Duty Arms Index
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What guns do California police carry?

Short answer: most California police carry a Glock (70.5% of duty pistols). The Glock G22 is the most common primary duty pistol (45 of 133 agencies, 33.8%), ahead of the Glock G17 (44), and 53.4% of duty pistols are 9mm. The most common patrol rifle is the Colt AR-15 (53 of 106). The Remington 870 is the most common shotgun (75 of 84). For every agency's current loadout, see the California agency list.

Data coverage: Based on 233 California agencies in the Duty Arms Index with a current, sourced pistol, rifle or shotgun entry: 133 with a primary duty pistol, 106 with a patrol rifle and 84 with a duty shotgun (SWAT/tactical-unit guns and 1033 military-surplus rifles excluded). Agencies that authorize several primaries count once for each. Counts include only current entries with a public source; agencies not yet in the index, or without a sourced entry for this item, are not counted, so treat shares as a picture of the Duty Arms Index, not of every agency. Data last updated Oct 10, 2026.

233
Agencies with sourced entries
133
With a duty pistol
106
With a patrol rifle
84
With a duty shotgun

Most common duty pistols: California police

Primary duty pistol, counted once per agency per model family.

  1. 1Glock G22who uses it45 (33.8%)
  2. 2Glock G17who uses it44 (33.1%)
  3. 3Glock G21who uses it14 (10.5%)
  4. 4SIG Sauer P320who uses it13 (9.8%)
  5. 5Glock G45who uses it11 (8.3%)
  6. 6Glock G23who uses it9 (6.8%)
  7. 7Smith & Wesson M&P9who uses it6 (4.5%)
  8. 8Glock G19who uses it5 (3.8%)

Share is of 133 agencies with a sourced primary duty pistol. Generations and optic-cut variants are combined per model family.

Pistol brands

Of 139 agencies with a sourced primary duty pistol maker (incl. entries that name the maker but not the model).

  • Glock98 (70.5%)
  • SIG Sauer21 (15.1%)
  • Smith & Wesson14 (10.1%)
  • Heckler & Koch5 (3.6%)
  • Beretta2 (1.4%)
  • FN1 (0.7%)

Pistol calibers

One primary duty pistol per agency, 133 agencies.

  • 9mm Luger71 (53.4%)
  • .40 S&W41 (30.8%)
  • .45 ACP15 (11.3%)
  • .357 SIG4 (3%)
  • Other / not stated2 (1.5%)

Nationally, the Glock G17 leads at 27.1% of 623 agencies. The Glock G22 is at 12.4% nationally vs 33.8% here.

Most common patrol rifles: California police

Patrol long guns, counted once per agency per model family. Leading maker: Colt (80 of 106).

  1. 1Colt AR-15who uses it53 (50%)
  2. 2Colt M4 Carbinewho uses it20 (18.9%)
  3. 3Smith & Wesson M&P15who uses it8 (7.5%)
  4. 4Colt LE69206 (5.7%)
  5. 5Daniel Defense DDM44 (3.8%)
  6. 6Colt LE69333 (2.8%)
  7. 7Bushmaster AR-152 (1.9%)
  8. 8Bushmaster XM-152 (1.9%)

Share is of 106 agencies with a sourced patrol rifle. Generations and optic-cut variants are combined per model family.

Most common shotguns: California police

Duty shotguns (patrol, less-lethal and authorized), counted once per agency per model family.

  1. 1Remington 870who uses it75 (89.3%)
  2. 2Benelli M44 (4.8%)
  3. 3Mossberg 590 / 590A14 (4.8%)
  4. 4Benelli M1 Super 903 (3.6%)
  5. 5Mossberg 5002 (2.4%)
  6. 6Benelli M21 (1.2%)
  7. 7Beretta 1201 FP1 (1.2%)
  8. 8Remington 11-871 (1.2%)

Share is of 84 agencies with a sourced duty shotgun. Generations and optic-cut variants are combined per model family.

Top duty pistol by agency type

What major California agencies carry

Agencies among the nation's largest by sworn officers first, then statewide agencies, sheriffs and local police A–Z. Primary duty pistol and patrol rifle as sourced on each agency page (or the agency's other current pistol / rifle entry where no primary is sourced).

AgencyDuty pistolRifle
Los Angeles Police DepartmentFN 509 MRD-LEnot yet sourced
Los Angeles County Sheriff's DepartmentSmith & Wesson M&P9Heckler & Koch HK416
California Highway PatrolSmith & Wesson M&P9 M2.0SIG Sauer M400
San Diego County Sheriff's DepartmentGlock 9mm pistol (model not stated)Colt M4 Carbine
San Francisco Police DepartmentSmith & Wesson M&P9 M2.0not yet sourced
Orange County Sheriff's Departmentnot yet sourcedBravo Company Manufacturing BCM4
Alameda County Sheriff's OfficeSmith & Wesson M&P9 M2.0Colt LE6920
Alpine County Sheriff's DepartmentSIG Sauer P226SIG Sauer MCX
Del Norte County Sheriff's DepartmentGlock G17not yet sourced
Humboldt County Sheriff's DepartmentGlock G17Colt AR-15
Imperial County Sheriff's DepartmentSIG Sauer P229not yet sourced
Inyo County Sheriff's Departmentnot yet sourcedColt AR-15

Every California agency and its loadout →

Frequently asked

What handgun do California police carry?
The Glock G22 is the most common primary duty pistol among California agencies in the Duty Arms Index: 45 of 133 agencies with a sourced duty pistol (33.8%), ahead of the Glock G17 (44) and the Glock G21 (14).
What brand of pistol do California police use most?
Glock: 98 of 139 agencies (70.5%), then SIG Sauer (21) and Smith & Wesson (14).
Do California police carry 9mm?
Mostly. 71 of 133 California agencies with a sourced primary duty pistol (53.4%) issue a 9mm; the rest include .40 S&W (41), .45 ACP (15), .357 SIG (4).
What patrol rifle do California police carry?
The Colt AR-15 leads among 106 California agencies with a sourced patrol rifle (53, 50%), followed by the Colt M4 Carbine (20).
What shotgun do California police use?
The Remington 870: 75 of 84 California agencies with a sourced duty shotgun (89.3%), then the Benelli M4 (4).
What gun does the Los Angeles Police Department carry?
The Los Angeles Police Department issues the FN 509 MRD-LE as its primary duty pistol, per the sourced entries on its agency page.

Agency head to head

What police carry in other states

Federal agents · Florida · Connecticut · Maryland · Texas · Michigan · North Carolina · Georgia · Missouri · New York · Virginia · Wisconsin · duty pistol in every state