What do you do if your employer dictates your handgun? i.e. Glock, Sig, et al

[KokomoDave]

Okay all you Glock / Sig / FN / Remington / AR-15 etc haters! Bring it on!!

What do you do if you carry a firearm for a living and your employer dictates what you will bring to the gun fight on their dime?

A) Quit

B) Whine

C) Break it hoping they will change

D) Get good shooting it & look bad assed doing so

E) Nothing and never carry / practice / clean it except as policy mandates

I opted for D) a long time ago but I wanna hear from all the INGOers that whine about Der Combat Tupperware from:
(Insert your particular 'hate' brand, 1911A1 or Hi-Point here).

So, whatcha gonna do?

 

[Grease]

D

my dept currently has the glock 22 and is switching to the 17 while my personal taste leans towards the glock 19.

so, I carry what they issue and practice as much as possible with it.

 

[BehindBlueI's]

D. With a side dish of B.

 

[indyjohn]

Calling chezuki.

chezuki, chezuki.

Front and center please...

 

[pudly]

F) Request a variance. The worst they will do is say no, in which case can you fall back to A-E.

 

[phylodog]

Committed to D many years ago. Wish I was better at convincing others to do the same but too many opt for E.

 

[BehindBlueI's]

F) Request a variance. The worst they will do is say no, in which case can you fall back to A-E.

That's one thing I enjoy about being a detective. I don't have to play with the Glock except at in-service. I don't know why uniformed officers don't have the same option. I did some outside of the department training and several officers were allowed a range of options based on their hand size and preferences and the world didn't end. One tiny K9 officer from Carmel had a Glock 9mm that their armorer had sent out to have the grip shaved to fit her tiny hands. Here she'd be stuck with the same Glock 22 everyone else has to carry.

And yes, I gave the Glock a fair chance, and yes I shoot it pretty well. Just not as good as other options.

 

[CPT Nervous]

When I worked at Brink's, we had to carry the S&W M&P .40. Not a fan.

I'm at Garda now, and I can carry what I want, so I carry a Glock 19.

As a reserve officer, my department issues the M&P .40. Again, not a fan, but I do as I'm told. I shoot well with it, so I can't complain too much, but it's no Glock.

 

[rhino]

I want to know what kind of job you can get where you carry a gun for a living!

 

[nakinate]

Option D. I'd also be thrilled that I could carry at work.

 

[Denny347]

Committed to D many years ago. Wish I was better at convincing others to do the same but too many opt for E.

Yeah. Of course we are professional complainers

 

[BehindBlueI's]

I want to know what kind of job you can get where you carry a gun for a living!

*A* gun or multiple guns?

 

[milton]

Mine is option D. Dept issues Gen 3 23's, I'd much prefer Gen 4 in a 9mm variant. I used to shoot my personal 9mm glocks when I went to the range on my own time. My justification was that ammo was cheaper, and they were more fun to shoot. That has since went by the wayside and I almost exclusively shoot only my duty gun. I buy thousands of rounds on my own dime and try to hit the range on my own time at least once a month where I'll burn through several hundred rounds.

My complaint more so than what I have to carry, is the fact that I don't have access to a range and ammo through the department to stay in my opinion "proficient" with it.

I think you need to be intimately familiar with the gun that you will have to defend your life with. I see many cops on the range that have trouble just doing manipulations, let alone shooting well. I've seen some that have pulled their shotguns out of their trunk to discover it had nearly completely rusted since the last time they "had to" get it out to qualify.

I do whine sometimes in hopes that my department will switch their firearms. Our patrol rifles still have fixed carry handles and are probably as old as I am.

 

[WestSider]

Mine is option D. Dept issues Gen 3 23's, I'd much prefer Gen 4 in a 9mm variant. I used to shoot my personal 9mm glocks when I went to the range on my own time. My justification was that ammo was cheaper, and they were more fun to shoot. That has since went by the wayside and I almost exclusively shoot only my duty gun. I buy thousands of rounds on my own dime and try to hit the range on my own time at least once a month where I'll burn through several hundred rounds.

My complaint more so than what I have to carry, is the fact that I don't have access to a range and ammo through the department to stay in my opinion "proficient" with it.

I think you need to be intimately familiar with the gun that you will have to defend your life with. I see many cops on the range that have trouble just doing manipulations, let alone shooting well. I've seen some that have pulled their shotguns out of their trunk to discover it had nearly completely rusted since the last time they "had to" get it out to qualify.

I do whine sometimes in hopes that my department will switch their firearms. Our patrol rifles still have fixed carry handles and are probably as old as I am.

Same here, option D. We are issued two pistols, a Gen 4 22 with TLR-1 light for the primary and a Gen 4 27 for backup/off duty use. I would prefer the 9mm variants of both, but I could do a lot worse so I'm not complaining. I'm looking into ordering some bulk .40 through the department if I can get it cheaper so I can shoot more with it, as all of my personal pistols are 9mm.

At least the rifle I was issued has a removable carry handle though

 

[BugI02]

KokomoDave and Phylodog, this reminds me of something I'm curious about. Milton sort of gets at it, but my question is about your personal carry weapon(s) - do you carry what you really like or do you carry same as department issue so as to maximize familiarity/skillset

 

[phylodog]

KokomoDave and Phylodog, this reminds me of something I'm curious about. Milton sort of gets at it, but my question is about your personal carry weapon(s) - do you carry what you really like or do you carry same as department issue so as to maximize familiarity/skillset

I carry a Glock off duty but not the same caliber/model as my issued pistol. I used to own a wide variety of pistols and shot them all with regularity (I love, love, love the 1911). When I stopped and stuck with the Glock exclusively I saw my proficiency reach new levels and I've since sold off everything else except a few with sentimental value and I don't shoot those. In my experience there are significant advantages to sticking with one platform and even though I don't, one caliber. I enjoy shooting the 9mm more than I do the .40 but I am faster/more accurate with the .40 due to the years and tens of thousands of rounds of it I've fired.

 

[DWS]

I want to know what kind of job you can get where you carry a gun for a living!

Law enforcement
Certain security gigs
Prisoner / money transport
Military

to name a few....

 

[Drakkule]

D. With a side dish of B.

This man has the right idea.

 

[VUPDblue]

D, though I wish I had the time to get to *our* range more often and do more work with it.

 

[curraheeguns]

D, though I wish I had the time to get to *our* range more often and do more work with it.

Your absence and lack of dedication has been noticed, rookie.