Pistol Mounts

I think I was in 30s when I started. Pistol, double mag pouch, handcuff case, flashlight ring. Spiderco clipped to my pocket. That was it. There was no such thing as a Taser or Asp baton. No need for a baton at all anyway since I was a night shift guy and had an SL-20. Even after I promoted to Sgt. and went to evenings I still carried the flashlight and no baton. I was still on nights when pepper spray came out. We all started carrying it until they decided that we had to be sprayed with it to carry it. Hell, by then all of us had been hit with over spray multiple times so we said no thanks, we'll just go back to hitting them in the head with our flashlights. They changed their minds and we got grandfathered in. Funny thing is, we never had to be shot with our duty pistols to carry them. Stupidest thing I ever heard of.

 

Some rite of passage BS. I will never forget in the academy we had to do the gas house. OC/CS mess. Our instructor was a sadistic SOB. We get in there with our masks on, he tells us to remove them and then starts asking each of us a question. He gets to me and asked me who the president was during the Revolutionary War. Since there wasn't a president, I figured it was a trick and didn't answer. After what felt like an hour, he said just say George Washington. I thought he was going to smoke us once we got out, but he didn't.

But, I became pretty immune to OC after a while. Other officers would be coughing and snotting everywhere and I'm just like whatever.

 

I have used the double cuff holder. It’s SUPER uncomfortable. It’s center of my back. Double works better. I literally have no other place to put things other than my back. It sucks. We are required to have a lot of things we don’t use.

 

Kinda funny when I see these tiny women cops on TV. Looks like their belts and gear weigh more than they do!

 

Duty to inform in SC as well, which is good IMO, but some might not think so. My 4Runner doesn't speed to well. Heck, last time I was given a ticket was decades ago. lol.

 

One of the girls I know weights 110. I think our belt with radio is just under 30 lol

 

Handcuff strap, baby!

It's kind of an east coast thing, no one had ever seen one when I started working in CA. By the time I left half the guys were carrying them. Only takes an inch of real estate, super fast to access, and you can conveniently hang other things off it - like ear muffs at the range, or a digital camera on a crash scene, etc. Pops right off if you want to lighten the belt for court or whatever. Oh and it's $10. (edit, okay now they are $15, lame). You can run hinged, oversize, leg irons, flex cuffs in a riot, etc. No fitting issues.

https://www.copsplus.com/safariland-handcuff-strap-with-single-snap-model-690


I see some guys use a belt keeper to hang cuffs off of also, but I prefer an actual item designed for the application.

... and apparently I don't have a pic of my duty belt... but it is generally placed just ahead of your handgun and accessed with your strong side hand.

Bosco here is wearing it on what I consider to be the wrong side but you get the idea...

 

The problem with hanging things off your belt is you start to sound like a gypsy camp when you move around.

Mass State Police have them... most of the locals I know in Western MA prefer actual enclosed holders.

 

lol, the girl I mentioned that is 110lbs runs them for that exact reason….and she is from the east coast! She was a cop in Virginia for a bit.

my only concern is how easy the cuffs are to get. During a scenario, one of our other officers who is a really good fighter was able to get them off of her and she didn’t even know. She went to cuff him at the end only to find out that he had thrown them.

i may just run them. They are starting to run them more here because they are REALLY convenient for space.

we do the belt keepers here to hold an extra set of cuffs in case we get someone else’s when we transport

 

Yeah you jingle when you walk like the Ghost of Christmas past but you learn pretty quick to keep a hand on them when you want to be quiet. Plus sometimes you want the mother fuckers to know you're coming... The equivalent of running the siren right to the scene..."begone, fucks!!!".

The Safariland one I linked is secure, it's a one way snap. The one in the image (I believe is a Boston Leather is not). I never had any problems.

 

This turned into a cop sausage fest

 

I don’t know… sounds an awful lot like “if I’ll need my vest/baton/rifle/etc, I’ll grab it before I exit the cruiser.” I’d rather not have to “thug walk” with a hand on my waistband just to achieve baseline.

