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It is said by some that many police officers are not very firearms oriented and many so-called gun "accidents" occur in police departments.
Here is my account of meeting cops who don't seem too gun smart.
In late 2005, I was traveling with a buddy to Jackpot, NV to play the penny machines. My buddy was driving without his lights on at night (he had car battery problems) and got stopped by some local sheriff deputies. My buddy parked right in the parking lot of the casino we were visiting as the cops put the flashing lights on right as we were about to pull in anyway. We were asked some questions and one officer asked us if these were any firearms in the car. They were two male officers in their 30's. They seemed like rural types. Anyway, I told the one who asked that I had my unloaded revolver in the back of the car. He asked me, "What? Do you mean a semi-automatic pistol?" I said, "No, officer, a Smith & Wesson .38 Special" . He asked to see the gun so I showed it to him. It was in a case. He ran the serial number to see if it was hot and handed it back to me. Maybe I should have explained to the officer that I had a "Russian roulette gun" for his better understanding. Anyway, my buddy got let off with a warning about the headlights and that was that. Are revolvers in Nevada called "six-guns" instead of "revolvers"? The officers seemed like cowboy types. Both officers were rather young and had autos in their holsters. They may have never seen or touched a wheelgun.
I made this thread here because I believe firearms semantics has much to do with education and training. The various discussions of firearms is rife with language pollution by the military, law enforcement, the media and politicians. It's disturbing to know that men sworn and trusted with badges, handcuffs, high-speed pursuit cars and guns might not even know what a "revolver" is by that name.
Here is my account of meeting cops who don't seem too gun smart.
In late 2005, I was traveling with a buddy to Jackpot, NV to play the penny machines. My buddy was driving without his lights on at night (he had car battery problems) and got stopped by some local sheriff deputies. My buddy parked right in the parking lot of the casino we were visiting as the cops put the flashing lights on right as we were about to pull in anyway. We were asked some questions and one officer asked us if these were any firearms in the car. They were two male officers in their 30's. They seemed like rural types. Anyway, I told the one who asked that I had my unloaded revolver in the back of the car. He asked me, "What? Do you mean a semi-automatic pistol?" I said, "No, officer, a Smith & Wesson .38 Special" . He asked to see the gun so I showed it to him. It was in a case. He ran the serial number to see if it was hot and handed it back to me. Maybe I should have explained to the officer that I had a "Russian roulette gun" for his better understanding. Anyway, my buddy got let off with a warning about the headlights and that was that. Are revolvers in Nevada called "six-guns" instead of "revolvers"? The officers seemed like cowboy types. Both officers were rather young and had autos in their holsters. They may have never seen or touched a wheelgun.
I made this thread here because I believe firearms semantics has much to do with education and training. The various discussions of firearms is rife with language pollution by the military, law enforcement, the media and politicians. It's disturbing to know that men sworn and trusted with badges, handcuffs, high-speed pursuit cars and guns might not even know what a "revolver" is by that name.
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