LAPD switches to glock and defies physics!!!

[raz-0]

Or maybe it's jsut the article writer. but I'm not seeing how a lighter gun with the same or heftier ammo will recoil less. Or how polygonal rifling doesn't leave marks on bullets.

http://www.sacbee.com/state_wire/story/7303585p-8248133c.html

L.A. police to get slicker, lighter guns
The Associated Press
Last Updated 1:24 p.m. PDT Wednesday, August 27, 2003
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Police here will soon be able to carry a lighter and slicker weapon - the Glock pistol.

The Board of Police Commissioners on Tuesday approved the new weapons, which are already used in some specialized divisions.

"Quite frankly, it's just a much better weapon," than the standard-issue Beretta 9 mm, said Chief William Bratton during a hearing before the five-member civilian panel that oversees department policy.

About 70 percent of U.S. law enforcement agencies use Glocks, including the FBI and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.

Bratton, who headed the New York Police Department when it switched to Glocks in the 1990s, said the Beretta gun gave him blisters during his academy training in Los Angeles.

The $500 Glock has less recoil than guns currently used by officers. It also has a larger magazine capacity, a simpler construction and a more ergonomic design that allows officers with small hands to easily grip the gun, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.

The guns can take 9 mm, .40 caliber and .45 caliber ammunition.

The pistols are easier to use, but it's more difficult to trace the bullets fired from Glocks than other guns. Some departments have used a modified barrel in an effort to mark the bullets, but LAPD officials say that system is still untested.

 

[cool45auto]

"Quite frankly, it's just a much better weapon," than the standard-issue Beretta 9 mm,

 

[SelfProclaimedExpert]

Since recoil is largely perception, many people feel that the flexible Glock frame distributes the total recoil pulse of a longer period, seemingly decreasing it for the shooter.

So, for many people, he's right.

 

[Hoop]

Isn't the lesser recoil due to the lower bore axis of the Glock?

 

[WonderNine]

Glock: "The new pistol of the coming police state."

 

[SelfProclaimedExpert]

Lower bore axis decreases muzzle flip, which is related, but different than recoil.

 

[Archie]

I really like the part where

"The guns can take 9 mm, .40 caliber and .45 caliber ammunition."

Can I just sort of mix them all in the magazine? Will it sort it out if I put it in backwards, too?

 

[jercamp45]

Haha!

Well, i think I'd rather carry a Glock(larger caliber please) than a beretta! It is abit easier to conceal off duty! And maybe they'll authorized the Baby's for back up/off duty?
I liked that it will take 9, 40 and .45 calber bullets...why that is a VERY versatile pistol!!
Ya, I know...different models......but it did not sound that way!
Bullets harder to trace? Less recoil? Well.......
70% of law enforcement? I know it is ALOT!! Kinda the M10 M&P of semi autos. Hopefully they let 40's and 45's in the door!!!!!
G21 on duty, G30 Off, G36 for deep cover? Ohhhhhh!!
Tactical Tupperware Strikes Again!
Jercamp45

 

[clubsoda22]

dunno, the last person i pulled a 9mm from i knew it was a glock due to the polygonal rifling.

 

[SelfProclaimedExpert]

Clubsoda,

The point they were trying to get across was WHICH G19 the bullet came from. That is apparently a bit of a ballistic challenge.

 

[Nightcrawler]

more ergonomic design that allows officers with small hands to easily grip the gun,

BWHAHAHAHAHA....that's good for a giggle...

 

[SelfProclaimedExpert]

NC,

Have you actually held a G17 and a Beretta 92? The Glock isn't dainty, but it's smaller and has a shorter trigger reach than the 92 by far.

 

[10-Ring]

The guns can take 9 mm, .40 caliber and .45 caliber ammunition.

I want one! Which one is it?

 

[bountyhunter]

This is America and people have a constitutional right to have their heads up their rears........

 

[bountyhunter]

The guns can take 9 mm, .40 caliber and .45 caliber ammunition.

But it takes a real man to get that .45 round to chamber up in the 9mm barrel.

 

[Nightcrawler]

Have you actually held a G17 and a Beretta 92? The Glock isn't dainty, but it's smaller and has a shorter trigger reach than the 92 by far.

I've held both. The Glock does have a shorter trigger reach, but then, the Beretta isn't designed for square hands. The Glock, to my hand, is one of the least ergonomic pistols out there.

 

[Target Shooter]

I'm no expert but what the writer was refering to was Several models that have been approved for use. IE: 19, 22, And 21

But it takes a real man to get that .45 round to chamber up in the 9mm barrel.

 

[SnWnMe]

"The guns can take 9 mm, .40 caliber and .45 caliber ammunition."

These LAPD Glocks will drive gun writers who thrive on the 9v40v45 debate to the unemployment line! Now you can have ALL three! Imagine the possibilities: You carry the 45 clips off duty because your dept load is 40. For cheap practice you switch to 9s. Not to mention: You carry AP +P+ 9s for shooting at vehicles, tracer 40s for night engagements and JHP 45s for regular use... all on the same duty belt!

"but it's more difficult to trace the bullets fired from Glocks than other guns. Some departments have used a modified barrel in an effort to mark the bullets, but LAPD officials say that system is still untested."

More misinformation drivel shoveled to non shooters.

This reminds me of the Glock specs recited by Bruce Willis in DH2.

 

[Andrew Wyatt]

where are all these clip fed handguns coming from? do they go *PLING* ?

 

[1911Tuner]

Less Recoil

The lessened recoil is real, and it's due to the polygonal barrel, or
more correctly, due to the absence of cut rifling. I first noticed this
after firing an H&K 91 rifle back to back with its selective-fire
twin, the G-3, with the same ammunition lot. The G-3, with its
polygonal bore kicked noticeably less, and taking the experiment
a step further, there was less torquing when the rifle was fired
loosely held, off shoulder. Chronograph results showed higher
velocities in the G-3 also, but couldn't be taken as representative
due to the fact that rarely do two rifles produce the same velocities
even if they are identical. The difference was great enough to
be able to state that the polygonal bore would likely produce
higher velocities than a conventionally rifled bore with all else
theoretically equal.

Now...I wonder how the PD is altering the bores to produce a
ballistic fingerprint...

Cheers!
Tuner

 

[Morgan]

dunno, the last person i pulled a 9mm from i knew it was a glock due to the polygonal rifling...

Or it could have been an HK or Kahr...

 

[Lofland]

The Beretta gave him blisters during training? What's up with that? That certainly doesn't happen with most Beretta users. It would be nice if this switch led to a glut of LAPD police trade-in Berettas coming on the market, but I don't know if LA will allow that.

 

[Lofland]

Also, the article doesn't mention if they had any comparison test with the Beretta 92 Vertec, which was designed specifically to accomodate smaller hands. For normal-to-large size hands, I find the rounder, larger grip of the standard 92 FS much more comfortable than the Glock grip.

 

[berettaman]

("Quite frankly, it's just a much better weapon," than the standard-issue Beretta 9 mm, said Chief William Bratton during a hearing before the five-member civilian panel that oversees department policy.)

I thought they used the 40 S&W M96?

 

[Quartus]

The lessened recoil is real,

The lessened recoil is perceived. Physics is physics. Less weight to absorb the energy, more energy WILL be absorbed by the shooter*. But ergonomics and other factors can change the DURATION of the recoil impulse, and therefore change the PERCEPTION of recoil.

And that counts for a lot.



*Leaving muzzle brakes out of it for the moment, since most police sidearms do not have them.