President Reagan was wounded with the best-selling Roehm. out of gun parts shipped from its West German affiliate, Roehm GmbH. It is assembled in a Miami warehouse by the German-owned RG Industries Inc. It is a 'Saturday Night Special' by anyone's description, typically retailing for $39.95. In 1979 one out of every 12 handguns traced in a street crime case was a short-barreled Roehm. 22-caliber revolver - was the country's single leading crime instrument. We found that one of the Miami-assembled imports - the Roehm. The remaining four were inexpensive weapons assembled by small plants in Miami from sets of gun parts shipped in from Italy and Germany. Three others were low-budget specials also made in America. Four of these 'snubbies' were expensive, well-made American guns. Of the 15 leading crime handguns, 11 had snub-nosed barrels measuring 2.5 inches or less. Of these 10, seven were made by Smith & Wesson, Colt and Charter Arms, all makers of high-quality, relatively expensive guns.Ībove all, criminals seem to prefer concealability. Ten of the 15 were made in American factories out of American-made components.

Neither side in the debate has been willing to take a microscopic look at what sorts of guns actually are used in crime.That is exactly what my associates and I have tried to do.Ĭontrary to popular impression, most street crime guns are not cheap, low-caliber, foreign-origin 'Saturday Night Specials.' When we compiled a list of the 15 leading crime handguns, we were surprised to find that only two fit that exact description. This conclusion, drawn from an investigation by four reporters in the Cox Newspapers Washington bureau, may point to a way out of the impasse in the national debate over handgun control. Based on the findings of our computer analysis of more than 14,000 handguns used in crimes during 1979, that one gun is very likely to be a 'snubbie.' So in a given year, one out of every 100 handguns in the nation's private handgun arsenal is involed in a crime.

There are about 50 million handguns in circulation. Handgunds of all sizes were instruments of 10,000 murders and another 550,000 crimes of violence in 1977. In gun magazines they are called 'snubbies.' Their sole advantage is that they leave no unsightly bulges when they are concealed. Beyond the range of a card table they are inaccurate, so they are little use to hunters and target shooters. One flick on the trigger and out barks one-third of an ounce of lead at 700 miles per hour, shaped to plow a mushroom cavity into someone's gut.

WITH THEIR SLENDER BUTTS and cute little muzzles, they look like toys.

1975 charter arms undercover 38 special