Tulsa police upgrading service handguns
BY JERRY WOFFORD World Staff Writer
Monday, January 07, 2013
1/07/13 at 7:48 AM
Tulsa police officers are receiving their new service handguns this winter, the next generation of the decade-old guns officers currently carry.
The guns will have a similar look to the handguns they currently carry, but small design differences will give the guns a different feel and response, said Tulsa Police Department rangemaster Sgt. Brian Hill.
Officers will now carry the 4th Generation Glock 22, a .40 caliber handgun that is popular among law enforcement agencies, Hill said. The department is trading in their 3rd Generation Glock 22Cs. Hill said the C, which stands for compensated, is the biggest difference between the guns.
"The compensated models have two slits in the barrel and a couple slits in the slide," Hill said. "That vented the gas off a little bit."
By venting the gas, the slits on the side helped to reduce recoil when the weapon was fired, Hill said. Without them, it makes the gun feel different when fired.
"It's an increase in recoil, there's no doubt about it," Hill said. "But Glock knew that a lot of departments would be going from the C model so they redesigned" the recoil spring.
The new spring system in the gun helps to make up for the slits when it comes to recoil and maintains the service life of the weapon, he said.
The current fleet of Glocks has served the department well. Hill said maintenance on the guns has been minimal and they have been reliable when officers needed them.
"We've had really good success with it and good history with the durability of the guns and getting parts to replace when we need to do that," Hill said. "It's not that we necessarily go by the industry standard and just rubber stamp things, but the Glock truly is the industry standard."
The radioactive isotopes in the night sights on the old fleet of guns has faded over time and dulled, Hill said. The night sights on the new fleet of guns will glow much brighter.
The 4th generation also has adjustable grips to better fit the officers' hands and a new magazine release system.
The department will send the old guns back to the distributor who was awarded the contract, GT Distributors in Austin, Texas. The price for 962 new handguns was $412,698 but was reduced to $138,528 when the value of the trade-in guns was factored in, according to city contract and purchasing documents.
Each gun has "Tulsa Police" and the department badge engraved on the slide, which was done at a cost of about $20,000, documents show.
The department took delivery of the guns late last year and began distributing them in early December, Hill said.
"It forced us to do a good spring cleaning because we have so many pallets of guns that we had to find places to put them," Hill said.
The old guns are sent back to the distributor, which will offer to sell each back to the officer who carried it, Hill said. About half of the officers have opted to buy back their old service weapon.
A gun they used in the line of duty for 10 years has sentimental value to many officers, Hill said.
The guns that are not purchased back by officers will be refurbished and either sold to another department or to the public, Hill said. The "Tulsa Police" engraving on the side might make it difficult to sell to other departments, but it could make them popular among collectors, Hill said.
Tulsa police range officials give each officer a course on what is different on the new handguns, distribute them and then take them to the range so each officer can qualify on the gun before heading into the field.
Original Print Headline: Tulsa police upgrade to new service handguns
Jerry Wofford 918-581-8310
jerry.wofford@tulsaworld.com
Associated Images:
Tulsa police will now carry the 4th Generation Glock 22, a .40 caliber handgun popular among officers. STEPHEN PINGRY / Tulsa World
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