police trade ins

wild willy · September 13, 2018, 08:08 AM

How many rounds do you think most police trade ins have fired? I got into a discussion with a co-worker he was in a gun shop and another customer stated that you shouldn't buy police trade ins because they are wore out from shooting.I said the guy was FOS the guns aren't shot that much they show wear and tear from being carried.Who right?

Nanuk · September 13, 2018, 08:20 AM

You are. I bought two police trade in this summer and both are like new. Most police trade in guns probably have less than 1,000 rounds thru them.

FindANewSlant · September 13, 2018, 08:51 AM

99% of police officers never fire their gun outside yearly qualification.

wild willy · September 13, 2018, 08:54 AM

That’s what I thought.How many shots on average would that be?

Polinese · September 13, 2018, 09:21 AM

For us thats maybe 200 a year and that's if they're being generous with ammo.

Ben Dover · September 13, 2018, 10:13 AM

Most departments shoot 50 or 60 rounds quarterly. A few supply 50 or 60 rounds per quarter for practice.

So a maximum of 240 per year.

Bartholomew Roberts · September 13, 2018, 01:19 PM

To date, every military surplus and police trade-in I have bought has been a solid shooter. The external finish usually looks like heck; but they are mechanically solid.

The one exception to “mechanically solid” wasn’t from being shot-out but was due to some Wile E. Coyote School of Gunsmithing attempt at a trigger job on a Hi-Power that caused the hammer to follow. Same gun also had a too shallow front dovetail cut for the installed night sights which caused it to shear off two sets of tritium sights (the original and a replacement). But I guess I got free Meprolights on a $280 Hi-Power, so we’ll call it even.

shafter · September 13, 2018, 01:52 PM

The only way to answer that is by knowing which department they came from and how often they shoot. Some shoot very little, others shoot a great deal. I've seen both. Some officers will also shoot their duty weapons on their own time as well, while others don't.

If the price was right I would go for a police trade-in. I usually hear positive stories from those who've bought one. I wouldn't be surprised to see the price start to go up on the trade-ins. The guns are looking pretty good these days with minimal wear due to the kydex holsters.

FrankenMauser · September 13, 2018, 03:00 PM

That's nearly impossible to answer, because so many agencies do things differently.

Some agencies don't even require the duty pistol to BE fired. Qualification and recert can be done with range pistols.

A recently retired friend of mine asked the armory what they had shuffling around that was new or nearly new, that he could buy cheaply, when he filed his retirement paperwork. (Special privileges available at retirement.)
Answer: Two S&W .38s, a handful of .357 Mags, half a dozen Glocks, A Jennings .32, and even a S&W Sigma.
Some were spares. Some were unwanted by the officer(s) they were intended for. And some were just forgotten over time. The Jennings, they believed, was a backup gun that was mistakenly turned in to the armory when an officer left the force.

Last year, I bought one of the Italian Police 92Ss. It looked like hell on the outside, and barely used on the inside.
I figure it was carried a lot, slid back and forth across an armory counter a lot, and fired very, very little.

AK103K · September 13, 2018, 04:19 PM

I think you need to take them on a case by case basis. I prefer to look at the actual gun Im buying before I buy it, as "shooting" isnt the only issue. A lot of those guns were poorly maintained and/or stored.

I recently bought a NYS Department of Corrections 2" S&W Model 10 for $325. I had the pick of three, and chose the one that seemed the best mechanically. The one with the best overall finish, had some issue with the cylinder, and it didnt want to spin freely, nor open smoothly. Felt like something was off when you pulled the trigger as well. The other one I passed on looked like it had been skipped of the concrete more than a few times.

Mine seemed to be the winner, until I was cleaning it after shooting it a couple of times, when the barrel came loose while cleaning it. Seemed fine while I was shooting it, and even while I was cleaning it, just rotated off when I was wiping it down at the end.

