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The proposed federal Assault Weapons Ban, which is supposed to curtail mass shootings, could be very bad for law enforcement officers. It may take the tools you need to protect the public from active shooters right out of your hands.
Zombies aside, there are trends emerging in the firearms industry, and they have the potential to determine what tools you will be issued in the near future.
With the increased use of rifles by patrol officers, there comes the need for modern modifications to make them more effective and to better fit the task at hand. One of the most obvious and likely the most effective is the use of modern optical sighting systems.
SIG Sauer's 716 Patrol carbine is one of four SIG716 models and should be given serious consideration by tactical operators and patrol personnel working in more rural settings who may need to engage longer-range targets. Read Nick Jacobellis' full "Arsenal" review of the carbine. This gallery includes exclusive photos that didn't appear in print. Photos by Alex Landeen.
The SIG716 makes a great first impression. It's a ruggedly built 7.62mm carbine with a 16-inch barrel and a free-floating quad rail. I felt like a kid on Christmas morning when I was opening the box.
The Colt LE901-16S is a very versatile direct impingement gas-operated carbine with a 16.1-inch barrel. It's commonly referred to as a "modular carbine" because users can easily transform it from a 7.62mm NATO caliber carbine to a 5.56mm M4 carbine.
Recently Stag introduced the 3G, a rifle developed for use in the rapidly growing three-gun competition market. This AR is also excellent for law enforcement operations.
It is our job to win the fight with the bad guys, whether we serve in the nation's most populated cities, smallest towns, or most isolated counties. To win that fight, we need the right firearms and the right ammo.
Before the popularization of M4-type carbines, Ruger's Mini-14 was one of the most popular choices in law enforcement for a patrol rifle. The company now produces several more-customized versions of the carbine, including the Mini-14 Tactical, which POLICE Magazine reviews in its June 2012 "Arsenal" feature. View detailed images of the gun and then read our review here.
After the infamous 1997 North Hollywood Shootout in Los Angeles where the bad guys were equipped with armor that stopped pistol rounds, law enforcement agencies began adopting M16s, AR-15s, and M4s as "patrol rifles." But many tactical officers stuck by the pistol-caliber subgun.
Whether you are delivering precision shot placement or dumping one magazine after another as fast as possible into a target, the mid-length piston-powered LWRCI M6A2 SPR will do the job.
On the 15th anniversary of one of the fiercest gun battles in modern law enforcement history, patrol officers are much better armed, equipped, and trained than they were in 1997.
In recent years more and more manufacturers have developed new takes on AR-style rifles, resulting in four major operating systems for the common patrol rifles used by American law enforcement. Let's take a look at the four operating systems and their pros and cons