What were the mest popular law enforce. ‘ment handguns of the twentieth century? ‘The answer might surprise you THE COLT OFFICIAL POLICE = Sew Military &Police by PAUL SCARLATA puotos BY JAMES WALTER vant all ofyou readers under he JR ttc etree Sy farther want you seated be. cause dont want anyone geting dnty Sha alin dwn when ell you that There was ate when Aneican 1044, Canadian infantry officers in the Netherlands. They are wearing holstered No.2 Saw revolvers. (Courtesy of Clive Lav) 80 > GUN DIGEST® Two Boston PD officers wearing eatly bulletproof vests. They are armed with Colt O.P. revolvers. (Courtesy Boston PD Records Center & Archives) police officers DID NOT carry semi-auto Pistols! Yes, children, it's true. From the 1870s until the last decade and a half of the ‘twentieth century, the weapon in the holster of the vast majority of American ‘cops was a revolver. [know some of you are having trouble visualizing this con- cept, but that’s not the end of the story. Not only did the guardians of law and order carry revolvers, but the weapon in ‘question was usually a "plain Jane” blue steel revolver with a barrel of four to six inches, fitted with wooden grips and fixed sights ican hear the gasps of disbelief ‘emanating from the readership, stainless steel? No adjustable sights? No recoil absorbing, synthetic grips? How ‘could they possibly function with such primitive equipment?” Well, the answer to that question consists of two words: Damn well! ‘Those of us who are “experienced” shooters remember when the choice ‘of centerfire handguns available to the public was limited. In fact, until 1954 (Click Here to Order the Gun Digest BookBM there was only one (2) American-made, "became better trained, organized and The equlpment of a member of the Boston centerfire pistol capable of fring a armed, One of the first was the NYPD, Police Department, circa 1960. (Courtesy serious cartridge: the .5-caliber Colt whose new commissioner, Theodore Boston PD Records Center & Archives) MISLL. But even this well-respected icon Roosevelt, equipped all officers with a received little notice from the avera civilian shooter or police officer. To us = Americans, when the word “hanégun’ \was mentioned, the image that immedi- ately came to mind was the revolver During the latter half of the nineteenth century, most American police forces did not issue handguns. Officers were usually supplied with a truncheon and faset of handcuffs, and those desiring to carry firearms were required to buy their own, Standards, when they existed at all, were usually limited to what were acceptable calibers and size. Period. photos show these nineteenth-century constables wearing long coats and tall hhats but nary a holster in sight. This was because most urban agencies required that the handgun be carried out of sight hich was why small, .32-caliber, toy break designs predominated. The situation began to change in the 1890s as urban police departments : 64 EDITION, 2010 + 81