What kind of guns do the bad guys carry?

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Here's the next batch.

380 Auto:
1) Hi Point CF380
1) Glock 42
1) PPKS
1) Kel-Tec P3AT

9mm:
1) S&W M&P9 Shield
2) S&W SD9VE
1) Glock 19 G4
3) Glock 19
1) Glock 26
1) Glock 26 G4
1) Taurus PT111 G2
1) Taurus G2C
1) Springfield XD9

40 S&W:
1) SD40VE
1) S&W M&P 40
1) Glock 22
2) Glock 23 G4
1) Hipoint JCP
1) Taurus PT840

45 Auto:
1) Glock 30s
1) Hi Point JH
 
I very rarely see these brands for sale in most gun stores. Certainly don’t hear them in songs or movies. Given most criminals’ guns are stolen or straw purchased, it makes sense.

Plus, they use their guns a lot... dont want some garbage if you’re robbing a dope dealer that you know keeps an AK under his couch.

Back in the early 2000's I used to see Ravens and Lorcins a lot.

I occasionally are High Points nowadays
 
Looks like the decades-long campaign against Saturday Night Specials (cheap, low quality, low price guns most likely to kept by working class families having a handgun for self-defense) worked as unintended. Guns available to be stolen or sold when cash was needed are slightly better quality today.

We got a good sample of what in Gunny's jurisdiction covered.

People wonder about where.

US Department of Justice, National Institute of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics (DOJ, BIJ, BJS) conducted Firearms Use by Offenders surveys (1985, 1991, 1997, 2004. that I am aware of)

2004 Table on Sources of firearms possessed by state prison inmates at time of offense

11.3% Retail Purchase or trade
7.3 - Retail store
2.6 - Pawnshop
0.6 - Flea market
0.8 - Gun show

37.4% Family or friend
12.2 - Purchased or traded
14.1 - Rented or borrowed
11.1 - Other

40.0% Street/illegal source
7.5 - Theft or burglary
25.2 - Drug dealer/off street
7.4 - Fence/black market

11.2% Other source

(Sample: nationwide sample of prison inmates who possessed a firearm during the offense for which they were imprisoned)

One trend I noticed following this from the first Wright & Rossi "Armed and Considered Dangerous" book on the 1980s survey is the decline from about 20% Retail purchase to less than 12% in 2004.

A few years ago a couple of Knoxville cops told a reporter that four out of five criminals did not carry guns.
Of the ones out of fives who did carry, maybe one of five bought their gun legally.
The cops told the reporter a proposed gun law really would not make the street safer.
 
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Looks like the decades-long campaign against Saturday Night Specials (cheap, low quality, low price guns most likely to kept by working class families having a handgun for self-defense) worked as unintended.

I'm thinking the ROF guns couldn't stand the test of time more than the law of the land.
 
I've a question for Gunny: What are the criminals using for ammo? I'd always assumed cheap FMJ ball ammunition, but maybe that's not really the case? Are they springing for (or stealing) high end hollow points now?

Interesting thread, guys!
 
I've a question for Gunny: What are the criminals using for ammo? I'd always assumed cheap FMJ ball ammunition, but maybe that's not really the case? Are they springing for (or stealing) high end hollow points now?

Interesting thread, guys!
There’s an Academy Sports in town and they have their ammo out on the shelves. The thugs pay juveniles to steal ammo. They just take a few rounds from each box and put them in their pocket.
Some do spend good money on ammo but not many.
FMJ is used a lot due to cost and they know that they will fire 10 to 20 rounds when trying to shoot someone.
 
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There’s an Academy Sports in town and they have their ammo out on the shelves. The thugs pay juveniles to steal ammo. They just take a few rounds from each box and put them in their pocket.
Some do spend good money on ammo but not many.
FMJ is used a lot due to cost and they know that they will fire 10 to 20 rounds when trying to shoot someone.

I'm a little puzzled - why steal a few rounds from a box when you can just grab the box? Seems it would be faster (grab box vs. open box, grab rounds...). A 50rnd box of pistol ammo will easily fit in many jacket pockets.

