By Sam Hoober,
Alien Gear’s Sam Hoober describes why getting a police handgun trade-in or used law enforcement pistols can get you a decent gun for the money & what to avoid.
A police trade-in gun can be a way to get your hands on a serious handgun for not a whole lot in terms of cash expenditure – depending on whom you buy it from – and put a gun in the safe or in the home for defense, or in a gun holster for daily carry.
However, there is a certain amount of due diligence, a certain number of things to know, and things to look for before plunking down the cash on a police trade-in.
Police Handgun Trade-Ins – Just Like Any Other Used Gun
There really isn’t anything about a police trade-in that’s any different from buying any other used gun. A gun isn’t nearly as complicated as, say, a police cruiser (stick to highway patrol cars; highway miles and fewer hours idling) so really, a used law enforcement gun is a used gun. Basically, you want to look for the same things.
Inspect the frame. Look for any cracks (most police these days have some sort of poly striker gun) in the frame, especially anywhere near the firing mechanism itself. Likewise, inspect the frame and see if there’s any obvious damage. Also, check for any rust, especially anywhere in or around the firing mechanism and/or the barrel.
Have a look at the magazines. Does the spring seem worn? Are there any cracks in the magazine follower, the magazine itself, or the floorplate? Is there any rust visible? Granted, you may want to replace the magazines anyway – more on that later.
Pay attention to how the slide cycles. Does it offer sufficient resistance, and does it return to battery as it should? Granted, this is actually the least of your worries; recoil springs are easily replaced and, as it happens, exceedingly cheap.
What To Expect From A Â Police Handgun Trade-Ins
First, expect that most of the models are going to be familiar enough, as there are only a few common service pistols. Common service pistols in police service include the Glock 17, Glock 22 (.40 S&W), Beretta 92, Sig Sauer P226, Smith and Wesson M&P9, and M&P40. You’ll also get the odd S&W DA/SA pistol like the 5906 and so on, but these are getting rarer and rarer. The odd Ruger GP-100 or S&W Model 19 might be around as well.
Cosmetic damage is all but assured. Holster wear is going to be evident, and expect some nicks, scrapes, and scratches in the finish. These guns are carried for hours, bump into things and so on. So if you’re expecting a showroom finish…it’s just not going to happen. You may need to do a bit of cleaning and lubricating, but it will be a working gun.
Live Inventory Price Checker
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Glock Pistol Used G22 .40 S&W Gen4 15rd 4.49" - PG22502 | Palmetto State Armory | $ 599.99 $ 319.99 |
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Beretta Model 84 BB 3.8" 13rd .380ACP Pistol, LE Trade In Very Good Condition | Palmetto State Armory | $ 599.99 $ 299.99 |
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Beretta Model 84 BB .380ACP 3.8" 13rd 3.8" Pistol, LE Trade In, Used Surplus Condition - A5636000000000 | Palmetto State Armory | $ 599.99 $ 349.99 |
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Beretta LE Trade In 92 SB 9mm 4.92" 15rd Pistol, Black - 92 SB | Palmetto State Armory | $ 599.99 $ 399.99 |
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What about hours on the clock? How much shooting will have been done with these pistols? Actually, not much. Police rarely use their pistols in the line of duty (few officers will be involved in more than a few shootings in their careers, though there are certainly exceptions), and a lot of them actually do less shooting than a good number of civilian carriers.
A police pistol will often enough only go through a few boxes of ammo per month. Some are only fired a few times per year for qualification shoots. It really comes down to the officer who had the gun previously.
What you don’t know, of course, is how fastidiously it was maintained by the armory. It may have been stored with the action locked back and magazine(s) fully loaded at almost all times. As a result, you may consider replacing the recoil spring and the magazine springs(if not the magazines) as a matter of course.
One thing to look at, however, is the trigger. A number of departments only issue DAO pistols, which have a tougher trigger than you like. Granted, this can often be cured with a trigger spring kit, which – again – are cheap.
So, overall, you can actually get a lot of gun for the money. Usually, you’ll get a magazine or two, and night sights are incredibly common. You may also get an accessory light in the bargain, which isn’t unheard of. Police trade-ins routinely go for less than $400, which is not a bad deal in the least. At most, you may want to throw in a few springs…but those are cheap, and you get a solid handgun in the bargain.
As one final bonus, finding a concealed carry holster shouldn’t be a problem for all police handgun trade-ins.
About Sam Hoober
Sam Hoober is a contributing editor at Alien Gear Holsters, as well as for Bigfoot Gun Belts. He also writes weekly columns for Daily Caller and USA Carry.
Snapped up a S&W M&P 9 with three mags and the three backstraps in original case with 4yr old night sights
from Buds.
Liked it so much I grabbed the .40 S&W and then I just had to have the .45 to make the set complete!
All three appear to have been hardly used, perhaps they were issued but officers carried another firearm.
Keep looking for these great trade ins, except in Hawaii where they destroy them instead of trading the guns in.
Our dept required us to qualify monthly and encouraged us to shoot the course twice whenever possible. Some departments are quarterly and departments whose managers are really stupid require ONCE A YEAR. A few of my fellow LEO did not qualify on the first try each month but very few. We even had a few that did not care or even attempt to improve. These were idiots who were not respected by others. Whenever you as a worker have a tool that you use to save your life or anyone else’s common sense tells you to know it, rely on… Read more »
A used gun is a used gun is a used gun – regardless of where it came from. The author’s basic premise to inspect and/or replace any worn parts is the key. Much like his ‘hint’ about buying a used car (especially a highway patrol cruiser vice a city squad) – a thorough inspection will most likely prevent buyers remorse.
I bought a Ruger P95 police trade in years ago. The cop who carried it shot it a lot but never cleaned it. The powder residue in the stainless slide was so thick I had to dig it out with a screw driver. Otherwise, once it was thoroughly cleaned, lubed and reassembled, it worked great. A testament to the durability of the Ruger.
I have bought 4 of these, three Glock 23’s and a Glock 22. One of the 23’s was like new, and you could barely tell it was used at all. All the others were in very good condition with some wear from the holster. All four shoot well and they all hit their targets at 25 yards. I also purchased 10 or 12 extra magazines, all trade-ins as well. No issues with any of them, and as before a few of them appeared to be practically new and only a little over ten bucks a piece. Overall I have been… Read more »
Why in the world do cops need new guns so often? Most cops have not mastered the use of the old guns and will not master the use of the new guns. Waste of money. Train them if possible.