My first thought was the frame cracked, but I cant see the hint of any anywhere. There appears to be a hardened glob of thread locker of some sort at the shoulder where it times up. I left it alone, and put some LocTite on the threads and timed it back up. Ive shot it a couple of times since, and it seems fine. Maybe S&W shouldnt have stopped pinning the barrels.

I also had a couple of SIG P6 trade ins, One looked brand new, with barely a wear mark on the barrel, the other, showed a lot of wear, inside and out, and the barrel had a "smiley" that was worn into the barrel, and looked a lot worse than my one Glock, that has a documented 135,000+ rounds through it. Looks like it wasnt one of the usual "carried a lot and shot little". Maybe it was one of the range guns and everybody had a go with it.

I still think your best bet is to have an idea as to what to look for in what youre looking at, and go over it closely, in person, before you buy. Even then, youre still taking your chances. Ive bought a lot of used handguns over the years, and for the most part, havent had any problems doing so. Got some real good deals, and real good shooters too. I guess youre always still going to have the odds to deal with though, new or used.

Fishbed77 · September 13, 2018, 04:31 PM

I own quite a few police trade-in/surplus pistols, including Glocks, P226s, Model 10s, CZ75s, Hi Powers, and a few CZ82s.

All of them, even the ones with significant exterior finish wear, have barrels that look and shoot as if they were brand new.

Of particular note is a P226 that looks as if it been to hell and back, but had clean internals, no wear to the frame rails, and no barrel "smile", indicating that it was carried for years, and had some stories to tell, but was barely ever shot.

.

tallball · September 13, 2018, 05:07 PM

I prefer police trade-in handguns. They typically, but not always, look a little rough one the outside and typically, but not always, look on the inside like they've been shot very little. I prefer to find them on Gunbroker for dirt cheap and take my chances. So far I have done very well for myself, getting a lot of great shooting pistols for laughably low prices.

donkee · September 14, 2018, 07:26 AM

I love surplus/trade-ins. 95% of the time all you would need to do is drop in some new springs and if you really want, a polishing or some cold blue. Buy em, use em, have fun........

HistoryJunky · September 14, 2018, 09:56 AM

The PD trade in M&P .40 I bought a few years ago had no issues. The only sign it had of being used was a little holster wear on the slide.

Sent from my SM-G930R4 using Tapatalk

lamarw · September 14, 2018, 11:46 AM

I have a relatively large accumulation of LE trade-ins. There is an LE Distributor nearby, and I seem to find what I consider deals on a regular basis. I have at least 3 shotguns, 5 pistols and about 8 revolvers under the category of trade-ins. Some were actual police firearms and some were confiscated.

Their condition varies. It seems the confiscated firearms are generally in poorer condition than the actual LE guns. I have one S&W Model 28-2 revolver that appears unissued from the Loundon County, VA PD. I have handguns from Memphis, TN, Mobile, Montgomery, Pelham, Opelika, & Scottsboro Alabama P.D.'s. The list goes on and on. Most are S&Ws, Sig Sauer, Beretta and other major brands of firearms.

I am fortunate since I am able to go examine the guns prior to bidding on them. I was also able to out and out buy a few of them.

T. O'Heir · September 14, 2018, 12:09 PM

"...240 per year..." More likely that many for the thing's entire service life. It's usually one mag out of a pistol or 6 rounds out of a revolver, annually, in the olden days.
"...poorly maintained and/or stored..." Yep. Cops came into the shop, long ago, with their service revolvers rusted shut. Best one was the guy who came in with his partner to change grips and had the holster but had left the gun at home. Knew a guy who got assigned to 'The Bank Car' in TO. Only one with a shotgun. Neither he nor his partner knew how to load it.

briandg · September 14, 2018, 12:17 PM

This is pretty much right. Qualifications, practice of qualification fails. voluntary practice sometimes. The average police firearm will have holster wear and may be dirty as can be. Most noticeable wear is going to be on moving parts involving loading and unloading magazine and chamber.