This is my preferred holder right up front. Doubles as a keeper, holds cuffs securely, and you can grab the cuff easy with either hand.

 

Wanna try and measure up, you can find info to get in an academy

 

I use similar on my back. Two, centered either side of middle. I run hinge on my right side and regular cuffs on my left.

 

don’t be mad because you couldn’t pass the firefighter entrance exam

 

hahahaahhaahahaha!!! You are not wrong!! Please tell me you are a firefighter!! You guys are absolute amazing!! We banter back and forth all the time at scenes! Fantastic guys. Better mustaches than I can grow.

edit: you owe me a beer either way! I just spit my all over my phone

 

You could give the left-side cross draw holster I posted about a try. Doesn't point at your femoral or your other stuff. Seat belt does not interfere either. I practiced on occasion, when ammo was cheaper, Paul Castle's center axis relock methods or at least my interpretation. Heck, my weapon is already pointing toward the driver door anyway.

 

I held a volunteer position with my city for a long time, attached to the local FD. Occasionally we'd have PD and FD together in more casual settings and it was always entertaining to see the respectful banter between them, like the firemen referring to the police as second responders.

Thanks to those of you who serve in either capacity - much appreciated.

 

let me know how it works. I’m right handed, VERY much left eye dominant, so I just learned to shoot left handed with my AR and both hand guns

 

I take your points, but respectfully it's not the same thing to have to drop a hand to your duty belt versus running back to the car to get a piece of equipment you deliberately left behind. I would also add if you run hinged cuffs, there is practically no noise at all. The noise generally comes from the chain cuffs slapping against each other. I do run a handcuff case like what you pictured as my second cuff case, and I do like that Safariland open top style very much. In fact all my duty gear with the exception of my holster and X26 is open top with no retention.

 

I’m not into guns but reading this thread is interesting. I had no idea that so many people are carrying guns. Although in my state I’m probably one of the few people who are not armed.

Anyway, I remember a movie years ago, sorry I don’t remember the title. The “good guy” got pulled out of his car and the bad guy proceeded to beat him up. After several minutes of getting beat up, the good guy crawled under his car in an attempt to get away. The bad guy grabbed his feet and dragged him back out. But to the bad guys surprise the good guy had stashed a pistol in a plastic bag under his car, presumably mounted to the frame somehow. He shot the bad guy.

I actually thought that was pretty clever, mounting a gun to the frame of his car.

I’m not interested in doing it but I imagine it would be pretty easy to make a gun mount on the inside of the frame on a 4Runner. Plenty of space and spare unused threaded holes in frame. Just need a way to environmentally protect the firearm.

 

Aah, interesting scenario, however, the idea in my mind is to not end up under my vehicle in retreat. I think that is unlikely. The threat, one way or the other, would be resolved before then. Bang!... one way or the other.
Just thinkin' realistically.

 

I was told to always carry, or never carry. No in between. I always carry just in case. My goal is to never have to pull it. Better to be a good witness than someone who opens fire

 

YOU are a practical thinker, and no doubt a good example of a LEO to be looked up to!

 

I had great teachers. I can’t take the credit for that one

 

As messed up as the world is today, I can’t blame you guys for carrying. Since I don’t, I’m gonna have to rely on the capabilities of my runner to try and escape danger.

 

Plan A would be to simply drive away, right?

 

Good luck...I truly mean that, however, I would consider carrying.

 

Thanks, I’ve considered it. I’m not a LEO or ex-military, but I have experience with rifles, shotguns and handguns.

Actually one of my biggest concerns is the possible legal ramifications from carrying and/or using a gun. A felony conviction would certainly end my career and I’m at an age where starting from ground zero is not an option. My life insurance policy would provide for my family much better than if I was wearing an orange jumpsuit in jail while an attorney is slowly draining our life saving. But I do acknowledge your advice. A few of my friends carry.

 

Yes 100%, driving, or rather leaving the situation before it goes bad is always plan A and your other post about life ramifications is true as well. Depending on where you live and a whole host of other factors it might cost you north of 100K to defend yourself in a criminal trial...EVEN if you do everything right and were defending yourself.