Smith & Wesson Receives Order from Colorado State Patrol

CNN Money.com ^ | 1/28/08 | n/a

[kiriath_jearim]

Smith & Wesson Holding Corporation , parent company of Smith & Wesson Corp., the legendary 156-year old company in the global business of safety, security, protection and sport, announced today that it has received an order from the Colorado State Patrol for 850 of the company's Military & Police (M&P) Series of advanced-design polymer pistols. The Smith & Wesson M&P40, chambered in .40 S&W, will be issued to each officer of the Colorado State Patrol to replace early-model Smith & Wesson pistols that have served as the primary duty firearms for the department.

[archy]

My only comment on those who stovepipe a Glock is they have limp wrists.

A lot of those Indiana State Troopers musta had limp wrists, particularly those from the Firearms Training Detail at the ISP Academy, and those on the ISP ERT [SWAT]Team, who were issued two Glocks, one with a mounted light and one without.

Interestingly, once they switched to 9mm Glock 17s, the stovepiping ceased. I had the happy opportunity to trade fora .40 Glock from the same batrch from a county deputy en route to the Academy, who wanted a gun that worked. The only feeding problems he had during the 1170 rounds he fired was when dummies were included in his magazine for *clearing stoppage* drills.

I put around 300 rounds through his G22 and had no problems, but at that point went to a .357 SIG barrel, and still haven't. I don't shoot it a whole lot, mostly it's along for someone who has heard about .357 SIG and wants to try it. He'll want it back someday.

[archy]

Apropos of nothing in particular, why is everyone jumping all over 9mm Parabellum when an American chambering, .38 Super, was an IPSC fave for years, performs about the same as 9mm or a little better (closer to .40 S&W), and "should" be suitable for your wife and you both?

I'm no expert, I'm just asking. And yes, I understand Glock doesn't offer the .38 Super chambering.

.38 Super is semi-rimmed as offered by some manufacturers, offering better odds of an eventual hangup at some point, depending on magazine configuration. Too, .38 Super as designed headspaced on the case rim rather than the case mouth, resulting in indifferent accuracy until *improved* loadings that headspaced on the mouth in target chambered barrels improved the picture.

Part of the attraction of the .38 Super was its ability to make the *major* power factor [impact on a precalibrated metal target] during IPSC competition, still usable in the preferred M1911 action, and offering more rounds per magazine in the Para-Ordnance widebody M1911s.

Through the 1960s and '70s, Colt M1911s in .38 Super were popular among some Secret Service personnel [particluarly after the shorter Commander versions were offered] until the hot 110-grain JHP loads for the alternate .357 revolvers came out. But a few old dinosaurs with that agency- my uncle among them- stuck with the .38 Super, and there were even some Secret Service SIGs issued in the .38 Super chambering...along with reminders to carefully inspect them for cracks in their aluminum frames after prolonged practice firings.