Mafia firearm of choice?

What type of gun is used for most hits? Is there a special gun/caliber? Or is it all over the board?

its hard to pin down one specific make/model, and i'm sure it has changed over the years. with that said, i think its fair to say that the .38 special revolver has probably been used in more hits/murders than most other weapons. its reliable, and doesn't expel any casings which could be used to gather forensic evidence.

.22 silenced. The bullet will ricochet inside the brain causing more damage. If you've ever heard a silenced .22 go off, rain makes more sound, lol. I think a lot of Philly guys preferred the .22.

Great line!... I'll always remember where I was when I first heard it...

no doubt it has been used a fair # of times, but its a very poor choice imo for a bunch of different reasons.

#1 its a very underpowered round, and it may not even penetrate the skull, just ask john veasy. the problem is only amplified when the even weaker subsonic .22lr ammo is used with a suppressor.

#2 rimfire ammo can be very unreliable, especially in semi-auto pistols, and having a gun jam during a hit is never a good thing.

I think this would be a good choice. A good bit more stopping power than a .22 and the revolver won't jam like a semi-auto.

I agree with a .38

A .44 would be perfect though to blow someones head off.

Yeah, I see your points. 38 would be the most reliable. I think there's .22 ammo though with higher FPS. Think I saw something like that on Youtube.

The reason it's so popular among hitmen is precisely because of its lower power.It will enter the skull,but will not exit.Instead,it ricochets around the inside of the skull effectively destroying the targets brain.

As far as the jamming issue goes,if your weapons are properly cleaned and maintained the odds that they will jam are extremely low.

Tony Spilotro was suspected of using a .22 with a suppressor to kill Tamara Rand and a few others while he was Chicagos guy in Vegas.

the reliability factor has more to do with the rimfire ammo, as opposed to the firearm. .22lr ammo, even the more "premium" stuff, is notorious for being unreliable, especially is semi-automatic pistols. there are a number of reasons for this, i will try to explain.

the primers are much less reliable than any centerfire rounds, and any rimmed ammo has a much greater chance to produce a FTF(failure to feed) or an FTE(failure to eject) simply because the rim is more likely to catch or get hung up, as opposed to the bottlenecked design much more common to other semi-auto loads. these problems are amplified when low powered rounds are added to the equation. you don't run into those same problems with a bolt or lever action rifle in .22lr, as the rounds are chambered manually. revolvers are a different ballgame because of the revolving cylinder, thus no feed issues which is one of the many reasons they are renowned for their reliabilty.

there are a number of revolvers chambered for .22lr, but a suppressed revolver is extremely uncommon and expensive due to the fact that you would need a custom made threaded barrel, as well as something to muffle the sound caused by the gas escaping from the cylinder gap, and its highly unlikely that a hitman will go to all that trouble for a throwaway gun.

.22lr ammo also has the problem of often being mass produced so cheaply, and on such a huge scale, that weak rounds are common, which again will fail to cycle the action properly. the same problems exist for the subsonic loads used in suppressed weapons, as the are naturally less powerful to achieve the sub-sonic velocity needed to lesson the sound.

as for this, its basically just a common misconception that has been said so many times that people see it as fact, anybody with any knowledge of ballistics knows this is the extreme exception, rather than the rule. just because a round enters and fails to exit doesn't mean that it has been "bouncing around". all it means is that it has dumped all of its energy, and has lodged itself in either flesh or bone.

Great thread!
most prefer the 22 calibre because there are gunshot radar detectors in nyc that can detect time and location, this doesn't apply to the 22.

what do you mean 'gunshot detectors' what exactly is that?

What are you talking about? How does a gunshot detector work?

LOL. In my neighborhood they're called "people with cell phones".

hahaha good shit!

You linked to your own hard drive. You need to upload it to a picture hosting website and link it from there.

Thanks. I'll delete and redo tomorrow.

Nyc has sound detectors which are set in areas where there is higher incidence of
shootings.

my choice fire arms http://northamericanarms.com/
small enough to fit in the palm of your hand.

Nicodemo used a .357 in the murder right ?

Yes he (or whoever) did use a 357 according to reports.

Gravano said to use a revolver on a hit so you won't have to risk the gun jamming. I think he said he liked 38 specials but i'd go with Nicodemo on this one. If your going to use a 38 special you might as well use a 357 for the extra pop.

You can shoot 38 specials out of most 357 revolvers but you can't shoot 357's out of a revolver that was made to fire 38 specials. So you might as well just go with the 357.

