Revolvers and NYPD Cops

There a pretty cool article in the New York Times (I know...there's a shocker!) on NYPD cops who choose to stick with their revolvers.

"The grips still echo the earliest revolvers, designed in the 19th century to feel like the handle of a plow in a man's hand. Lt. Eugene Whyte, 45, with 22 years on the job, remembers arriving at a meeting for the Republican National Convention this summer, and men in suits quickly calling him aside, agog at his snub-nosed sidearm. 'I had Secret Service guys asking me if they could see it," he said. "It was as if I was carrying a flintlock pistol.'"

The writer makes a good point that revolvers are pretty bullet-proof (so to speak) when it comes to malfunctions. To a large extent, I think we've come to a point where the idea of "increased firepower" in a handgun is a chimera. A handgun is a handgun; you want increased firepower, get a rifle (which, of course, most departments have already done). The function of the handgun is to get you to your rifle.

And BTW, I've often heard (and read) that quote as attributed to Clint Smith of Thunder Ranch fame. Not true. The first time I heard if was from Vietnam EOD vet Jimmy Quenemoen in Clearwater, FL, around 1980 or so. Jimmy, who always wore grey sweatshirts with the sleeves cut off and Ray Ban mirrored Aviators (fans of Robert Crais' mystery books, take note!), owned a gunstore in Clearwater — the only camo building in town —with his apartment above the store. We were sitting at his kitchen table drinking beer one day, and I remarked on his 1911 on the bedstand. "That's nothing," he said. "Ain't got but one purpose." He got up and open his closet door, about four steps from the bed, where an AR sat in a wall-mounted rack.

"The .45 only has to get me about 10 feet to the closet door," he said. "That's the purpose of a handgun — to get you to your rifle."

While I'm on the subject of misplaced quotes, I recently saw the quote, "The best place to carry a gun is in your hand!" also attributed to Mr. Smith in a recent article. A few years back, I used that quote in an article, attributed to the person who really said it, and the editor changed the attribution to Clint Smith without my input or approval.

"The best place to carry a gun is in your hand" came from the aforementioned Walt Rauch about 1981. The first time I heard him say it was, I believe, at the first Florida Invitational IPSC match, when I started pal'ing around with him, Tom Campbell, Dave Arnold, Jake Jatras and other malcontents with a rental Cadillac convertible.

Don't get me wrong — Clint Smith is a brilliant man and a fine instructor. I have had dinner at his table, and a good time was had by all. But I'm pretty sure he didn't write the entire New Testament.