Favorite guns of cops and gangsters. Here are two articles from today's RealClearHistory:
1. 10 favorite guns of the cops
2. 10 favorite guns of the gangstersLast year, on May 23, 2014, we ran a list of 10 Favorite Guns of The Gangsters. This year, we offer the counterpart, and list some of the most popular weapons of Law Enforcement officials. A few decades ago, the list would have prominently featured revolvers such as the S&W Model 10 and the S&W Model 36, but time and fashion have changed things a bit. Most police agencies frown on rimfire calibers as less reliable than center fire, and calibers less than .32 ACP are just too anemic for anything other than last ditch panic weapons. Usually, police weapons are those of .38 caliber or more, such as .380 ACP, 9mm, or .38 Special and up. Feel free to list some of your favorite “cop” guns.
On May 23, 1934, bank robbers Bonnie and Clyde were gunned down by law enforcement. For a change, the lawmen had the upper hand as far as firepower goes. In the 1920’s and 1930’s gangsters had been arming themselves with automatic and semi-automatic weapons and out-gunning the police, with the police mostly armed with .38 caliber revolvers and sometimes 12 gauge pump action shotguns. On numerous occasions then and even in the 1970’s and 1980’s the police were woefully under-armed, but that is changing now. Here is a list of some of the favorite gangster guns of the 1920’s and 1930’s (and by gangsters, we mean hard corps criminals, not the junkie holding up a liquor store).