Can't beat a silenced 22 in the noise department but then you run into the question.... is the 22 a strong enough round to use on a important job. Personally i don't think it is and if you want to use a silencer equipt piece i'd go with a silenced 9mm or maybe even a silenced 45. Even a .380 auto round is better then a 22 in my opinion.

But then again you run into the problem of possible jamming with any of the auto handguns. But if noise is a concern you might have to use one since you can't use a silencer with a revolver. It just won't work because of the escaping gases between the cylinder and the barrel.

quit messing around, and go with a silenced 1911, and kill your enemies with a piece of americana not only are they very aesthetically pleasing, but the higher quality models are very reliable. alot of guys prefer the slimmer grips of these guns, you are unlikely to run into any performance issues with a 230 grain slug, and the ammo is already subsonic.

Thats very true, most 45 acp ammo is subsonic.

Back in the Cocaine Cowboy days the silencer equipt 45 cal MAC-10's seemed to be the weapon of choice with most of the Colombian hitters.

i can't think of any that isn't off the top of my head, although i'm sure there are some really hot +p loads out there, but they might cause some problems with some of the older 1911's.

Hirtenberger used to make some radical hot ammo. Their L7A1 9MM +P+ ammo was intense, probably the hottest ammo i've ever shot. Was supposed to be only used in open bolt 9mm SMG's but some guys tried to use it in normal 9mm pistols and it destroyed the gun.

.380

Ur from ny? Dont u ever leave the village? The shitty hoods they got the gunshot detectors. Work like radar. Most pjs have them now.

Wouldnt use a .22 on anything bigger than a small rodent. Unless the guy is like tied to a chair and theres no chance of him runnin out the door... 22s are just weak. Shoot a squrrel with one, they get hectic, climb a tree and die. Even with a good shot, where u paralyze them or something, they still squirm for a while. Iv never seen a squrrel hit with a 22 just, die. I honestly cant see shootinf someone with a .22. Ive seen a cow get shot in the head with a .30-06 and still get up a few feet. The body is weird. Ive got a s&w .22. Old target pistol my dad gave to me. Def not something id keep under the seat. Id like to get a glock with a real light trigger pull. Maybe 4, 4.5 in barrel. In 9mm. What is that a 20? 21? I get em mixed up. Put a laser under the barrel to weight it down when firing. Not really talking about guns to kill ppl sorry, just a rant haha

now-a-days it's the almighty wire

My vote would be .38 revolver.
It wont jam and has enough whoomph to get the job done

SIG SOUR BOY

Something with the serial #'s have been filed down, stolen, that works and doesnt make too much noise.

If your talking just doing hit then dumping yeah, but if u get caught with gun with serial number filed off your fucked.

Have to drill those numbers off. The ATF can bring up numbers that have been filed off even if they look like you couldn't. Some type of acid brings the number up good enough where they can read it. Better off using a drill on them and drilling deep into the metal if your really worried about it.

Ya i was just saying that if your caught with firearm with a serial number thats been tampered with thats a serious felony.

.38 man I have one myself and that's a people pusher. Plus it doesn't expel casings so you can drop the casings into your hand and toss the gun when youre making your getaway.

.38 no jam,no shells casing left at the scene.

.38 revolver certainly seems the choice.

M249

Anybody thinking of suppressing anything over a .380 and not attracting attention is just dreaming. Have you ever heard a silenced 9mm or .45? There's almost no point in suppressing them at all. And to suppress any revolver is just stupid also and has nothing to do with getting a threaded barrel. It's very easy to tap out the end of a barrel precisely to recieve whatever thread diameter your silencer is. I've made quite a few silencers throughout the years and have put them to many different calibers and this is what I've found to be true. It's also pretty common knowledge that a High Standard Duromatic silenced .22 was and has been the hit weapon of choice since the mid 60's. Of course other guns have been used but far and away way more hits have been done with the exact setup previously stated.
I love how people say that they are underpowered. Well, how about you set right in front of me while we take a ride in a car and let me dump 6-8 shots at point blank range into your skull and lets see how well you fare? You'll be a memory, plain and simple.

