The top 10 guns used in crimes in the
U.S. in 2000, according to an unpublished study by U.S.
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and obtained
exclusively by TIME:
 |
 |
| Weapon |
Tony's Snide Remarks |
| 1. Smith
and Wesson .38 revolver |
Nice
weapon, but most of the ones used were probably
cheap small-frame cheapos bought at a pawn shop. |
| 2. Ruger
9 mm semiautomatic |
The
least expensive pro/sumer-grade 9mm on the market. |
| 3.
Lorcin Engineering .380 semiautomatic |
An
absolute piece of crap that sells for less than
$120 retail. No real shooter would even warrant
this "gun" as a legitimate target to
even shoot at. |
| 4. Raven
Arms .25 semiautomatic |
Another
piece of shit that sells for less than $110
retail, and is worth less than the pipsqueak
ammunition you can try to feed it. |
| 5.
Mossberg 12 gauge shotgun |
One of the less expensive shotguns on the market, although they have come up substantially in quality in recent years. |
| 6. Smith
and Wesson 9mm semiautomatic |
A
surprise, because these are generally fairly
spendy pistols, in the $400 to $700 range. Nice
weapons, overall. |
| 7. Smith
and Wesson .357 revolver |
A tried
and trued classic. I would never dare disparage
this weapon. They must represent the true
professionals of crime in this context. |
| 8. Bryco
Arms 9mm semiautomatic |
Worse
than a brass knuckle used by a no-armed retarded
man, these ill-fitted pieces of crap were
stretching the truth when they were marketed as
actual "firearms". |
| 9. Bryco
Arms .380 semiautomatic |
Even
worse than a brass knuckle on a no-armed retarded
man, these ill-fitted pieces of crap were
stretching the truth when they were marketed as
"firearms". Especially insipid as a
"weapon" in a small caliber. |
| 10.
Davis Industries .380 semiautomatic |
This one
takes the cake as the "most prone to never
fire, ever" firearm that was ever produced.
Apparently they had a street price of $60 in Miami
at one point, which would have been better spent
on a wristrocket or a billyclub if you planned to
actually use one in a legitimate crime. They
eventually had to fight lawsuits from prosecutors
and criminals at the same time because of their
inherent defectiveness. |
| Note
that there are no Glock, Sig, HK, Springfield,
Colt or high-end Smith & Wesson firearms on
this list. Some of the above mentioned
"guns" were in fact made on
Chinese-manufactured WW2-era casting machines out
of warehouses in Miami and Los Angeles so they
could be sold on the street for the price of 5
rocks of crack cocaine. The worst offenders,
Davis, Lorcin and Raven Arms, have all been sued
into bankruptcy as far as I know. As well they
should be. |
The list is derived from the center's investigations of 88,570 guns recovered from crime scenes in 46 cities in 2000, is being analyzed for ATF's youth gun crime interdiction initiative, which helps local police forces understand and counter gun trafficking to youth in their jurisdictions.
One measure by which ATF gauges a
gun's appeal as an offensive (rather than a defensive or
sporting) weapon is its "time-to-crime" factor
— how long after its sale it is used in a crime.
Revolvers, not generally used as an offensive weapon,
had a median time-to-crime of 12.3 years, according to
the 2000 figures. At the other extreme, Bryco Arms 9mm
semiautomatics recovered from kids younger than 18 had a
median time-to-crime of 1.5 years, and those recovered
from suspects aged 18 to 24 had a median time-to-crime
of 1.1 years. The Hi Point 9mm is another downscale
semiautomatic frequently seized from suspects in the
18-to-24 age range; it has a time-to-crime span of just
one year. Speaking of Hi-Point, they are producing
things called firearms but are in fact nothing less than
ill-designed clubs with handles.
Though most teenage gangbangers
wouldn't be caught dead with a Smith and Wesson .38
revolver, an old fashioned six shooter, it nonetheless
claims the lead on the top ten list. That's because
there are literally millions in existence; Smith and
Wesson introduced the .38 in 1899, and since then,
models have proliferated, transforming the name
"Smith and Wesson .38" into a generic label
for a particular style of gun, even clones that aren't
made by Smith and Wesson. Similarly, the Smith and
Wesson .357 revolver, which was introduced in 1935, and
the venerable Mossberg shotgun made the list based on
the sheer volume in circulation.
But street criminals are interested
almost exclusively in semiautomatics, preferring their
superior firepower. (Semiautomatics hold at least seven
and often as many as ten or twelve rounds of ammunition.
--Or 18 if you can spend the extra dinero made from a
7-11 heist on a Beretta)
Gun traffickers like to peddle cheap
semiautomatics to teenagers because they can tack on a
hefty mark-up (of ten bucks) and still offer a weapon
that costs less than an upscale gun like a Ruger or
Smith and Wesson semiautomatic. That's why inexpensive
semiautomatics dominate the top ten list. As it happens,
many of the companies on that list have links to George
Jennings, founder of the now-defunct Raven Arms and his
clan. Jennings' son Bruce founded Bryco in 1992.
According to the ATF, Jennings' son-in-law Jim Davis
founded Davis Industries, and Lorcin Engineering was
launched by Jim Waldorf, Bruce Jennings' high school
friend. These companies and several others also linked
to Jennings are known in the trade as the "ring of
fire."
While Bryco has recently slowed its
production and has stopped making several models,
according to ATF and other industry sources, gun dealers
still have plenty of its firearms in inventory. That's
why Bryco holds down two spots on the tracing center's
"Top Ten Crime Guns" list for 2000.
Experts at the ATF's National Firearms
Tracing Center in Falling Water, W.Va., believe that the
demand for Bryco wares is driven by teenagers and young
adults who like the guns' menacing looks, ample 10-round
magazines and rock-bottom prices. Bryco semiautomatics,
which can be had in matte black or shiny nickel finish,
retail for less than $100 new, and for as little as $55
used. By contrast, Ruger 9mm's are more reliable, higher
quality weapons. It can be difficult for first time buyers
to choose a handgun for self-defense. The Glock 19 is a popular
choice and fortunately the Glock 19 price is affordable for most prospective owners. |
