Why do criminals prefer revolvers?

[Hawk]

More importantly, revolvers are more simplistic and the shells do not get scattered all over the area, making forensics that much more difficult

That's something we talk about in internet fora. Does anybody really think criminals are much concerned about these matters? These are, in many cases, not to put too crude a point on it - the same guys that leave a tablespoon of DNA behind.

Too much credit being offered here....

 

[dmazur]

Long, long ago I was taking a class in alarm installation details and noticed a guy sitting a couple of chairs over that the local PD had put away recently for burglary. He was taking the same class the alarm installers were attending...Gotta love a free country.

Anyway, I just had this mental image of a criminal agonizing over 1911 parts in a Brownell's catalog, and bitching about feed and extraction problems right along with the rest of us.

I hope it isn't true! I hope they just don't move in the same circles. Maybe they don't have the patience, or are too busy with "business-related" matters to have guns as a hobby. Somehow, that would be better.

 

[Hawk]

Criminals "prefer" revolvers in the same manner that seine nets "prefer" catfish.

When autoloaders started to outnumber revolvers, they started to "prefer" autoloaders.

No need to overcomplicate the issue.

 

[bja5006]

does it have anything to do with the popularity of the .25 caliber ammo? i know that's a common round for criminals.

they either like the caliber or need it for the guns they already have.

PS: just read about a guy who accidentally discharged a .25cal in a grocery store, wounding the person in front of him. is there anything good that ever happens with that round?!

 

[f4t9r]

If that study was done today ,I would think that there would be more autos.
Nothing to back that up other then "IThink"

 

[sm]

Model of Criminal defines firearm use.

You have some Professional Thugs using Glock 10mms.
I assure you they know how to run the gun. They have the nice belts, holsters, mag pouches and can do a fast reload.

You have your upper level criminal that may carry a .40cal, be it Glock, HK, Sig, etc. Again these folks, both ladies and gents have belts, holsters, mag pouches, and can run the gun.

Have you ever seen either of these groups run a gun? I have.
You would think you were at a IDPA/IPSC match.

To keep it in layman terms...

Gangbanger with a "nine". Everything is a "nine" even if not a 9mm.

Firepower, show of strength and other reasons for "leaving the brass to scare your arse".

Now teh Intraw3bz does not always want to hear how a Pro, Upper Level, and "Street Thug" can take a screwdriver and take someone out with a tricked out gun and knife that is popular on teh Intraw3bz.

That RG 38spl will take you down too. Like the screwdriver, it is disposable.
Take down the mark, and toss it in dumpster, a train sitting on a track, in the river...

There exists "codes" and it might be illegal cock fights, protection money for an area, initiation rites...etc.

Sometimes brass is left to send a message.
Sometimes brass is not left to send a message.

There is a real world out there, from street level on up to Pros.
The EMT, and later ER/ED might have a "hunting accident" where a .22 rim-fire hit another while raccoon hunting at night, or ridding property of a armadillo.
The real reason is the person was behind on illegal cockfight, dawg fight, or some other gambling debt.

"Gun Cleaning" accident, might be a drug related deal.
Bond Daddy with the Rolexes and cocaine had some interesting "accidents" and knife cuts.
A trophy wife/ girlfriend might of somehow cut her breast with a knife cooking supper, or it might have been the dude supplying the blow, and this was a reminder the payment for dope was going to be on time.
Or, trophy wife / girlfriend was going to be a sex toy for some fellas, and some gals, to get that debt paid, slice that breast as a reminder of what will happen next time.

With a revolver at your head, and the other person being held, a gun will accidentally go off and its put down as "gun cleaning and accidental", or wife, girlfriend was in the kitchen with no top, or bra and lost control of knife.

A homeless gal, or guy, just wants a warm place, or food, or even bus ticket.
A revolver might be the ticket, after they fire some rounds and then toss the gun away.

Shoot out some store fronts, cops converge on that part of town while the real crime is done in another.


You can live in cyber space and paint all good guys with guns being hip, slick, cool and can't be beat.

In the real world, you cannot paint all "criminals" with a broad brush dipped in 'stupid'.

There are various models of criminals.
Some will take you down before you know you are down with a screwdriver.

Some use the same tactic as hi-risk folks with Security Dawgs, specially trained to protect the principal.

