FBI firearms article in latest issue of American Rifleman

The human body is an amazing machine and anything can happen, the poor felony stop is the fault, not the 9mm.
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+1

I am sure the FBI changed what they carried a lot just based on technology changes.

Like Mike already stated some of the rounds such as the .38 Super were made to penetrate the arms and armor of the day.

On the flip side of things it was said that Mr. Dillinger preferred his 1911's in .38 Super because they would penetrate body armor of the day when .45 ACP would not.
 
Yes, FBI did have limited issue of .357 Magnum ammunition, but only (from what I understand) on a situational basis.

The standard issue round was a .38 Special +P or +P+ 158-gr. LSWCHP.

Over the years this round developed a very good reputation as a stopper, but recoil out of the little J frames was pretty stout.
 
Mike Irwin wrote:
Yes, FBI did have limited issue of .357 Magnum ammunition, but only (from what I understand) on a situational basis.

The standard issue round was a .38 Special +P or +P+ 158-gr. LSWCHP.

Over the years this round developed a very good reputation as a stopper, but recoil out of the little J frames was pretty stout.
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Not only the S&W J, but the Colt D (Det Special, Diamonback) is a handful with the +P round in it!

I carry a Model 65, 3" bbl, round butt, and the +P 158gr SWCHP is my preferred round.
 
On the flip side of things it was said that Mr. Dillinger preferred his 1911's in .38 Super because they would penetrate body armor of the day when .45 ACP would not.
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That's horse pucky. There's nothing the almighty .45 ACP cannot do :rolleyes:

Yes, FBI did have limited issue of .357 Magnum ammunition, but only (from what I understand) on a situational basis.
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That's true. Carry loads were always the .38 semi-wadcutters, even with the Models 13, 19, and 27 unless an exception was granted for singular circumstances. FWIW, stainless revolvers were never issue weapons, but agents could carry personally-owned ones.
 
new NRA printed article; FBI sidearms, S&W 5906, Browning Hi-Power...

I got my copy of the NRA member magazine today too.
I quickly read the FBI duty weapons item but not in detail.

I did see the NRA writer or editor didn't include a few popular weapons like the SIG Sauer P229 or the P220 .45acp, the 3rd gen era S&W semi auto pistols like the 5906 9mm or 4046 .40S&W. The 10mm 1076 is there but I recall more S&W pistols being pressed into regular use or as sidearms for regional SWAT units & the elite HRT(Hostage Rescue Team).
I was interested to see the older 1911 series .38super pistol. I know many US cops of the late 1930s/early 1940s used the .38super as a "gangster-getter" but the increased use or maybe the cost/budget issues may have led to the larger, slower .45acp service pistol being used by sworn FBI agents.
As for the SWAT & HRT sidearms, extended details are in the well written non fiction books Cold Zero & No Heroes. See www.bn.com or www.bookfinder.com .
I'm not a federal 083 police officer or FBI employee but I think the FBI police officers use the Glock 22 .40 or maybe the compact 23 the same as the special agents.
In closing it's interesting to note the issue use of the K frame model 19 .357magnum but as the magazine item says it wasn't really extended.
The US Border Patrol and INS(now ICE and CBP) used the 19/66 revolvers for decades until the Beretta 96D .40 & DA only SIG Sauer P229(optional purchase).
 
The FBI also experimented with Thompson submachineguns in .38 Super. A freind of mine got to shoot one (the lucky dog!).
 
I haven't even read my mag yet. I got it and seen it was a big advertisement for Cabela. I got real turned off. I really want to read the FBI article but every time I see the cover I just shake my head.
 
NRA has also done feature articles about many of the other large businesses in the firearms industry, including Brownell's, Midway, Numrich, etc.

If that's what puts you off your magazine, well....
 
The AR article is a fun read.

There is a very useful book which has been out for a few years on the rise of the FBI. The book is "Public Enemies: America's Greatest Crime Wave and the Rise of the FBI 1933-34" by Bryan Burrough. The story isn't a simple one and is worth learning.

Both the Colt Government Model in 38 Super and the S&W .357 Magnum were issued for the ability of the rounds to penetrate the "bullet proof vests" of the time and auto and truck bodies. .38 Spl. loads for the 38/44 Heavy Duty would also penetrate the same. This was at a time when auto bodies were made of steel unlike today.

tipoc
 
Hello
You Know something...
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I got my Issue of The American Rifleman and Read about the F.B.I. Gun's. Sadly the author made no mention of the Many Registered and Non Registered Magnums that the Bureau had purchased. I know there are still Many in Quantico, Virginia stored in their safe, as there are many that were destroyed by them due to High Wear. The article showed the S&W Model 27. That was Incorrect as back then they were Not model Marked prior to 1957 and were simply Called The S&W .357 Magnum. I have a Reference Book that shows many serial number's of the Original Registered Magnums as well as some Non-Registered Magnums that were destroyed or still in the F.B.I. Gun Quanitco storage Vault.



Here is a Survivor of that time span. This is a First Year 1935 Registered Magnum. They Produced only 720 of these the very first year and this one was towards the end of the 1935 Production run as it shipped in December 1935. It was shipped to a Large S&W stocking Dealer in Augusta, Georgia Known as "The Bowen Brother's Hardware Company". In his Early correspondence of letter's sent to S&W the owner of this gun being Charles W. Bowen asked their suggestion of what front sight to Place on his Gun and they told him a Patridge style as the Baughman style had not been born Yet. That style sight blade came in 1937 as F.B.I. Agent Frank Baughman submitted The Famous Baughman design sight to The President of S&W Col. Joseph Wesson the Creator of the .357 Registered Magnum, and asked him to produce one on his own Registered Magnum. We still see this sight blade used today by S&W with very little change to It's Original design. This short barrel 3-1/2" Length revolver is what the F.B.I. Agents would have been carrying back then. The One issued to J. Edgar Hoover was of the Longest Barrel length being 8-3/4". I doubt it ever got carried by him due to it's long barrel length. It's where about's is Unknown.... These Gun's sold for $61.00 a Piece in 1935 so they got off to a slow sales start due to a Country coming out of a Major depression. S&W sold this one to Charles Bowen for an agreed special price of $39.00 shipped to his store with one Full Box of .357 Magnum ammo. ;) Hammer It







RegisteredMagnumwithMagnas011.jpg


RegisteredMagnumwithMagnas009.jpg
 
The era of the 10mm AUTO ...

While it was carried, the Bureau's 10 Most Wanted were scared stiff of this bad boy ...

10mm AUTO.
800px-10MM_AUTO_-_FMJ_-_1.jpg


:D
 
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