Useful pistol life?

fxk said:

Odd question:

On average, in service use, by say state or county police, how long would a modern issue pistol be serviceable?

I see occasionally some department or the other is replacing their pistols wholesale.

Why would a department change out the entire force at once?
Are they changed out because they're worn out?
Because they've become unreliable?
Caliber change? (I'd guess that may be a prime factor)
Safer?
More reliable?

I know in trucks and cars, fleet maintenance is very different than individual ownership.
How different is managing the maintenance and replacement programs in an arsenal?

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danb said:

Reality is that I have some old police trade ins older than most people here that shoot great. Parts wear, but they can be replaced. Police trade ins are in fact a fantastic value. They are maybe shot a few times a year to qualify, and might show some holster wear.

Why change? Often it's because the government spends your tax dollars on the new hotness, because it can.

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zoostation said:

Police departments change out usually not because pistols are worn out, but just because it is cheaper to trade and get new than keep maintaining what they have.

From my experience a police handgun will get at most around 3,000 rounds when new if issued to an academy recruit (maybe a tenth of that if to a street officer), then around 100 rounds annually at requalification. Most cops do not shoot on their own time, in fact many departments prohibit shooting a departmental weapon at any range but their own, and you don't get to just go do that when you want despite Hollywood says . So after 7-10 years the gun is going to be way under its useable service life of 10,000+ rounds before major parts may need replacement.

However, then you add up the costs to start maintaining those guns after around 7 years with replacement night sights, recoil and mag springs, other replacement parts, and armorer time. With the math it just becomes cheaper and more efficient to trade in what you have for new.

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cstone said:

Ever bought a vehicle from a government surplus auction? Most government equipment falls somewhere on the bell curve with a few being worn out and a few being un-issued and like new. The vast majority is somewhere in between. Some need lots of internal springs and parts replaced and others will be fine for years of moderate use without needing anything more than better cleaning than they were getting by the personnel they were issued to.

I think most government surplus, including guns, are a great deal, but like everything, you get a better deal when you know what you are looking for and can spot the difference between a vehicle with 10,000 miles and low engine wear and a vehicle with 10,000 miles that has been parked and idling for 8 to 10 hours everyday for three years.

One of the things that Glock really seemed to do well back in the 1980s when they were pushing S&W and Colt out of the LE market was selling whole life plans with their guns. Glock not only sold a good, service weapon at a very competitive price, but the included training for armorers, replacement parts and replacement weapons over the set time frame of the contract. Other manufacturers eventually learned to emulate these types of contract features but Glock really seemed to pave the way. Another interesting thing that Glock was very clever about is they established a buy back from departments where they would take back all of their older generation pistols and replace them with newer generation pistols giving credit for the trade-ins toward the new firearms. Glock then offset the cost by selling the trade ins to the public at costs no one could really compete with. It turned the plastic pistol into the market's leading handgun. Just looking at the bottom line as many departments will, Glock buy back upgrades were an easy choice.

I have turned in four SIG issued pistols over my career. Three of them because the night sights were becoming dim. Our armorers don't normally change night sights. They send the handgun back to SIG and SIG sends us a new pistol for a nominal replacement cost. SIG sells the old pistol as a trade-in. For the cost of a set of night sights, the trade-ins cost far less than a brand new, non-LE issued handgun. Everyone seems to be getting a good deal.

Just like anything, at some point it is cheaper to upgrade than continue to repair. This is the modern manufacturing world we live in.

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fxk said:

Thanks. That does reflect the departmental weapon life-cycle answer I was looking for. I did find odd, from your statement, that most departments prohibit firing a departmental at any range but their own. What I found even more odd that one can't just "drop in" to the departmental range to hone skills. I suspect that may be partially governed by Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) that mandates payment for training - under which practice at the departmental range would fall. Budget considerations would restrict both time and ammunition costs - as well as additional range maintenance. (just a hypothesis)

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zoostation said:

From my experience most departments want a range officer on site whenever someone is firing. Those are usually training academy staff who have numerous other duties and cannot take range participants on a walk-in basis. Plus any department with a range will frequently have it booked up for formal training by either their own or nearby agencies. So extra time on the range usually has to be scheduled, if it can be had at all.

The Hollywood image of the indoor range in the police station where people can just go to hone their skills when they want, is something I have never seen anywhere. And it's going to become more rare as OSHA lead and HVAC regulations make range construction more particular. I do know there is still at least one city police district where they do have a range downstairs, but an not sure what their policies are about officers using it.

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