Again, an inordinate amount of those are sold to law enforcement and government agencies for their on and off-duty firearms.
It's far less costly for agencies to replace firearms instead of rebuilding them. No need to hire and outfit an armorer or incur legal liability from servicing the weapons. Additionally, these type of guns are not designed to be rebuilt as older firearms were. It's a $400 disposable tool to them. The days of being issued a .38 revolver, firing twelve rounds once a year on the range to remain certified, and then turning your gun in when retiring decades later are long gone.
Between new hires and training, most departments are ordering all new handguns less than every ten years. A quick calculation of departments and agencies all over the country shows just how many of these weapons regularly sold are for law enforcement, government agencies, and private security.
The 40 S&W for law enforcement and government agencies is another example of caliber and model changes that affect sales data. It was introduced in 1990, departments switched to it, and by 2015 departments were switching back to 9mm. During that time, many individuals bought personal handguns in 40 S&W following the trend and seeking ammunition that was lowered in price due to the increased implementation. Since the military adopted the Sig P320-M17 in 2017, many departments and agencies are also adopting them as they can get a good price.
You keep making the claim that more are sold to LE than to civilians with no support for it. It doesn’t even pass a basic logic test. The entire firearms market is driven by civilian purchasers. Also, LE is not buying guns every month in huge #’s. LE gun purchases are a small % of the overall gun sales.
A simple search shows that on average 1.4 million handguns per month are sold. Every month, 1.4 million. There is no way that is LE dominated. There is only 1.2 mm law enforcement officers in the entire country. That is Federal State and Local. There is no way they are capable of buying the majority of handguns. They are not getting new guns every month or even every year. Simple math shows that even at a new gun per year, LE would buy 1.2 million out of 13.2 million. Again 1.2 million LE handgun purchases per year is not happening.