Pistol and Revolver Shooting

by A. L. A. Himmelwright

CHAPTER IX

REVOLVER PRACTICE FOR THE POLICE

The revolver is a part of the regular equipment of the police force of nearly every city in this country. Unfortunately the general lack of any regulations for the care of and the practice with these arms largely nullifies their usefulness. Even in the large cities, members of the police force frequently admit that they have not used or cleaned their arms for six months or more. An inspection of the arms under such conditions not infrequently reveals the fact that center-fire arms are loaded with rim-fire ammunition, and vice-versa. The mechanism is often so badly rusted that the cylinder will not revolve and the barrel so corroded as to seriously impair its accuracy. When occasion requires the use of the arms under such conditions, accidents almost invariably result, either to the policemen who attempt to fire the arms, or to the innocent bystanders and property.

The records of every large municipality show that large sums are annually disbursed in litigation and to individuals who have suffered either personal wounds or property damage from accidents of this character.

By adopting suitable arms, and regulations governing practice shooting with them, it is entirely practicable and comparatively easy to train a large police force to become good marksmen. The possibility of accidents is thus reduced to a minimum and the efficiency of the men increased to a maximum. The moral effect of a high order of marksmanship of an entire police force, when generally known, cannot be overestimated. Practice and skill in the use of the revolver embodies the essential elements of rifle shooting, so that in case of riot, insurrection, or war, a large police force could be made quickly available for duty with very little additional instruction, by arming them with rifles.

A practical plan to develop such results is as follows: The services of a competent person to teach the men must first be secured. This man should be an experienced and skillful marksman with the revolver and be qualified to maintain proper discipline and teach the subject in all its details. A suitable range must next be provided. Two men from each precinct selected for their fitness to become instructors should then be detailed to take a prescribed course of training and practice under the teacher referred to. Each of these men should devote not less than four hours a week to this course. In four months’ time these men should be qualified to undertake the work of training and instructing others under the inspection and supervision of the original teacher. After providing sufficient range facilities, squads of men from each precinct should then be detailed for practice and instruction under their own instructors, devoting at least two hours per man per week to this work. At least one and one-half hours of this time should be devoted to actual practice shooting. After sufficient skill has been developed, teams of the different precincts should shoot matches with each other, which will keep up a friendly rivalry and promote interest in their work.

By adopting such a plan it is possible, within a year from its inception, to convert an entire police force into perfectly safe and reliable shots of good ability; i. e., such ability as would enable all of them to hit an object the size of a man every time at 50 paces. The mistake is sometimes made of requiring the men to practice during off-duty time; this has never proved successful.

After the first year, or after a sufficient degree of skill has been developed, the efficiency of the men can be preserved and maintained by devoting an hour every two weeks to regulation practice. There is little doubt but that the cost of the time and ammunition devoted to such a course of training would be more than offset by the elimination of a large portion of the accidents, litigation, etc., that result under the present conditions.

Much of the efficiency that it is possible to attain depends upon the character of the regulation arm that may be adopted for police service. Such an arm should be of large caliber and sufficient power to fulfil the requirements. When carried in the pocket the perspiration of the body causes rust, and a nickel finish will therefore generally be more serviceable than any other. The sights, hammers and other projections should be of suitable form, and as referred to in the text under “Pocket Arms.” In order to secure suitable accuracy, the barrel should be 4 inches in length and the trigger pull 4 pounds. A first-class weapon for police service is the .38-caliber Smith & Wesson safety hammerless, the .38-caliber or .32-caliber Colt Police Positive or the .32 caliber Smith & Wesson hand ejector revolver. The .38-caliber Smith & Wesson safety hammerless is particularly well adapted for police service, the safety feature making accidental discharge almost impossible, and being also a decided advantage in case the weapon should fall into the hands of an unskilled antagonist.