Need help with T&E

[smittty]

Good evening Gentlemen,

First of all, no, I'm not sending out pistols for you to T&E. Wish I could, but I haven't won the lottery, yet. However, I am soliciting your valuable input.

I work for a wildlife conservation agency (read foot patrol in the woods and fresh/salt water boat patrols) and we are going to be doing some T&E on a host of pistols to prepare for the inevitable replacement of our current issue.

My main questions are:

1. What pistols, brand and model, should be included in the survey?

2. What criteria should be used to evaluate the pistols?

3. What ranking/scoring system should be used, if any, to separate the good from the bad?

Thank you, gentlemen, for your input. The survey should be done in about 2 months. I'll post our results, as anonymously as possible, for all the inquiring minds. Thank you again.

[Redlg155]

Most if not all the questions can be answered by you more effectively than someone not knowing the exact details or the requirements of your department.

Question 1..
A. What is your current issue weapon and why is the department switching to another weapon? This can be a major factor in determing a replacement weapon. To T&E a similar weapon would be a waste of time.

B. What budget does your department have? This could be a factor on whether or not you want Glocks or Sigs. There are also considerations about warranties and upgrades available. You also have to not only consider the pistol but also extra magazines and holsters.

C. What caliber is your current issue weapon? Does the department want to move to a larger caliber or a smaller caliber. If so..why?

D. Will your department also require a weapon for plain clothes assigments and providing officers with a smaller compatable weapon for officers with smaller hands? Ex..Glock 22 and G23.

Question 2..

A. Only you know what duties you perform on a daily basis. You at the very least want a finish that is resistant to corrosion. That would leave weapons such as HK's and Glocks to be considered. What finish does your current duty weapon have?

B. What budget does your department have for ammo and what will the selected duty ammo be? Will this ammo be different than practice ammo?

Your criteria is based solely upon your department needs. Officers patrolling the Border would have a different criteria than Marine Patrol Officers.

Question #3.

Your best bet is to take broad sampling of individual officers in your department. Skill level, Gender, Body Build, Hand Size and other factors need to be considered. Let them shoot the weapons and develop a scoring system based on handling characteristics, accuracy, safety features, and shooter comfort.

Once you get all that done and decide on a weapon that meets your requirement and budget, and then of course ammo contracts, you have the fun of doing a T&E on the holsters.

I know..more questions than answers. :D

Good SHooting
RED

[Jeff OTMG]

An excellent response from RED and I would also ask for a bit more info.
1. How many armed people in the dept?
a. How many are female or small statured males?
2. Is there an armorer in the dept?
3. Does the dept have its' own range?
4. I also want to know the current duty weapon to determine the extent of transition training and cost.
5. Does the dept have a dedicated firearms instructor?
6. Are there other large depts or agencies in the area?
a. If so what firearm and ammunition do they use. There may be an opportunity to save money on a bulk purchase by combining buying power or tagging along with another dept.
7. You mention foot patrol in the woods. Is there a possibility of encountering dangerous wildlife?
8. Is there a shooting qualification standard and how often is the qualification performed.
9. Are other arms easily available to the officers, such as shotguns and/or rifles.

To help give you a bit of an answer rather than just ask questions:
What criteria should be used to evaluate the pistols?
1. Is the pistol of sufficient caliber and is ammo available to accomplish the task. I don't know where you are, but if you patrol in Alaska where brown bear may be encountered a S&W 629 may be the ideal choice and if your female officers are unable to qualify that is too bad. Do you need to penetrate car bodies?
2. Reliability. If it doesn't go bang every time it is a poor choice.
3. Corrosion resistance. If it rusts away in a year avoid it.
4. Is the capacity sufficient. If back up for an officer is more than a minute or two away each officer better be able to carry enough ammo to carry him through an engagment. 6 rounds may be fine if an M1A is in the boat with the officers.