Keep in mind that the trade in may be a 30 year old glock from the duquesne village PD, or ten years old from the wealthy suburban PD that trades them out every few years.

Our pd buys new cruisers and sells the old ones after only a few years. The used cars have years of life left and come equipped to smaller departments that couldn't afford a brand new custom fitted cruiser at what, $80,000?

Buyer beware, but a PD trade in, much like PD ammo trade in is going to be perfectly serviceable.

smee78 · September 14, 2018, 12:43 PM

I think you are more correct VS the shot out guns your buddy says they are.

I have also bought many police trade-ins and am very happy with them. Seems most of them have been carried a lot and poorly cleaned and shot very little. That's not to say all of them are like that but a lot of them are.

unit 900 · September 14, 2018, 06:07 PM

Trade ins may be dirty, but most agencies have an armorer, either full or part time. It makes little sense to allow sub par or dangerous firearms to be in the hands of fellow officers. I would (and have) purchase a police trade-in with confidence.

tallball · September 15, 2018, 12:55 PM

^^^^

What the last two posters said.

I have purchased something like two dozen police trade-ins on the Internet. Only one had issues, and even so it was functional. When you can get a police turn-in for half the cost of a new pistol, and chances are it was barely shot at all, you should jump on the opportunity.

**4V50 Gary** · September 15, 2018, 05:24 PM

Agency budget, officer shooting interest. Some shoot the minimal and it’s only when their agency requires them to go to the range. Then you had guys like myself who on open range days would shoot 300 rounds (double action revolver) until the firearm was getting hot to handle.

Key is to inspect individual firearms for wear and finish.

2damnold4this · September 15, 2018, 07:11 PM

I have had good service out of the police trade in handguns I have bought. The S&W 342 I am carrying now was a Georgia State police trade in and while it does have some cosmetic damage (looks like it was dropped on concrete) it shoots great. The other two revolvers look and shoot great and the G26 only had a little holster wear but shoots great.

Model12Win · September 15, 2018, 09:43 PM

Bought a police trade in 220 for a steal. Might as well a been a new gun. Great buy!

1MoreFord · September 15, 2018, 10:31 PM

Most Police trade-ins a carried a lot and shot very little.

Nathan · September 16, 2018, 07:49 AM

I bought a police trade Glock 21.....some wear on the outside, but pretty new on the inside other than dirty....after a good cleaning, it was like new, except a few small rub marks on the outside.

I think you will find that police don’t get much paid time or free ammo to shoot their work gun. So even shooters don’t shoot it much.

September 13, 2018, 08:08 AM	#1
wild willy Senior Member Join Date: March 8, 2006 Posts: 404	police trade ins How many rounds do you think most police trade ins have fired? I got into a discussion with a co-worker he was in a gun shop and another customer stated that you shouldn't buy police trade ins because they are wore out from shooting.I said the guy was FOS the guns aren't shot that much they show wear and tear from being carried.Who right?

September 13, 2018, 08:20 AM	#2
Nanuk Senior Member Join Date: January 2, 2005 Location: Where the deer and the antelope roam. Posts: 3,082	You are. I bought two police trade in this summer and both are like new. Most police trade in guns probably have less than 1,000 rounds thru them. __________________ Retired Law Enforcement U. S. Army Veteran Armorer My rifle and pistol are tools, I am the weapon.

September 13, 2018, 10:13 AM	#6
Ben Dover Senior Member Join Date: April 11, 2013 Location: High up in the Rocky Moun Posts: 665	Most departments shoot 50 or 60 rounds quarterly. A few supply 50 or 60 rounds per quarter for practice. So a maximum of 240 per year. __________________ The soldier's pack is not so heavy a burden as the prisoner's chains. Dwight Eisenhower It is very important what a man stands for. But it is far more important what a man refuses to stand for.

