CA departments that still use 9mm?

[John M]

Funk Drum, The reasons for my Depts switch are as follows.. first, magazine capacity.. 17 (9mm) versus 12 (40cal) versus 8 (45ACP) in the mags.. Second, a 9mm is easier to shoot well. Officers qualification scores improved dramatically. Last, and one of the bigger reasons, is advancement in technology. The top performing 9mm rounds are performing as good as the best 40 cal rounds. There is also something to be said for everyone in a Dept shooting the same gun and caliber.

[funk_drum]

This thread pretty much confirmed that I'm going to run all 9mm's and practice my a** off.

[Intel0116]

Funk Drum, The reasons for my Depts switch are as follows.. first, magazine capacity.. 17 (9mm) versus 12 (40cal) versus 8 (45ACP) in the mags.. Second, a 9mm is easier to shoot well. Officers qualification scores improved dramatically. Last, and one of the bigger reasons, is advancement in technology. The top performing 9mm rounds are performing as good as the best 40 cal rounds. There is also something to be said for everyone in a Dept shooting the same gun and caliber.

just out of curiosity what side arms where those ? because anything in 9mm that will hold 17 will hold 15 .40s&w all day long. And if were talking glocks, the 21 in 45acp holds 13, but even guns like the M&P hold 10.
Also the advancements in bullet technology apply to all calibers. not just the 9mm. From the research ive done, top shelf 9mm vs top shelf .40s&w is about 100 Ft. Lbs. difference, advantage .40s&w. Its interesting that they went 9mm from a penetration point of view, you'd think LEO's would want greater barrier penetration.
I cant argue with you about accuracy, everyone shoots a 9 better than a 40 or 45.

[John M]

Sidearms were Sigs, and now Glocks... Your statement regarding bullet technology applyng to all calibers is somewhat true. Read the studies done by the FBI,, the Federal HST 147 gr bullet equalled or performed better than all 40 caliber rounds. If your studies are more scentific than the FBI's, Kudos..

[John M]

I carried a 40 for years because we had to, and now I carry a 9mm becasue we have to.. I do however carry a 9mm off-duty becasue I choose to. I know what the round is capable of, and I have confidence in it.

[Intel0116]

Sidearms were Sigs, and now Glocks... Your statement regarding bullet technology applyng to all calibers is somewhat true. Read the studies done by the FBI,, the Federal HST 147 gr bullet equalled or performed better than all 40 caliber rounds. If your studies are more scentific than the FBI's, Kudos..

well if were talking about the 147 hst, I cant really argue with you there, its what I use in all my 9's, and it does equal 90% of the .40s&w loads on the market.
but in my .40's I use Winchester Ranger T-Series 165 grn, its hard to beat a .927 inch expansion vs the .664 in the 147 hst.

[John M]

The 165 gr bullet In 40 cal is the way to go.. Win T series is excellent ammo..

[ak_in_ca]

My department authorizes 9mm for carry. Ammo is either Federal 147 HST or Winchester Ranger T subsonic 147 gr.

[Wally2528]

" I spoke to a forensics friend who has investigated shootings (sworn and non-sworn) for 30 years. I asked him which round and he told me ".45 acp." Then he told me 147's in a 9mm."....

Just for my personal ballistics education, how does a forensics doctor know by conducting autopsies on dead bodies if the indivudal was shot with a 9mm, or 45 ACP, +p, or +p+, JHP or FMJ? I have shot only watermelons with Winchester Ranger 230 gr 45 ACP +P and Winchester Ranger 9mm 127 gr +P+ and could not find any difference even by measuring diameters and depths of all the shots fired on the warermelons.

[SoCalDep]

Just for my personal ballistics education, how does a forensics doctor know by conducting autopsies on dead bodies if the indivudal was shot with a 9mm, or 45 ACP, +p, or +p+, JHP or FMJ?

They don't. If they say they do...They are lying.

[Rockit]

Sacramento Sheriff just reverted back to 9mm late last year as well.

But allows personally owned 40 and 45's also.

[BluNorthern]

We were told my former dept. (LASD) they tested a lot of ammo and determined the Ranger Talon were the best and that is what they went with when we transitioned from our S&W revolvers to the Beretta 92f in late 1989.. It was only when the negative comments made the news about the "evil" Black Talons (I still have a few) that the dept. changed to the SXT Rangers.

I don't know what proof you have ptmn and I'm not trying to start an argument by any means, but as far as I know, LASD still uses the 147 grain and has done so since 1989.

SFShep, you should go to tacticalforums.com and read Dr. Gary Roberts' report on various ammo rounds and calibers. You will have to do a search, since it is probably in the archives by now. You do NOT want to use Hydra Shok ammo. It was considered outdated by Roberts years ago due to its lack of penetration in denim. The Federal HST ammo replaced it and it performs much better than the Hydrashok ammo

Hope this helps.

Thanks for this post...new to 9mm and been reading up on various opinions for the effectiveness of various rounds. It's been interesting. Some of the small amount of brands I've bought look like they're gonna be used for target practice instead of daily carry.

[retired]

Here is where DocGKR frequents these days, I believe. Good info regardless.

http://pistol-forum.com/showthread.php?t=4337

That is the same chart he posted on tactical forums.com and what I was referring to, so thanks as it precludes a search on his part.

I still use the same ammo in my ccw weapon that my former dept. uses. I am fortunately still able to purchase ammo at the range.

[meeestirg]

LAX PD uses Winchester Ranger 9mm +p+ 127gr. T-series RA9TA

[haodoken]

Officer's choice at time of issue/qualification.

Glock 17 using Winchester Ranger 9mm +P+ HP
Glock 21SF using Winchester Ranger .45 ACP HP
We even have Winchester Ranger .40 S&W HP for those who carry their own .40 guns.

Personally, I like my 21SF over the 17. Sure they have 17+1, I think my 13+1 will do the job nicely, especially with shot placement .