Some models of criminals have their own trained dawgs.
You get cute with your Glock 26 and laser sight, and those dawgs are trained to take down whatever is holding that red sight.
They train them with laser pointers to take down marks .

You cannot paint all "criminals" with the same brush, as there are more than Model of criminal.

Re: Body Armor.
I laugh every time I read of some armchair ranger and body armor.

Street people have had body armor for ages, both the good guys and bad guys.

Ask any seasoned street Cop, if he/she gets a bit nervous about having to deal with street folks.

The seasoned cops knows to respect these folks.

Layered clothing with pockets.
These folks carry what they own, especially valuables on person. Pockets conceal these, and keep them safe.

Layered clothes protects against getting hit, kicked and things being thrown at them, as sometimes street folks run into problems.

The seasoned cop and street savvy folks know to respect these folks and be careful.
Street person might have a screwdriver, revolver, carton cutter, and other tools concealed , or in hand in one of those pockets.

Good or bad street person, life on the streets, not Internet.

 

[punkndisorderly]

I think appearances have a lot to do with what guns criminals are likely to gravitate towards. A large frame revolver is very intimidating. I noticed a lot of the ghetto types also gravitate towards the AK and Glock thanks to all the free advertising they get from the Rap Stars.

There's also the fact that most criminals aren't really gun guys. It's just a tool and/or a status symbol. Non gun types tend to gravitate towards guns they recognize. Glocks, Smith Revolvers, AK's, Tech 9's and the like are easily recognized and identified with.

 

[orionengnr]

MikePGS has got much of it right. The crooks like the revolvers because they don't leave brass behind; too many of the bad guys apparently are watching CSI these days and know that those telltale spent casings can do them in.

Although it has been stated repeatedly in this thread, it sems to be escaping a lot of posters' attention that this study was published nearly 25 years ago...and when was the study started? Obviously well before that.

Long before CSI or any of that existed. Back when Glocks had just been invented. Back before most semi-auto pistols were invented, for that matter.

 

[Blueduck]

Ditto the "that was 1985" as the main factor. Any survey from felons today woud be all about the "gat" (Glock), mostly from crooks who have never even held one, but hear all about them in Rap songs. Surveying felons in prison about guns is like surveying Junior High boys about how much sex they are having each week.

If I had to use a gun on a person I'd never been trained with, likely never shot before, and knew nothing about it's history I would likely pick a revolver too though, even today.

I know Sammy "the Bull" Gravano prefered revolvers for reliability according to his book. Richard "Iceman" Kuklinski the sociopathic mafia Hitman of HBO fame, preferred a cheap 38 special derringer as his favorite carry gun, a choice that would be derided on many firearms boards. No one who made fun of his choice to his face has yet to surface though....

 

[makarovnik]

Gee, I thought they liked Hi-Points, Jennings/Bryco/Jimenez and Davis/Cobra Arms. SNS's for short.

 

[C-grunt]

In my short year and a half as a LEO, I have seen more criminals with semi autos than revolvers. I can tell you that the VAST majority of them dont know jack about weapons. Most magazines are half way filled and usually have several different brands of ammo in them. I recovered an old .22 snub last year that had 6 different .22s in it. Come on!!!!... you cant scrounge up 6 of the same freakin .22????????

Also FMJ is the leading type of ammo. One gun recovered about a month ago, a stolen two tone XD45 had two hoolowpoints, Golden Sabers if I remember correctly, loaded on top and had ball for the rest.

Most of these guns are stolen and then sold on the black market. Very few gun owners have their S/Ns when the reports are taken. Of the probably couple dozen stolen gun reports I have taken, less than a handful had the serials.

Hell in all reality a good majority of dirt bags actually carry BB guns because they look real and can be bought for like 50 bucks.

 

[Kind of Blued]

I think the correct answer is that they don't.

 

[WardenWolf]

Revolvers used to be a lot more common because that's what people primarily used for home defense. There weren't that many good semi-auto choices, and they were all rather expensive. 1985 was also before the Iron Curtain fell. You didn't have these cheap, reliable small arms coming in from former Soviet countries. It was also before computer-controlled manufacturing took hold. Only a few companies had the know-how to mass-produce reliable semi-automatics, and they were all rather expensive.

