had been on the force for about two years. One asked what I was shooting, told him a single action .41 Magnum and he looked at me like I had a third eye and said he had never heard of a .41 Magnum. Of course I gave him the opportunity to shoot it and provided a little history of the cartridge.

I just found it a little odd but then I guess the newer ones just don't have the interest we did when I started (1979).

Not so odd...my nephew who spent 6 years as a Marine sniper calls me to sight in a new rifle...

 

[Cofaler]

Not a lot of cops are 'gun guys'. I've met a few. I asked the cop that I did my last ride along with if he was a gun guy, he told me 'not as much as you might think', and went on to tell me there was a guy in his department that was 'all into that s**t', and while he didn't say it, I got the impression he thought maybe that guy was a little over the top. Shooting, after all, is a small percentage of what a cop really does day to day, but when they need that skill, they REALLY need it. There are probably some cops out there that are banking on being lucky and never getting into a shooting, hopefully most of them train like their lives depend on it, because it may.

 

[Watertender]

Yes the 41 mag is an anomoly, recall many years ago, one local PD some carried the S&W Model 58 4-inch .41 mag revolver......I still like that one......

The New York State Troopers used the Model 58 Smith and Wesson in .41 Magnum as an experiment in the 1960's. A friend of mine who is long dead carried one when he was a bodyguard for Governor Nelson Rockefeller

 

[Jeepnik]

When LAPD first authorized semi autos the officers had to supply their own and qualify with them before they could switch.

The local police range was still open to the public. I had been shooting there since I was a teenager and knew the staff.

I was watching a female officer practicing with her brand new Beretta. She would draw and dumb the magazine. The only safe place on the rage was the target. She dumped three magazines and hit the target twice at most.

My observation was that the only thing Hugh capacity guns did for a lot of cops was give them more chances to miss.

I always wondered if anyone ever compared the hit ratio between gangbangers and cops. I suspect they are pretty much even.

 

[thinckley]

My observation was that the only thing high capacity guns did for a lot of cops was give them more chances to miss.

I always wonder if cops get harassed by other cops after a shootout with headlines along the lines of:

"Police involved shooting, 26 shots fired, suspect was wounded in the lower arm."

IMHO while they are on administrative leave, they should have to spend some time at the range learning how to hit the broadside of the barn.

 

[ArizonaTea123]

What happened to all the Tackleberrys?

 

[crstrode]

Not a lot of cops are 'gun guys'.

Similarly, not a lot of cops are "law guys" either.

A few years ago I lived next to the neighbor from hell. He was either calling the cops incessantly, or acting up in such a manner that it was I that called them. Interacting with numerous city cops and Sheriff's deputies, none of them were found to have an accurate understanding of the law.

 

[s4s4u]

I bought a 41 Magnum Ruger Hunter revolver for deer hunting and the first time I brought it to deer camp got the same reaction. 40what?!?

 

[kmoore]

Just to repeat, I will 39 years carrying a police badge. I had a real broad range of experiences and assignments. even training and hiring. When asking why do you want to be a cop. "To help my community" was the most common. Where did these men and women come from? your neighborhood.
What they do most every day if in uniform, work using a computer, drive a vehicle, carry a gun or 2. Many don't have any background in handguns, some are hunters with rifles or shotguns but few with handgun experience. Many have never owned or driven a V-8 auto or full-size SUV until they wear a uniform. Fewer have any training in any form of self-defense. But most know how to use a computer.
They get training and think of their office on wheels, their duty gear are just their tools of the trade. Some leave their duty gun in their locker, just like they left the keys to their patrol vehicle at the office.
Some never master driving their office code 3, shooting 100 % at the range, learn to fight their way out of a paper bag. That's sad but it happens.
Most, (not all) strive to be the best they can at their job. But don't know much about other firearms or fast cars etc. If they didn't have interest before in that stuff, most won't start.

 

[XUSNORDIE]

My observation, most cops know very little about firearms. This is not a recent observation.

No skin off my back. I don't know crap about computers but I use one every day now.....in fact a lot of the day. Couldn't tell you how to break it down, clean it, repair it etc......

Some of the best LEOs I've worked with know nothing about firearms aside from their duty weapons. It's just a tool of their job like the computer is to mine now. The gun is not the most important element of LE as some seem to think it is.

However, the majority that I know and have worked with have incredible collections (not just modern or tactical stuff). Many have retired and are now gunsmiths.....in fact my local smith of the last few years is a medically retired LEO.

EDIT: I can't spell simple words apparently

 

[Randyzzz]

I have shot against LEO's. ( yes, at a range). The most common comment used to be "Where did you learn to shoot like that?" Practice, practice, practice. And then practice more. Watch TV with your gun in your hand. Your duty or carry weapon needs to become an extension of your body. Pointing your gun should be as intuitive as pointing at something with your index figure. Develop and religiously perform drills that test and increase your proficiency. Drills that involve hitting moving targets. Drills that require accuracy while on the run. Find a way to shoot from behind real world barricades, and at targets that are behind real world barricades.

I was trained in the early 90's by a civilian trainer for "special forces", for lack of a better term. We used to go out once a week and burn through an half full 5 gallon bucket of 9mm. Unfortunately, now some 30 years later, the muscle memory is diminishing as is the vision and steadiness. I still train but nowhere near as intensively as before. But I still have "minute of man" capability.

 

[contender]

Owning a gun range,, as well as having a son as a LEO,, and knowing a lot of LEO's,, I think the average percentage of LEO's who are gun people, and actively practice & shoot more than just doing quals,, is about 15%.

That makes 85% of them NON-GUN types.

Luckily,, most will never NEED to use a duty firearm.

But the worst part is the ones that have to,, often fail to be as skilled as they should be. Operating a computer is fine,, but it's not a tool to save your life or to protect the public with.

I encourage as many LEO's as I can to come & shoot here. This past Saturday,, at my monthly USPSA match,, I know of (6) LEO's who were shooting. That's out of 46 guys.

 

[blume357]

I've paid for my own training... best I can figure over 250 hours, and I'm a pretty good shot with a handgun. But I know for a fact that if I fall into a bad situation my accuracy is going to heck... I suspect that because LEO's have to deal with all kinds of situations and people routinely they will be able to handle a deadly encounter better than me. I did twice take a force on force class where you are just thrown into a situations and have to immediately react and some of them were to do nothing other than run and dial 911. It is a real eye opener to be presented with a questionable dangerous situation and have a half a second to determine what to do.