Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns Chasing 1930's gangsters, revolver or auto?

Depression Era gansgsters and the men who chased them have always been somewhat interesting to me. Although I�m an auto pistol kind of guy for most things, I�m not so sure I�d use an auto pistol back in those days since they were mostly limited to FMJ ammo only. Back then, revolvers with flat points and some even used home cast hollow points were just much more effective. If I were a G man chasing the bad guys, I would probably be a gun-geek just like I am now. I would have been reading Sharpe, Wesson, Hatcher, & Keith. So I would be probably be carrying S&W 1917 tuned by Kings Gunsight company, and a barrel bobbed to 4�. I would load up .45 ACP cases with the Keith-Ideal 452423 which is a 230 grain Keith style SWC made specifically for the Auto-Rim cartridge; and I would keep them in half moon clips. Either that, or a large frame Colt�s DA revolver in .45 Colt with the Keith-Ideal 454424 Keith style SWC.

I think that would cover my daily carry gun. I�d certainly have some special purpose guns. A Detective Special (or bobbed Police Positive) in .38 Special, a couple of 1911�s, one in .45 ACP and one in .38 Super. Probably a .38/44 Heavy Duty with a SWC loaded up good and stout to Magnum velocities. And of course, a brace of 1897 Winchesters or Browning Auto-5/Remington Model 11�s, and Remington model 8 in .35 remington.

So what do you think you would choose?

Triple lock 44 spl.Mod 12 Winchester,'o3 Springfield and a Tommy.

2 Triple locks. Model 12 Win and a Browning Monitor (BAR).

Colt 1911

Colt 1908 for backup

Baby Browning for backup to the backup

Mod. 12 shottie on the backseat

Winchester '94 carbine in .30-30 in the trunk

Thompson gun back at the office

Springfield sporter in .30-'06, with scope, back at the house

What about a good ol' S&W 1917

If we are going off of movies how about a Mannlicher Schoenauer?

Browning Automatic Rifle in .30-06. It can go through any car sheet metal.

whatever they used on Bonnie & Clyde seemed to do the job

Yeah, a BAR in the trunk would give a lot of peace of mind.

Colt 1911 in a shoulder holster and a Thompson 1927 on the seat.

A revolver would only have the advantage of flat meplat bullets, but the big disadvantage is that there were no speed loaders in the 1930�s. An extra two bullets in the gun and a quick reload would be my preference. And while I appreciate the concern about FMJ ammo, in .45 caliber it had been, and would continue, to stop highly adrenalized men of all sizes very reliably, provided good hits, of course.

Also would have a cut down BAR ala Clyde Barrow someplace handy for when you have to over penetrate a Model T or, God forbid, shoot some rich gangster�s Duesenberg.

S&W M&P 5'', KING action job, Roper grips, Ideal 358439 HP UNDER 5.0 Gr. Unique for daily carry. SD Meyer holster.

Winchester 1892 .44 WCF round barrel short rifle loaded with the .44 WCF HV
factory loads.

Browning 1919 A4 in the passenger seat with the windshield open, ear plugs in.

Not me. I'd have a 1911 in .45 ACP carried in a shoulder holster with plenty of extra magazines. Might carry a 1911A1 in .38 Super if so moved.
For rifles, it would be a 94 Winchester in .25-35, and a Springfield with a 330 Weaver, a Lyman Alaskan, or Noske scope.
The shotgun would be 97 Winchester.
There might be better choices for some, but these I know I like the feel of. E

How about a Winchester 1907 auto in .351SL, with the optional 10 round magazines? Great penetrator of cars.

yep, they are interesting rifles - although the 10 round mags can be plumb spendy. 180 gr .351 bullet at 1900 fps ain't trivial

1911A1 .38 Super, Colt Monitor and a 1921 Thompson. Probably have a Colt Detective Special as a BUG.

I have run this through my mind a few times over the years... The big IF for me is could I find a 1911 .38 Super that would hold a decent group at 25 yards with the original headspaced on the case mouth barrel. If I could I would gladly carry a pair of the Match Target guns with some of the standard old 1280 fps Super loads of the time. There were also some Remington HPs back then but I am not sure when they came out...if not FMJs work just fine.

Rifle wise, the Rangers seemed like the Winchester 95 Carbine in '06...good enough for them good enough for me...

Shotgun...12 ga. side-by-side with 20" barrels but with full chokes both sides.

...and of course a Monitor...

Bob

None of you ever heard of J.H. Fitzgerald?

1911a1, Gaston hadn't come out with his line of bad guy slayers yet.

Isn't that the gent that had Colt New Service .45s cut down to 2" with an open trigger guard? Named "Fitz Specials"?

2-1911's in 45acp ( maybe a 38 super also)
1-Colt Detective in 38spl
1-Win 97 12ga ( maybe a saw off 12ga double)
1-03 Springfeild ( maybe a Win 94 30-30 Win)
Thompson and or a Browning BAR