Great thread. Five felonies has had all the correct information.
Revolvers always most reliable

i'm no firearms expert, but when someone posts crap like this i can't take them seriously any longer and a few minutes on youtube would prove that. the caliber has little to do with the noise as long as the bullet is going less than 1135 fps. there would be little noticeable difference in the sound between the calibers you listed, with the only substancial exception being the action of the weapon itself, as the larger and heavier slides of the larger caliber handguns are naturally going to be a bit louder.


first of all, you can't suppress a revolver as i stated before due to the gasses escaping from the cylinder gap. don't believe me, then i invite you to put your hand over the gap and fire, let me know how that ends up! the only exception to the rule is the nagant m1895 revolver due to the unique cartridge and action of the revolver which pushes it forward before firing to close the cylinder gap. this was done to give the round extra velocity during a time when pistol ammunition was extremely underpowered, but seeing how that platform is extremely uncommon, it's a mute point.

so, you manufacture suppressors huh? you understand that's a serious offense right? furthermore, what do you mean by tapping the barrel? you realize that both the suppressor and barrel are threaded to allow an easy and tight connection, but i forgot you make them custom, shame on me! do you use superglue or rubber bands to connect them? maybe you should just use a potato instead!


the reason people say that is because it's the truth. i have a 10-22 and even with the increased velocity of the longer rifle barrel, the gun is just a plinker. the whole "let me shoot you with it" logic is just lazy. let me stab you in the neck with a pen. just because it's potentially lethal doesn't mean i would choose a pen if i wanted to stab you, i would use something more appropriate.

the whole aura of the .22 as some legit assasination weapon is just the same old bullshit repeated time and again until some just view it as fact. we hear the same nonsense about how the israeli special forces and mossad use it all the time, when the truth is far from that. in the 70's, some of their air marshals were equipped with it because of the low power which made it much safer to use on planes for obvious reasons. they have also used both suppressed rifles and pistols in .22lr to eliminate pesky palestinian dogs during their human rights violating missions, but seeing how those bags of bones probably weighed less than 30 pounds for the most part, hardly impressive!

Whatever the Russians can smuggle into the country I'd say.

I keep my SAW in my waistband, bipod legs extended.

I'll go with the 19th century pepperbox.

...This writing style brings back memories of a long lost poster....

Not lost enough.

Well gigantes failed hit on costello certainly showed that a .32 acp wasn't the best choice. But considering that most mob hits took place years ago when the revolver was still the dominant handgun, i would say a snub nosed .38 is probably the most likely answer. As for the most effective, a sawn off shotgun would be a good choice. Its somewhat concelable and a round of 12 gauge buckshot at close range is something you would be very lucky to survive.

Depends on the Mob guy's objective. If it's an assassination of someone he's close to, and can put the gun right at the victim's head, a .22 revolver, firing CCI Mini-Mag rounds, is best--lightweight, concealable, little recoil or noise, no spent cartridges left behind, and CCI rimfire ammo is reliable. Two or three shots to the head would do it. For a frontal assault, nothing beats a tactical shotgun with a 18.5" barrel--don't have to aim it, just point it in the general direction of the victim(s) and down they go. For self-defense, a .45 ACP has maximum stopping power, and some compact and subcompact .45's are on the market. A 1911 is the best all-around self defense weapon, but it's not concealable.

agree with the choice, but disagree with the technical aspects, as you do indeed have to aim. a 00 buckshot round fired out of a shotgun with an 18.5-20" barrel with an open choke at a distance of 21 feet, roughly across the room distances, is generally going to pattern about the size of a fist, with about a 1 inch wider spread every yard thereafter. basically, you are throwing softballs. now the pattern is naturally going to expand with smaller shot, but the stopping power is also going to decrease as well.


modern 1911's seem to be real hit or miss. while they have a proven combat record, things are different today. keep in mind that i don't own one, nor do i have all that much experience with them, so take what i have to say for what it's worth. the ww2 era pistols were built with very loose tolerances, one of the main reasons they were so reliable under the demanding conditions of war. the problem lies in the decades after where they started to be mass produced for the civilian market. they took a gun renowned for its ruggedness and started messing with it by trying to turn it into a precision tool, yet on a mass scale, which just doesn't work with that type of design. this caused alot of the problems that we see today with them being finicky with regards to ammo, parts wearing out quickly, stuff like that. plenty of magazine concerns as well, but wilson combat have fixed that if you are willing to pay a bit more!

there are alot of decent entry level 1911's available, but just a short browse on any of the many gun forums will make my case for me as far as the many problems. it seems to be hit or miss with alot of them, as even kimber, which is what you'd call an entry level custom setup, have mixed reviews. another problem is the proliferation of the compact and subcompact models in 4 and 3 inch barrels, as opposed to the original 5in setup. the design, well over 100 y/o, doesn't always perform well with these changes, similar in a way as trying to half a baking recipe, just doesn't come out the same. it seems that if you want to have a 1911 that is as close to 100% reliable as you can get then you have to fork over the big money for a real custom job by ed brown or wilson, but some of them are more than $4000! the .45acp is a great round, but given the choice i would rather go with a high capacity polymer model like the glock 21, even if the trigger will never be as nice!

