(PA) Local boys getting xd 45's.

[Steve in PA]

These guys are about 10 miles down the road from me.

Butler police officers get new guns Thursday, 08 February 2007 By ALAN GREGORY
Standard-Speaker
Butler Township’s police officers are carrying new service weapons.


The Springfield XD .45-caliber semi-automatic handguns replace aging Beretta 9 mm firearms, which increasingly were malfunctioning during officers’ periodic re-qualification weapons training.
“For the past six months, officers evaluated various weapons which were sent to the department by various gun manufacturers,” said Cpl. William Feissner.

“With the supervision of the department firearms instructors, officers test-fired the weapons to determine which they believed best fit the needs of the department,” he said.

Feissner said the Springfield guns were chosen, in part, for their size, capacity and caliber.

“We think this is the best weapon for our officers,” Sgt. Brian Sabatini said during a news conference Wednesday afternoon to announce the switchover.

The township’s supervisors appropriated the funds to purchase the new weapons, which cost about $600 each, Sabatini said.
“The 10 new guns replace the Berettas, which were purchased 12 years ago,” Feissner said.

“Because of the demanding nature of police work, the guns are exposed to a variety of temperature and weather extremes. During training exercises, officers found some of the old guns to develop malfunctions which sometimes occur [as a weapon ages],” Feissner noted.

Butler’s officers – nine full-time and one part-timer – fire their weapons on a training range twice a year, or double what the state requires. And the training includes a combat-type course involving running and shooting drills, Feissner said.

Three of Butler’s officers are certified firearms instructors and also teach “stress shooting” and how to make tactical decisions involving the use of deadly force.

Feissner said the Hazleton Police Department helped Butler choose the right ammunition.

Hazleton officers recently trained at the FBI’s academy in Quantico, Va., and volunteered to help Butler select the best ammunition, testing rounds under a variety of conditions and then providing the township with detailed results of the test firing.

The Butler supervisors also approved the purchase of new security holsters for the Springfield guns. The holsters secure weapons, making them impossible for defendants to grab in resisting arrest situations.
“These holsters are designed to securely hold the weapon and make it harder for an officer to be disarmed by a criminal,” Feissner said.

Sgt. David Pavelko, one of Butler’s longest serving officers, said he cannot remember a Butler officer ever having to fire a gun in the line of duty.

Police do, however, routinely fire their service weapons to euthanize deer injured in vehicle collisions.

Butler’s officers provide 24-hour coverage and patrol more than 36 square miles and 70-plus miles of roads.

[havoc1]

Kinda cool, but why do they cost $600 each? Doesn't SA have some sort of cop deal? Is that figuring in the cost of probably an extra mag or two and the holster?

[nhill0408]

Originally Posted by Steve in PA

fire their weapons on a training range twice a year, or double what the state requires.

Sigh......

[Krackels]

Wahoo!!

Yay, for the PA guys. Does this mean I see even more XD45s at the range?

[hacker15]

Congrats! Your township has the right idea!

[Krackels]

Yay for Luzerne county!

Come on Buck-Montco areas...

[slugger6]

Good move, Butler Township!

[Steve in PA]

Well the "double what the state requires" doesn't mean squat.

You can do everything in one day, two days......or six months apart.

I'm a firearms instructor for my dept and I do handgun (on and off-duty), patrol rifle, patrol shotgun, tactical & stress, etc strung out over a three day qual. Does that mean I did three times what the state requires.

Or, If I do handgun in the spring and shotgun/rifle in the fall, is that now double the standard.

The only "standard" in PA is that the handgun course must be at least 50 rounds and 10% of the rounds fired must be from thr 25yd line.

"A handgun course of fire must be considered a generally accepted police qualification course consisting of at least fifty (50) rounds of duty ammunition. A minimum of ten (10%) percent of the rounds must be fired at a distance of 25 yards or greater.

The course shall include stages to determine the applicant's or officers' overall proficiency; including, but not limited to marksmanship, safety, weapon operating procedures or tactical skills (i.e., use of cover, tactical reloading), with the weapon s/he will use in the performance of their duties. Requirements for distances of firing positions are: Stages no closer than one (1) yard and at least one stage of fire from the twenty-five (25) yard line or greater distance."

[BoomerBSG]

Originally Posted by Krackels

Wahoo!!

Yay, for the PA guys. Does this mean I see even more XD45s at the range?

no.. not really.

glad their getting some springfields though. and 45's to boot.
$600 seems a bit steep.. but who knows whats been done to them.
i wish springfield would be more competitive to get the cops some good deals on them. but i bet if they did..we'd eat the difference at the counter of our local gun shops when we buy em.

cheers

[Xenogy]

Cool story. So any news on what duty ammo they went with?