September 13, 2018, 03:00 PM	#9
FrankenMauser Senior Member Join Date: August 25, 2008 Location: In the valley above the plain Posts: 13,424	That's nearly impossible to answer, because so many agencies do things differently. Some agencies don't even require the duty pistol to BE fired. Qualification and recert can be done with range pistols. A recently retired friend of mine asked the armory what they had shuffling around that was new or nearly new, that he could buy cheaply, when he filed his retirement paperwork. (Special privileges available at retirement.) Answer: Two S&W .38s, a handful of .357 Mags, half a dozen Glocks, A Jennings .32, and even a S&W Sigma. Some were spares. Some were unwanted by the officer(s) they were intended for. And some were just forgotten over time. The Jennings, they believed, was a backup gun that was mistakenly turned in to the armory when an officer left the force. Last year, I bought one of the Italian Police 92Ss. It looked like hell on the outside, and barely used on the inside. I figure it was carried a lot, slid back and forth across an armory counter a lot, and fired very, very little. __________________ Don't even try it. It's even worse than the internet would lead you to believe.

September 13, 2018, 04:31 PM	#11
Fishbed77 Senior Member Join Date: November 23, 2010 Posts: 4,862	I own quite a few police trade-in/surplus pistols, including Glocks, P226s, Model 10s, CZ75s, Hi Powers, and a few CZ82s. All of them, even the ones with significant exterior finish wear, have barrels that look and shoot as if they were brand new. Of particular note is a P226 that looks as if it been to hell and back, but had clean internals, no wear to the frame rails, and no barrel "smile", indicating that it was carried for years, and had some stories to tell, but was barely ever shot. . Last edited by Fishbed77; September 13, 2018 at 04:40 PM.

September 13, 2018, 08:51 AM	#3
FindANewSlant Member Join Date: September 3, 2018 Posts: 33	99% of police officers never fire their gun outside yearly qualification.

September 13, 2018, 08:54 AM	#4
wild willy Senior Member Join Date: March 8, 2006 Posts: 404	That’s what I thought.How many shots on average would that be?

September 13, 2018, 09:21 AM	#5
Polinese Senior Member Join Date: September 27, 2010 Posts: 947	For us thats maybe 200 a year and that's if they're being generous with ammo.

September 13, 2018, 01:19 PM	#7
Bartholomew Roberts member Join Date: June 12, 2000 Location: Texas and Oklahoma area Posts: 8,462	To date, every military surplus and police trade-in I have bought has been a solid shooter. The external finish usually looks like heck; but they are mechanically solid. The one exception to “mechanically solid” wasn’t from being shot-out but was due to some Wile E. Coyote School of Gunsmithing attempt at a trigger job on a Hi-Power that caused the hammer to follow. Same gun also had a too shallow front dovetail cut for the installed night sights which caused it to shear off two sets of tritium sights (the original and a replacement). But I guess I got free Meprolights on a $280 Hi-Power, so we’ll call it even.

September 13, 2018, 01:52 PM	#8
shafter Senior Member Join Date: December 23, 2009 Posts: 1,624	The only way to answer that is by knowing which department they came from and how often they shoot. Some shoot very little, others shoot a great deal. I've seen both. Some officers will also shoot their duty weapons on their own time as well, while others don't. If the price was right I would go for a police trade-in. I usually hear positive stories from those who've bought one. I wouldn't be surprised to see the price start to go up on the trade-ins. The guns are looking pretty good these days with minimal wear due to the kydex holsters.

