Our Undersheriff came to me today and asked if I would secure a newly taken staff member's Glock into the armory pending an IA investigation since I was an "armorer". I explained to her that I was technically not an "armorer" any more since my Glock creds expired years ago despite having gone to multiple armorer's/advanced armorers schools through the '90s and early 2000's. She said "We will fix that". I also mentioned that we had no one certified to service our 870P shotguns due to retirements. She said "Get prices on the school and also prices for new shotguns". "Ours are old and need to be upgraded." They were bought in 1996 when our original jail was expanded and a second facility was constructed. I have searched and have been unable to find any factory sponsored 870 armorer's training at all. Is this because there is less demand for shotguns in general in law enforcement these days? I found numerous AR/M16 armorer's schools, two Benelli shotgun armorer's schools, and Academi (formerly Blackwater) does the armorer's training now for Mossberg. I think we have about twenty-five 870Ps with wood furniture and extended mags/rifle sights/mostly 20" barrels. About eight are beat to hell since they are academy guns and the others range in condition from serviceable to unfired. Our agency is not a full service LE provider. We are responsible for jail security, civil process, court security, and transportation of prisoners. Our road folks carry their shotguns cased in the back compartment of the Ford PPV (Explorer) with extra shells carried in a shoulder bag.
Should we:
Consider another manufacturer with hopefully better availability of armorer support?
Wait until armorer training is provided and upgrade the existing guns with short LOP or adjustable stocks and slings and do a full inspection and service on them? What other upgrades would you consider that would be cost effective?
If new shotguns are desired by our Command, what would you buy in today's marketplace considering quality, price, and manufacturer support?
Thanks to all for your knowledge.