Huh. Another blogger that has internal question on the wisdom of arming Barney Fife with semi-autos back in the 80s. And how it is one of the early steps involved in the militarization of the police forces of the United States. He is talking about China's cops going from nothing to a 6 shooter, so I guess, in a way, the cops THERE are escalating too. They are just a step behind.
Really. What does 12 rounds of 9mm in a semi solve that 6 rounds in a revolver didn't? I mean really. Actual outcomes. Yes, police had a bad resolution when they needed a 7th shot with a 6 round revolver. But police have a bad situation when they need a 13th round out of a 12 round magazine. Or a 19th round out of a 18 round magazine. And it is probable mathmatically more common to need that 7th when you only have 6, than if you need that 19th when you only have 18. But is it statistically significant, really?
Of course there is the cost consideration, and I don't poo-poo that. It's harder to keep costs down per unit! Ruger did do a bit of it, and, presumably, if the cops stuck to revolvers in the past 3 decades I imagine there would be more along the lines of cheaper revolver construction and procurement.
Actually it was a response to trying to keep up with the bad guys- Bottom line...
ReplyDeleteI went through my early training during the transition. I started out with revolvers, but then switched to semi-autos. As I recall, the 'outgunned by the bad guys' was the primary argument, as Old NFO stated. Other arguments like reloading ease and speed (JM not included) were secondary.
ReplyDeleteInteresting statistic I saw at least 15 years ago.
ReplyDeleteWhen the average officer was carrying a revolver, the average number of shots fired by officers who actually go into the fight (the "average of 2-3 rounds in a gunfight" stat includes cops assassinated with a single round who never even drew) was that officers fired 6 rounds for 1 hit.
When the average number of rounds in the average officer's pistol was 15, the state was fifteen rounds, for one guy put down.
In other words, "Shoot to slide lock" (or "click") has been a constant, regardless of number of available rounds.