September 13, 2018, 04:19 PM	#10
AK103K Senior Member Join Date: May 1, 2001 Posts: 10,223	I think you need to take them on a case by case basis. I prefer to look at the actual gun Im buying before I buy it, as "shooting" isnt the only issue. A lot of those guns were poorly maintained and/or stored. I recently bought a NYS Department of Corrections 2" S&W Model 10 for $325. I had the pick of three, and chose the one that seemed the best mechanically. The one with the best overall finish, had some issue with the cylinder, and it didnt want to spin freely, nor open smoothly. Felt like something was off when you pulled the trigger as well. The other one I passed on looked like it had been skipped of the concrete more than a few times. Mine seemed to be the winner, until I was cleaning it after shooting it a couple of times, when the barrel came loose while cleaning it. Seemed fine while I was shooting it, and even while I was cleaning it, just rotated off when I was wiping it down at the end. My first thought was the frame cracked, but I cant see the hint of any anywhere. There appears to be a hardened glob of thread locker of some sort at the shoulder where it times up. I left it alone, and put some LocTite on the threads and timed it back up. Ive shot it a couple of times since, and it seems fine. Maybe S&W shouldnt have stopped pinning the barrels. I also had a couple of SIG P6 trade ins, One looked brand new, with barely a wear mark on the barrel, the other, showed a lot of wear, inside and out, and the barrel had a "smiley" that was worn into the barrel, and looked a lot worse than my one Glock, that has a documented 135,000+ rounds through it. Looks like it wasnt one of the usual "carried a lot and shot little". Maybe it was one of the range guns and everybody had a go with it. I still think your best bet is to have an idea as to what to look for in what youre looking at, and go over it closely, in person, before you buy. Even then, youre still taking your chances. Ive bought a lot of used handguns over the years, and for the most part, havent had any problems doing so. Got some real good deals, and real good shooters too. I guess youre always still going to have the odds to deal with though, new or used.

September 13, 2018, 05:07 PM	#12
tallball Senior Member Join Date: October 17, 2014 Posts: 2,444	I prefer police trade-in handguns. They typically, but not always, look a little rough one the outside and typically, but not always, look on the inside like they've been shot very little. I prefer to find them on Gunbroker for dirt cheap and take my chances. So far I have done very well for myself, getting a lot of great shooting pistols for laughably low prices.

September 14, 2018, 07:26 AM	#13
donkee Junior member Join Date: November 7, 2004 Location: Mid-Michigan Posts: 449	I love surplus/trade-ins. 95% of the time all you would need to do is drop in some new springs and if you really want, a polishing or some cold blue. Buy em, use em, have fun........

September 14, 2018, 09:56 AM	#14
HistoryJunky Senior Member Join Date: April 7, 2010 Location: Freeport, IL Posts: 833	The PD trade in M&P .40 I bought a few years ago had no issues. The only sign it had of being used was a little holster wear on the slide. Sent from my SM-G930R4 using Tapatalk

September 14, 2018, 11:46 AM	#15
lamarw Senior Member Join Date: April 12, 2010 Location: Lake Martin, AL Posts: 3,311	I have a relatively large accumulation of LE trade-ins. There is an LE Distributor nearby, and I seem to find what I consider deals on a regular basis. I have at least 3 shotguns, 5 pistols and about 8 revolvers under the category of trade-ins. Some were actual police firearms and some were confiscated. Their condition varies. It seems the confiscated firearms are generally in poorer condition than the actual LE guns. I have one S&W Model 28-2 revolver that appears unissued from the Loundon County, VA PD. I have handguns from Memphis, TN, Mobile, Montgomery, Pelham, Opelika, & Scottsboro Alabama P.D.'s. The list goes on and on. Most are S&Ws, Sig Sauer, Beretta and other major brands of firearms. I am fortunate since I am able to go examine the guns prior to bidding on them. I was also able to out and out buy a few of them.

September 14, 2018, 12:09 PM	#16
T. O'Heir Senior Member Join Date: February 13, 2002 Location: Canada Posts: 12,453	"...240 per year..." More likely that many for the thing's entire service life. It's usually one mag out of a pistol or 6 rounds out of a revolver, annually, in the olden days. "...poorly maintained and/or stored..." Yep. Cops came into the shop, long ago, with their service revolvers rusted shut. Best one was the guy who came in with his partner to change grips and had the holster but had left the gun at home. Knew a guy who got assigned to 'The Bank Car' in TO. Only one with a shotgun. Neither he nor his partner knew how to load it. __________________ Spelling and grammar count!

