charlie sherrill
Member
I've been around enough murders for the last few days so I'll sorta get back to the original thread. I started as a LEO in 1969. For some reason I think we actually had more killings back then than we do now. The ones nowadays just seem to be more vicious. The weapon of choice in my earlier days of LE was undoubtably the .22 caliber first, shotguns second, and then the various other calibers. In my first 20 years as a LEO I saw more people shot and killed with .22's than anything else. The reason for this is that .22's are more affordable where I live than some of the other stuff. I've never seen a study on this. I can only go by what I saw.
The next weapon choice was a knife. About half of the early homicides I was involved with involved knives. Lots of stabbed and carved up folks seen in this career. Knife murders were usually the most vicious. Some of these perps didn't know when to stop. In all but a few cases the weapons, knives and guns, were cheap junk that apparently worked when needed. We actually got a bunch of cheap guns out of an evidence locker (expired cases) and used them for weights on catfish lines. Anytime I see one of these old pot metal pistols it brings back memories.
A few years ago criminals weapons choices seemed to upgrade somewhat. A lot of the guns were still cheap but the 9 mm was starting to be the favorite caliber. The more expensive guns such as Beretta and Glock were usually carried by "businessmen."(drug dealers who could afford more) In recent years the crooks have found that the bigger calibers seem to work better, or at least impress folks more, and we're seeing more 40's and .45's with a sprinkling of 7.62X39 in the form of AK's and converted SKS's. The old favorites (22's, .38's, and an oddball .32) still "pop" up from time to time, but the new favorites seem to be the larger calibers. Some crooks buy just the caliber in a *** form and a few of the smarter ones buy caliber and quality.
In times past an officer who confiscated a gun usually got to take it home if it wasn't involved in a crime after a trial was over. I collected and gave away hundreds, mostly junk. The judge or some other court official usually got the ones that came through court on a felony charge. Nowadays the AG's office requires that departments keep accurate records of confiscated guns and are also required to document proper disposal through auction or destruction. My department auctions them off. The only gun I can legally keep is a "lost" gun,ie. a throwdown or something similar that wasn't used in a crime. "Wow, I found this here gun lying here. Anybody knows who it belongs to?"
I've still got a few interesting things laying around the house even though I gave away or "loaned" and never got back a lot of stuff. Those that come to mind are: (1) a S&W .38 S&W caliber snubbie w/stags that a wife shot and killed her lawyer husband with back in the 50's. It came from the estate of the presiding judge. It's really a neat piece and is now a heirloom in my estate. (2) A H&R .410 sinble barrel shotgun. The previous owner used it to kill three different people in three different cases. The first two cases were ruled justifiable homicide. On the third case he was convicted of manslaughter. (I witnessed this shooting) (3) A RG 10 .22 caliber revolver a woman used to shoot her abusive husband. (through the front screen door) (4) A RG .38 a man killed his wife with after catching her with his brother. (5) An early S&W model 38 that was used by a fellow officer who shot and killed a guy who was trying to shoot me with one of the aforementioned cheap .22's 40 years ago (5) a couple of cheap butcher knives, a hawkbill carpet knife, AND...The Machete of Death! (a guy got chopped 37 times with this one. The rest of it I gave away or it got lost.
The next weapon choice was a knife. About half of the early homicides I was involved with involved knives. Lots of stabbed and carved up folks seen in this career. Knife murders were usually the most vicious. Some of these perps didn't know when to stop. In all but a few cases the weapons, knives and guns, were cheap junk that apparently worked when needed. We actually got a bunch of cheap guns out of an evidence locker (expired cases) and used them for weights on catfish lines. Anytime I see one of these old pot metal pistols it brings back memories.
A few years ago criminals weapons choices seemed to upgrade somewhat. A lot of the guns were still cheap but the 9 mm was starting to be the favorite caliber. The more expensive guns such as Beretta and Glock were usually carried by "businessmen."(drug dealers who could afford more) In recent years the crooks have found that the bigger calibers seem to work better, or at least impress folks more, and we're seeing more 40's and .45's with a sprinkling of 7.62X39 in the form of AK's and converted SKS's. The old favorites (22's, .38's, and an oddball .32) still "pop" up from time to time, but the new favorites seem to be the larger calibers. Some crooks buy just the caliber in a *** form and a few of the smarter ones buy caliber and quality.
In times past an officer who confiscated a gun usually got to take it home if it wasn't involved in a crime after a trial was over. I collected and gave away hundreds, mostly junk. The judge or some other court official usually got the ones that came through court on a felony charge. Nowadays the AG's office requires that departments keep accurate records of confiscated guns and are also required to document proper disposal through auction or destruction. My department auctions them off. The only gun I can legally keep is a "lost" gun,ie. a throwdown or something similar that wasn't used in a crime. "Wow, I found this here gun lying here. Anybody knows who it belongs to?"
I've still got a few interesting things laying around the house even though I gave away or "loaned" and never got back a lot of stuff. Those that come to mind are: (1) a S&W .38 S&W caliber snubbie w/stags that a wife shot and killed her lawyer husband with back in the 50's. It came from the estate of the presiding judge. It's really a neat piece and is now a heirloom in my estate. (2) A H&R .410 sinble barrel shotgun. The previous owner used it to kill three different people in three different cases. The first two cases were ruled justifiable homicide. On the third case he was convicted of manslaughter. (I witnessed this shooting) (3) A RG 10 .22 caliber revolver a woman used to shoot her abusive husband. (through the front screen door) (4) A RG .38 a man killed his wife with after catching her with his brother. (5) An early S&W model 38 that was used by a fellow officer who shot and killed a guy who was trying to shoot me with one of the aforementioned cheap .22's 40 years ago (5) a couple of cheap butcher knives, a hawkbill carpet knife, AND...The Machete of Death! (a guy got chopped 37 times with this one. The rest of it I gave away or it got lost.