Patrol Rifle Selection Standards & Stag Arms
Are there measurable standards for law enforcement equipment? Yes. Unfortunately, beyond body armor, their existence is not well known. Some exist only in draft form and are released for comment. One of those is the [...]
First Look – Beretta’s Defensive 20-gauge
Ok, this shotgun is probably going to see much greater use by lawfully armed citizens than by uniformed law enforcement. Those lawfully armed citizens read AmericanCop, too. I say "probably" because I once wrote a [...]
Good Gun, Good Ammo – S&W’s 632 UC Ti
We are about a year and a half into the S&W UC revolvers that Lipsey’s brought to market after significant collaboration with competent end users. My original article on the gun can be found HERE. [...]
Testing Duty Pistols?
The subject of testing handguns for adoption by agencies came up recently. Testing. The vast majority of the 18,000 agencies in this country lack both the capability and the resources to conduct actual testing. Are [...]
Two Days at SHOT Show 2026
While a few attendees might still be stuck in Las Vegas because of Winter Storm Fern, SHOT Show 2026 is done and in the books. Last week’s article HERE looked at things that caught my [...]
Good Gun, Good Ammo – S&W’s 632 UC Ti
We are about a year and a half into the S&W UC revolvers that Lipsey’s brought to market after significant collaboration with competent end users. My original article on the gun can be found HERE. [...]
You’re Right, Tapping Is Dumb
Smash it instead. Last year, I heard Kelly McCann on a podcast. He said that something that has stuck with me – "We are prisoners of our experiences, but, at least, we have them." [...]
Olight’s Rechargeable O-Sight
Normally, the focus of gear-related articles here is whether they are geared for duty use. I try to look at gear in that light – especially thinking back to when I started in the profession. [...]
You Don’t Know What You Don’t Know: Pressburg’s No Fail Rifle
Most of us have been through some patrol rifle course (or courses). Such classes run two or three days and cover a variety of topics from the fundamentals of rifle marksmanship to rifle maintenance. There [...]
Tripods – The Support You Need
When the word “tripod” entered my mind, it seemed to be in only one or two contexts. Someone needed to take a stable photo. Or something belt-fed and fully automatic had come into play. As [...]
Math On The Range
Fun and math are two words that rarely intersect in my world. However, you need to step out of your comfort zone and try something different. PRS Before I retired, one of my guys frequently [...]
Alternative Calibers For Police Rifle Training
For most users, the AR-15 pattern rifle in 5.56mm is the “go-to” answer for those needing a patrol rifle. However, there are times, particularly for training, when AR pattern rifles in alternate calibers warrant consideration. [...]
Two Days at SHOT Show 2026
While a few attendees might still be stuck in Las Vegas because of Winter Storm Fern, SHOT Show 2026 is done and in the books. Last week’s article HERE looked at things that caught my [...]
ThunderStick Summit’s Q&A Session
The last weekend of September saw the fourth ThunderStick Summit out at the Staccato Vegas facility in Pahrump, NV. Thunderstick is a yearly three-day event focusing on the defensive use of shotguns. Four years ago, [...]
The Imperium – One Forearm To Rule Them All?
Coming of age for me with shotguns meant gaining a solid understanding of a pump-action shotgun. Doing that as a road deputy in the early '90s meant that it was going to be a stock [...]
Sinister Manipulations – SemiAuto Shotguns
This is the second part of a series on left-handed manipulations of various firearms. Previously, I covered semi-automatic pistols; this article will look at semi-automatic shotguns. While there are some left-handed shotgun designs (I [...]