September 14, 2018, 12:17 PM	#17
briandg Senior Member Join Date: May 4, 2010 Posts: 5,468	This is pretty much right. Qualifications, practice of qualification fails. voluntary practice sometimes. The average police firearm will have holster wear and may be dirty as can be. Most noticeable wear is going to be on moving parts involving loading and unloading magazine and chamber. Keep in mind that the trade in may be a 30 year old glock from the duquesne village PD, or ten years old from the wealthy suburban PD that trades them out every few years. Our pd buys new cruisers and sells the old ones after only a few years. The used cars have years of life left and come equipped to smaller departments that couldn't afford a brand new custom fitted cruiser at what, $80,000? Buyer beware, but a PD trade in, much like PD ammo trade in is going to be perfectly serviceable. __________________ None.

September 14, 2018, 12:43 PM	#18
smee78 Senior Member Join Date: July 14, 2008 Location: South Carolina Posts: 2,918	I think you are more correct VS the shot out guns your buddy says they are. I have also bought many police trade-ins and am very happy with them. Seems most of them have been carried a lot and poorly cleaned and shot very little. That's not to say all of them are like that but a lot of them are. __________________ We know exactly where one cow with Mad-cow-disease is located, among the millions and millions of cows in America, but we haven't got a clue where thousands of illegal immigrants and terrorists are

September 14, 2018, 06:07 PM	#19
unit 900 Senior Member Join Date: August 16, 2001 Location: Maryland Posts: 130	Trade ins may be dirty, but most agencies have an armorer, either full or part time. It makes little sense to allow sub par or dangerous firearms to be in the hands of fellow officers. I would (and have) purchase a police trade-in with confidence. __________________ "A promise made is a debt unpaid"

September 15, 2018, 12:55 PM	#20
tallball Senior Member Join Date: October 17, 2014 Posts: 2,444	^^^^ What the last two posters said. I have purchased something like two dozen police trade-ins on the Internet. Only one had issues, and even so it was functional. When you can get a police turn-in for half the cost of a new pistol, and chances are it was barely shot at all, you should jump on the opportunity.

September 15, 2018, 05:24 PM	#21
4V50 Gary Staff Join Date: November 2, 1998 Location: Colorado Posts: 21,831	Agency budget, officer shooting interest. Some shoot the minimal and it’s only when their agency requires them to go to the range. Then you had guys like myself who on open range days would shoot 300 rounds (double action revolver) until the firearm was getting hot to handle. Key is to inspect individual firearms for wear and finish. __________________ Vigilantibus et non dormientibus jura subveniunt. *Molon Labe!*

September 15, 2018, 07:11 PM	#22
2damnold4this Senior Member Join Date: August 12, 2009 Location: Athens, Georgia Posts: 2,526	I have had good service out of the police trade in handguns I have bought. The S&W 342 I am carrying now was a Georgia State police trade in and while it does have some cosmetic damage (looks like it was dropped on concrete) it shoots great. The other two revolvers look and shoot great and the G26 only had a little holster wear but shoots great.

September 15, 2018, 09:43 PM	#23
Model12Win Junior member Join Date: October 20, 2012 Posts: 5,854	Bought a police trade in 220 for a steal. Might as well a been a new gun. Great buy!

September 15, 2018, 10:31 PM	#24
1MoreFord Senior Member Join Date: July 30, 2014 Location: Arkansas Posts: 244	Most Police trade-ins a carried a lot and shot very little.

September 16, 2018, 07:49 AM	#25
Nathan Senior Member Join Date: July 1, 2001 Posts: 6,325	I bought a police trade Glock 21.....some wear on the outside, but pretty new on the inside other than dirty....after a good cleaning, it was like new, except a few small rub marks on the outside. I think you will find that police don’t get much paid time or free ammo to shoot their work gun. So even shooters don’t shoot it much.

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