There’s no such thing, but there are some damn good ones.

The question came up of what gun I would carry for duty if I were magically fit enough to be a police officer again. My answer as always was a Glock 17. been around for a long time, excellent track record in police and military service. Good capacity. Designed as a service pistol and works very well in that role.

“Which generation? 3rd? 4th? 5th?”

Don’t care.

“OK, what modifications?”

Optic, talon grip and maybe a WML- on the fence about the last one.

“But Talon grips come off!”

Sure, eventually, but they’re cheap and since I maintain my weapons I’ll spot and remedy that before it becomes a problem.

Which Optic? The best I can afford. Don’t know which one that is but I know how to Google and whose opinions I respect.

“O-Light? Surefire? Something else?”

I’ll find out what the current thinking is, weigh the pros and cons and decide then.

“You don’t already know this stuff? What kind of ‘expert are you, anyway?

Who ever said I was an expert? I know some stuff about some stuff, but I never said I was an expert. I am very specifically not an expert about modern duty gun accessories.

“But what about a Timney tri…”

No. The trigger is fine for duty.

“But what about…”

NO. It’s FINE.

“But…”

NO. This is a duty gun. It’s not for showing off for tacti-cool points. It’s not a prop in a movie that needs to look neat-o. It’s not a ‘race gun.’ It doesn’t have to be cool, it has to work. Glocks work already and the less I mess with it the more likely it is to KEEP working.

Let’s look at the yes items. A modern red dot is robust, works in all light conditions and is demonstrably faster once you are dialed in. If you need to draw a weapon in the course of duty you’re going to be very focused on the threat and it’s going to be hard to shift focus to the front sight. Police don’t miss so much because they are lousy shots. They miss because they have a lot going on in a very shirt time. You can interpose the red-dot between you and the target without shifting focus, and in my opinion this will increase the likelihood of getting hits in a fast-moving, confusing situation.

The Talon Grip. Glock grips are OK, but a more grippy surface is a good thing, especially on an open-carry gun where there is only a minimal chance of clothing catching on a ‘sticky’ grip. Why Talon? First brand that came to mind.

Weapon-Mount light. I can see a lot of potential utility here, but some people have indicated they may be sub-optimal for duty. Don’t know, but my Google-fu is sufficient that I am confident I can learn enough to have an informed opinion on the matter.

To me a duty weapon is a tool that has to work. It has to fit the use, fit me and function in all manner of conditions. Fit for Purpose is my guiding light. There are a lot of guns out there that fill the bill. I pick Glock based on it’s track record and my limited knowledge of the alternatives. YMMV.

Just some thoughts on a Saturday afternoon. What do you think?

Stay safe and Take care.

Michael Tinker Pearce, 12 February 2022

Saturday morning errands included shipping a package. A bit brisk at 45 degrees but sunny with clear skies, so I took the opportunity to drop the top on my convertible and use that.

I was pleased to find a parking space right in front of the UPS store, grabbed my package and went inside. I didn’t bother to put the top up; there’s nothing valuable in the car and I’d only be a minute. After I dropped my package off I decided to have a cigarette and enjoy the morning (Yes, I am smoking again, but I am on Chantix and have a new quit-date in the coming week.) I moved to the corner of the building and lit up. It being chilly I stuck my right hand in my pocket.

After a few minutes a fellow who was obviously impaired wandered up and stared at my car. Not unusual even for people who aren’t stoned, and I watched with casual interest. Then the fellow carefully looked left and right, but not behind him where I was standing. After determining incorrectly that the coast was clear he reached in and opened the glove box. I decided to speak up.

“Dude, I am standing right here!”

He jolted and looked around, then peered blearily at me.

“That’s my car,” I informed him.

He sized me up, noting no doubt that I was significantly larger than he was. He stuck a hand in his coat pocked and tentatively offered, “Uh, I have a knife?”

I shrugged and said, “I have a gun.”

He blinked and said, “You do not have a gun!”

I said, “I can assure you, I do.”

He peered across the twenty or so feet separating us, focusing visibly on the hand in my pocket. He thought about it for a moment and asked, “Do you really have a gun?”

I nodded and said, “Yes, I really have a gun.”

He pondered this for several seconds, then slowly withdrew his hand from his coat with the fingers splayed and stared at me a bit more. Finally he murmured, “Have a nice day.”

“You too,” I said, struggling against an unseemly display of mirth. He nodded and meandered away. I got back in my car and continued my errands. I called Linda at my next stop and told her the story. She laughed and said, “You have to post this.”

Be assured, I never displayed a firearm or was directly threatening in any manner, and never felt that I was in the least danger. The fellow’s demeanor and actions did not indicate a genuine threat, though I was prepared in case things turned sour.

Anyway, I hope that you all have a great weekend! Stay safe and take care.

Michael Tinker Pearce, 12 February 2022

My buddy Chris is hanging up his FFL and moving on to a great new job. Best wishes to him and his family, and good luck in the new career! That’s the great news. The not great news is that I had just decided to pull the trigger on getting the 9mm speed gun coated and he’s not going to have time. Bugger.

But being the mensch he is Chris handed me a bunch of Gun Cote paint! OK, a quick stop at Harbor Freight for an airbrush and I was in business… until I started painting and the compressor died. Bugger. OK, off to Harbor Freight again and bought another airbrush that came with a compressor. Never hurts to have a backup, and the combo was half the price of the compressor replacement.

Most people blast the gun before painting but I don’t have a blast cabinet, so I just washed the parts thoroughly with Dawn dishwashing liquid, then Barkeeper’s Friend scouring powder, then soaked the them for an hour in acetone. This seems to have done the job.

I have used an airbrush before, when I was like 12 years old to paint camouflage on model airplanes. So I read the directions for the airbrush, read the directions for the Gun Kote and got busy. I had to string some cord in my shop to hang the parts with music-wire hooks. Easy peasy. So I was learning the ins and outs of airbrush painting while using a product I’d never used before. What could go wrong?

Not much did, but lets say at close range you wouldn’t have to wonder which parts got painted first. There are some spray marks on the under-barrel weight and on the right side of the fixed weight I discovered some blemishes I hadn’t noticed. Fortunately the paint makes it super-obvious, though naturally not until after I had baked the parts.

You’re supposed to bake the painted parts at 300 degrees according to the manufacturer. Your are supposed to bake the parts at 325 degrees, also according to the manufacturer. I went with Chris’s advice and baked them at 425 degrees then let them cool in the oven. The results are…

…well they’re not tragically bad, but they are very obviously the work of an amateur. It does however look cool as hell from a couple feet away. I’m going to need a respray on some parts. At least by the time I got to the frame (the last thing I painted I was dialed in.

For my color scheme I painted the slide, weights and mainspring housing something called ‘SOCOM Black or some crap like that. I painted the frame Light Olive Drab for contrast. The slide release and ambi safety I left the black they already were.

So here it is, warts and all, for your viewing pleasure.

Not terrible for a first attempt, but no one would be surprised if told them that’s what it is. Live and learn.

Aside from that the only thing the gun really needs is a trigger-job. I mean, it’s good now but it’s not competition-pistol good. I’ll try to walk you though it when that happens.

Anyway it’s close, but no cigar. Well, maybe a cheap one. Next time will be better. Thanks Chris! All the best to you and yours.

Stay Safe and take care,

Michael Tinker Pearce, 10 February 2022