NYPD drops 6-shooter

THOUGH THEY are the stuff of macho men and legend, the .38-caliber revolver is about to meet its end at the NYPD.

The decision to send the classic six-shooter the way of the wooden nightstick affects only about 150 officers who still holster the revolvers. All joined the force before 1993, when the NYPD began to see that criminals were better armed than cops and made the 9-mm. semiautomatic the handgun of choice.

NYPD cops still carrying the revolver must be trained to use a 9-mm. Glock or SIG Sauer. The department has set Aug. 31 as the target date for the .38’s abolition.