A large combination of features just went together to make the revolver the gun of choice. They were cheaper, more common, more likely to be left out in the open where a burglar could find and steal one. However, the advent of computer-controlled manufacturing, that lets any company stamp out precision products relatively cheaply, has driven the cost of semi-autos down while also dramatically increasing their reliability. Modern semi-autos will almost never jam if you feed them ammo they like. And newer hyped calibers like 9mm and .40, aimed towards semi-auto pistols, also generated demand.

What do I trust for home defense? I trust a good old-fashioned .357. Guaranteed to wake the dead and add to their ranks. Two revolvers, one each in the 2 primary rooms I'm in, and accessible in seconds.

 

[WC145]

Certainly there are some high end *****bags out there that have decent guns and gear and know how to use them but the majority are criminals for a reason and it's not because they're geniuses. They'll use what they can get their hands on and it is catch as catch can and currently semis are popular because they're plentiful. C-grunt is right on the money with his observations.

 

[XD9WBT]

Not to argue with the OP's premise but all or at least 90 percent of the videos I see of thugs robbing liquor and convenience stores you would think that autos is all they use.

Or maybe they just use autos to rob liquor and convenience stores.

 

[James T Thomas]

deceptions and plain lies

The headline "Criminals Prefer Revolvers" is right out of the super market tabloids, or today; any of the great newspapers, for that matter.

Here is one: "Why do 99.8 % of criminals prefer a handgun?"
Of course the implication is this. If you have a handgun, then...you must be a criminal!

Please refer to the General Gun Discussion; the thread about being a guilty gun owner.

I would not even wrap a dead fish in newspaper; or give any media headline a consideration of legitimacy.

 

[ZombiesAhead]

It just goes to show - revolvers should be outlawed or heavily restricted because criminals like them - probably because they are more intimidating, more reliable, and easier to hide evidence (brass) when being used. I don't see why anyone would need a gun that fires every time you pull the trigger, lacks a manual safety and doesn't leave brass all over the place. It's not sporting and of course this is why criminals use them.


It's fun to make up reasons why one or the other would be better for committing certain types of crimes but the real answer is because the data is WAY outdated.

 

[mljdeckard]

I haven't seen many crooks lately use the frame of mind required to make sure they don't leave brass behind. Or REALLY get rid of the gun. Or remember to wipe their prints off the magazine. Or any other really effective method of preventing the crime being traced back to them.

This is obviously outdated. These days I'm much more afraid of the old-timer crook who KNOWS he can do the job with a snubby than I am a kid with a Glock who thinks he needs 18+1 to get the job done.

 

[Wolfeye]

I'll agree with the "that was the 80's" idea: back then, most police departments still used revolvers, and so did most civilians. It would be like saying now that "most hackers exploit flaws in Windows".

I don't completely buy the "criminals use revolvers because they're nincompoops who can't handle or take care of automatics" theory. Criminals often drive, and presumeably they know that they should check their oil and rotate their tires once in a while.

My belief is that career criminals, the ones who dream about robbing little old ladies and being as bad as their actor/rapper heros, will gravitate towards whatever weapon fits the image.

Example... when all those "Blade" movies came out a few years back, two guys here in the Seattle area decided it would be nice to wave swords in the cops' faces. Swords!

 

[C-grunt]

You know the other day I did run into a Hells Angels member in one of their controlled areas who was carrying a Charter Arms Bulldog 44 spec.

 

[John Fugate]

Be like your heros,,

Jessie carried a six gun,, so I guess theys copying ole Jessie and his Colt .45.

Old West Style Playa,, rollin on Dubbs 1880's

 

[C-grunt]

I gotz 22 inch chrome horse shuz son!!!

 

[Jimfern]

"Bond Daddy with the Rolexes and cocaine had some interesting "accidents" and knife cuts.
A trophy wife/ girlfriend might of somehow cut her breast with a knife cooking supper, or it might have been the dude supplying the blow, and this was a reminder the payment for dope was going to be on time.
Or, trophy wife / girlfriend was going to be a sex toy for some fellas, and some gals, to get that debt paid, slice that breast as a reminder of what will happen next time."

Dude, I'm very glad that I lead a simple life. I never gave any thought to those quick news clips I see on TV.