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COMMENTS ? Your Opinion ? Rookie Cop

4K views 52 replies 21 participants last post by  Lawrence Keeney 
#1 ·
Please post your personal opinion on his arguments for a Hi Cap 9mm handgun.
I copied this from another forum.
I will reserve my own comments until later.
I know that some of these arguments are quite old but, we have a lot of new members these recent days.


"I don't have a ton of experience shooting or as a cop (you're still pretty much considered a rookie in the NYPD until you go over 5 years) but I have seen and read enough to make me think that hi-cap 9mm is the way to go for self defense. Here are my arguments and I look forward to some feedback.

-Avoiding reloads: I don't care how fast you are at doing it, it still takes valuable time. I can keep banging away while you're reloading a revolver or 1911. You're only a good shot while you've got bullets to shoot, and reloading means time taken away from aiming and firing.

-Help is on the way: I recently went to a call where a guy had jumped out of a high window during the night to commit suicide. Despite the fact that a number of people heard the loud bang when the guy hit the interior courtyard, no one called us until dawn when the body was visible. One loud noise was just not enough to worry people enough to call 911. My guess is that this mentality may apply to gunfights as well. A couple of shots may not rouse some sleepy neighbors for long but a sustained string of shots will get my buddies rolling in my direction. This may not help me actually "win" a fight but may help in getting a bad guy caught or getting myself medical attention.

-Cover: A hi-cap 9mm gives me some rounds that I can send downrange to buy time for my partner to find cover. Maybe it keeps my opponent's head down for a second or two allowing us to retreat or flank him. The time bought may allow someone with you to bring another weapon to bear or allow your family seconds more to run or lock interior doors.

-Practice: 9mm is cheap. We don't get paid well here in NYC for what we deal with, and I suspect a lot of other people here are short on cash too. Cheaper ammo means more time on the range for me. If you've backed out of going shooting even once because of money then I think its an issue worth considering.

-Multiple assailants: Spread the love! I wouldn't want to deal with more than one perp and have only a handful of bullets before needing to reload. Even if you have an extra mag with you, an extra hi-cap mag means you can hang in a fight longer. "Shots fired" is a priority call here, and I suspect it is everywhere. Enough bullets might keep your opponents in place and at bay until help arrives.

-Time: I've kind of touched on this already, but it deserves special mention. I'm a big fan of buying time. Even if I haven't killed an attacker or even stopped him from continuing to attack, extra rounds give me time. Time to think and plan or time for help to come. If my initial reaction to the incident was one of surprise then every second I can keep an attacker's head down is time for me to recover psychologically.

-Intimidation: I get the sense that a lot of people think that the fact that they own a larger caliber handgun may cause a perp to think again and back down. I can tell you that I've never heard of anyone saying anything but the other guy had a "black" or "silver" gun. This includes cops involved in gunfights. If you believe a perp is going to think "Damn, that guy has a .45..I'd better get out of here" I disagree with you. If the gun's presence doesn't make the guy take off, its type won't make a difference. I guess if it makes you more confident, then its a good thing but I'd still rather have the extra rounds.

-Aim: I'm sure some will disagree with how important it is or how much it affects them, but I think 9mm's lower recoil means less time to recover and aim and those fractions of a second may come in handy.

-SHTF scenario: 9mm is available.

I know hi-caps are expensive for non-LE and hopefully that will all change in a few weeks. Outside of all that, I hope some of you will see that getting them is worth the price."
 
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#52 ·
IIRC 9mm does not make major in IPSC - thus .40 and .45 choices I think and seems too .40 carries most sway, much as anything I suspect because of capacity factors.
 
#53 ·
First off, I figure the average NYPD cop can get all the practice ammo he can stand from the department range.They want cops that can shoot there, since bad shots tend to wound bystanders.

Secondly,I carry a high cap 9mm because I travel late at night, and worry about getting bogged down somewhere where my cell phone might not allow me to call for help. A 17 round handgun and an extra mag would be a great deal of comfort when unidentified persons are following you home.

This happened to me three weekends ago, by the way.
 
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