Of course nowadays I buy most of my ammo by the case, so... :)
 
I'm a little puzzled - why steal a few rounds from a box when you can just grab the box? Seems it would be faster (grab box vs. open box, grab rounds...). A 50rnd box of pistol ammo will easily fit in many jacket pockets.

Of course nowadays I buy most of my ammo by the case, so... :)

I note at Academy Sports very many ammo boxes have security sensors attached with packaging tape, which could be removed, but the operation would be time consuming and a little more .... "obvious" than removing and pocketing a few rounds.
 
I note at Academy Sports very many ammo boxes have security sensors attached with packaging tape, which could be removed, but the operation would be time consuming and a little more .... "obvious" than removing and pocketing a few rounds.

Ah, that makes sense. Thank you.
 
Years ago I had a Kimber 1911 stolen. Fortunately, an LA County sheriff's deputy pulled it out of the waistband of a gangbanger and it was returned to me. A couple of mags and the ammo the gangster was carrying were also given to me.

The ammo was a dog's breakfast of bullet types (lrn, hp, fmj) and headstamps. If ammo is that hard to come by in the underworld, then I can see why many bad guys don't practice.
 
Fascinating reports, Gunny. I imagine for most street criminals a gun is a tool and brand and caliber don’t mean much except some may show status. Most probably don’t care about the details. I wonder how many even test fire before they carry/use it?
 
Fascinating reports, Gunny. I imagine for most street criminals a gun is a tool and brand and caliber don’t mean much except some may show status. Most probably don’t care about the details. I wonder how many even test fire before they carry/use it?
The most sought after gun on the street is a Glock, or as they call it, a Gat.
You would also be surprised that they do test fire before shootings a lot. They will fire off a few rounds to make sure their guns are working and then go do business.
We know this due to Shot Spotters. Shot Spotters deceit gun shots and then Officers are dispatched to the area. The officers pick up any cartridge cases found and place them into Evidence. I then put them into the NIBIN system. A lot of times those cartridge cases end up matching a shooting from that same night.
 
It's a wonder they don't shoot the Shot Spotter microphones off the poles with their test firings. What does the S/P mike look like? Camouflaged? It's a shame the detectors don't have cameras to take pictures of the area when shots are fired.
 
Here is the next installment.

380 Auto:
(1) Taurus PT738 (pink)

9mm:
(3) S&W SD9VE
(2) S&W M&P9 Shield
(1) S&W M&P9 M2.0
(1) Glock 19 G5
(1) Glock 17 G4
(1) Glock 34 G4
(1) Taurus PT111 G2
(1) Taurus G2C
(1) Taurus PT111
(1) Taurus PT92AF
(2) Sccy CPX-1
(2) Ruger P89
(1) Beretta NANO
(3) Hipoint C9
(1) Intratec AB-10

40 S&W:
(1) S&W SD40VE
(1) S&W M&P40 Shield
(1) Glock 23
(1) Glock 23 G4
(2) Glock 22
(1) Glock 22 RTF
(1) Ruger P94

45 Auto:
(1) Glock 30
(1) Taurus PT24/7 Pro
(1) FN FNX-45 Tactical
 
I once had a CZ-75 Compact 9mm stolen. I got it back from a police dept in northern Texas roughly a year and a half later that seized it from a juvenile with an extensive record that had previously been deported.

The 7 rds of JHP in it (mag has a capacity of 13) was a different type than it was loaded with originally.

Fingerprint dust was a pain to get off. Whatever. I'm surprised I got it back at all.

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I once had a CZ-75 Compact 9mm stolen. I got it back from a police dept in northern Texas roughly a year and a half later that seized it from a juvenile with an extensive record that had previously been deported.

The 7 rds of JHP in it (mag has a capacity of 13) was a different type than it was loaded with originally.

Fingerprint dust was a pain to get off. Whatever. I'm surprised I got it back at all.

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Not to sidetrack the thread too much, Browning, but did the pistol show significant signs of mistreatment?

I once recovered a 4" blued Python that looked like someone had purposely skipped it on a sidewalk a few times (I felt so bad for the owner, thinking of how he'd feel when he got it back).

Gunny, looks like a whole lotta budget guns your guys have recovered lately ... and kinda confirms the trend that everyone (even the bad guys) are going back to 9mm ...
 
