Poll Question

Just curious to see what the most selected back-up weapon is. Select your top two.

Information regarding my personal arsenal is classified.

The role of a handgun is to fight your way to the rifle you should never have put down in the first place.

Holister wrote:I clever operative never needs to have to resort to shootin' in the first place. Its only reserved as a last resort. If you need a rifle, you are either huntin' or your snipin'. In either case a handgun ain't gonna come into play.

This is false. Long arms are for more than sniping. And any opretive can be caught in a situation where the use of firearms is required. The point being made is that a handgun is generally a backup weapon and can come into play when the long arm is out of ammo, out of reach or in close quarters where the barrel of the long arm can be an issue.

Everything I said is true.

Law officers are something of an anomoly due to their circumstances. First and foremost, the pistol is issued for the purpose of self-defense only. It is not issued to be used as part of an assault. Furthermore, law officers must be extremely concerned at all times about collateral damage.

Nevertheless, when law officers do conduct an assault, they will still have their pistols but only as a backup weapon. Their primary weapon will be a long arm or an MP5.

Having that shotgun in a patrol vehicle allows a law officer a chance to use their pistol to fight to the better weapon.

Pistols are not a primary weapon. They're a back up weapon used for self-defense.

Again,

Law officers are issued pistols for the purpose of self-defense only.

Beat cops and the like are not engaged in assaults but are issued a pistol just in case.

Most will use it maybe once in their entire career. Many never use it.

Don't confuse a weapon used for self-defense with something that is a good primary weapon.

*EDIT*

Actually, I see the problem here. You're confusing the weapon you carry most often with your primary weapon.

I will then present a dramatic comparison to illustrate the point.

In Kandahar airfield, military members are required to carry a weapon at all times, even while on base. Just in case.

Many of those issued pistols will carry those as they are lighter and more convienent. But it is not their primary weapon. They'll still have it when the leave they wire but it won't be the one they respond with. And if the 'just in case' scenerio ever occurs, they will use their pistol to fight their way to their real primary weapon.

A police sidearm is just that, a sidearm. It is for defense and just in case. But it is not a primary weapon. Just because it is the one most often carried and the big guns are stored elsewhere doesn't change the fact.

I suppose it is our definitions in which we differ. To me, a pistol is a sidearm and used for self-defense only, even when it is the weapon carried most often. A primary weapon is the weapon I want to have in my hands when the shooting starts.

When I was a soldier, I rarely carried a pistol and I don't think I ever used it.

When I was involved in law enforcement, I carried and used a pistol far more often then I did a longarm. But I never considered it a primary weapon. It was for self-defense.

Perhaps the fact that I was a soldier before I was officially involved in law-enforcement has something to do with it.

I think it's just the swagger that's making them nervous.

Feh. Don't flatter yourself.

Although, I suppose someone should.

I was just saying you're funny looking.

Which is of course a joke since I have no idea what you look like.

But Ron assures me you're butt ugly.

I carry a small hatchet whenever I can. There was a time when I was younger that I worked as a firefighter. I became quite good with axes.