Any idea on the story of the fnx tactical was it stolen purchased what and what kind of charges
 
Not to sidetrack the thread too much, Browning, but did the pistol show significant signs of mistreatment?

I once recovered a 4" blued Python that looked like someone had purposely skipped it on a sidewalk a few times (I felt so bad for the owner, thinking of how he'd feel when he got it back).

Gunny, looks like a whole lotta budget guns your guys have recovered lately ... and kinda confirms the trend that everyone (even the bad guys) are going back to 9mm ...
You are right. Back in 2013 the 40 S&W was king on the streets. As the years have gone by the 9mm has gotten more popular. In the last two years it’s topped the 40. I think there are two factors that have caused this. One is that the 9mm has less recoil and they can carry more rounds.
Any idea on the story of the fnx tactical was it stolen purchased what and what kind of charges
The FNX Tactical was not picked up at a crime scene. There was a fist fight at a home over a video game. The mother called the police. Her son is in his 20’s and had a friend over to play a game. They got into an argument and the friend punched the son. The friend left prior to the officers arriving. The friend had left the gun in the son’s car.
The funny thing is, the son only knows his friend by his street name and doesn’t know where he lives.
I was able to match the gun to an attempt murder that occurred a few months ago.
 
I hate Fingerprint dust. Most likely it's volcanic ash. Soap and water works best to remove it.
We do our best to get recovered stolen guns back to the owners.

Pretty much what I ended up doing. Shop rags, water, dawn dish soap and then CLP.

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Not to sidetrack the thread too much, Browning, but did the pistol show significant signs of mistreatment?

I once recovered a 4" blued Python that looked like someone had purposely skipped it on a sidewalk a few times (I felt so bad for the owner, thinking of how he'd feel when he got it back).

Gunny, looks like a whole lotta budget guns your guys have recovered lately ... and kinda confirms the trend that everyone (even the bad guys) are going back to 9mm ...

Couple nicks that weren't there before. Nothing huge. The PD used steel wire on as a flag to keep it open and there was some scratches on the trigger guard edges (looks like someone dropped it, probably the dirtbag that had it).

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Nothing major. If that's the worst I have to complain about it's not that big of a deal. Like I said, surprised as hell I got it back so whatever. Considering some of the horror stories I've heard and seen I thought it came back great.
 
Rep means you should brandish a Glock for the most part if your a Banger. If you have some authority a Sig is acceptable. If your just a soldier the Sig is frowned on. If you can't manage that the same decent handguns with a decent rep from a decent company anyone else would like.

At least that's my understanding. No first hand experience in that world you understand.
 
I had two firearms stolen during a residential burglary. I was notified about 2 weeks later that Chicago police "may have" located a firearm. I suspect someone was trying to sell it but I wasn't told for sure. It took 3 years and many phone calls/emails to have the firearm returned, even though I was never actually told when they recovered the firearm or how it came to be in their possession. No one gave me a straight answer. This firearm was stolen with 5 mags and a Streamlight, all fully loaded (86 rounds federal HST in total), cased, and locked away. At one point I was told the gun had been recovered with all mags, ammo, and accessories but none of them were returned. The gun was returned by itself and extremely dirty.

Our house was forcefully entered by 3 people (16,17, and 19 years old) during daylight hours on a weekday while all neighbors were present. The house was ransacked and they could have taken more but they only really took cash and two cased guns. The cash was not in plain sight and you could tell they were not in a hurry to make a quick getaway. Eventually a small crime ring was uncovered in our neighborhood and a public town hall meeting was called as a result of nearly 100 burglaries in a single month in our neighborhood and adjacent homes. I presume my other firearm is still at large and I don't expect to see it again, but rest assured, there are violent criminals out there and they are well armed. This trio was eventually caught when they forcefully entered a home just two blocks over during the daytime while an elderly woman was present. She refused to answer a knock at the front door and minutes later two men came busting through the back door. This is probably what happened to us, only it could have been my wife at home nursing the baby as she refuses to answer the door if company is not expected. This woman was unharmed but able to provide a positive ID for the police which led to the arrests. The two minors weren't named in the paper but the 19 year old lived less than a block away and his step father was fencing all the stolen goods.
 
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