I understand what both you guys are saying. I think the shotgun would be more lethal, especially close-up.

I have a Kimber Pro CDP ll and a Glock 27. I also have a Chief Special .38 S&W
and a Colt Python. The Kimber has been a disappointment. Jamming problems have occurred on a regular basis. The Wilson mag may be the answer. The Glock and S&W .38 are still in the box. The Python is the one I would go to for absolute reliability.

When looking to purchase a 1911 I called the local chief of police. He was a former student and we've stayed in touch over the years. He strongly suggested that I forget the 1911 and get a Glock. He said when the police dept was replacing their handguns, the Glock rep. took a 21 or 27 ( can't remember for sure) by the barrel and threw it down a paved area at the firing range. He then picked up the gun and fired every round with no issues. He further stated that the dept was very satisfied with Glock and had not encountered any problems on the firing range. I bought a new one (Glock 27 in box) for $400. I also got two double stack mags with the gun. I still had the itch for a 1911 so I purchased the Kimber for $1200. I've not fired the Glock, so I can't give any feedback. I thought it was a good deal so I made the purchase. We'll see.

like i posted earlier, tons of problems with kimber in general. it's totally hit or miss, as some guys end up with a great firearm while others are stuck with a weapon that needs constant tuning. from what i hear, they do a good job fixing problems but if you are paying well over $1000 that shouldn't even be an issue in the first place. definitely go with the wilson mags, they are the best in the business by far. another issue with 1911's is that they generally need a "break in" period to work properly. now, there is no set # of rounds, but most guys seem to have to fire at least a few hundred before they work as advertised. again, a real pain in the ass when you are shelling out alot more money than you would be for a glock, which work basically without a hiccup right out of the box!

I had a 1911 as a kid. They used them and the tommy gun in the 20s and 30s because the same ammo fit into both guns.

Normally people carried a 38 not an automatic. Killing in a set up you get close behind someone in a place they felt comfortable in and get two in the back of the head with a 22.

Would not use one from the front because it could take you 5 to kill him and in the meantime he is shooting back at you.

In case no one's caught it yet,I chose my username as a tribute to the classic Sicilian Mafia's weapon of choice,the lupara.

Efficient,deadly at close range,and best of all,if you hit your target anywhere above the knees,he's done.

Didn't know until a few minutes ago that the lupara is the same as the "coach gun." My nephew has bought and traded dozens of these. I remember a few years ago he was looking for a specific type ( I'm not all that knowledgable) coach gun with "rabbit ears. " someone he knew wanted one and he (nephew) was looking to make some money. I imagine there are numerous makes of these on the market.

357 gets the job done but make sure you got a place to bury the piece and a driver ready to go because when that thing bangs the whole neighborhood will hear it.

I hope I never have to use a gun on anyone. The Python is a used piece that I got in a trade. Oh yeah, the .357 is loud, really loud ! I keep it for personal and home protection. I do have a carry permit, but only carry a weapon when I travel. If I go out of state I check to see if the states I go through or visit, recognize Tennessee carry permits.

A few years ago I started attending gun shows with my nephew. It wasn't long before I began buying different guns. Didn't take long until I realized I could only shoot one at a time. It's nice to get them out and look at them, but I finally realized I didn't need a dozen guns in my home. It's easy to get hooked on collecting them.

My nephew has about 90-100. He also has a walk-in safe and lots of insurance on the guns.

Yeah, 357 revolver does get the job done but as stated, makes noise. Totally reliable.
Gary Martin- we have similar guns. Kimber CDPll .45 on which I have had Zero problems. Glock 19- Gen 1- again no problems. night sights, extended mag release and extended slide release. Colt Detective special.38 very reliable and concealable but could use more knockdown power. Keep Kimber real clean and use good mags.

keep in mind,that you are not looking for a defensive weapon. This thread is about an assasination tool. Set up right, you are probably not gonna need 20 rounds of 9mm from a polymer wonder. A revovler seems to fit the bill better, as a misfire just requires a pull on the trigger. Imagine a hitman taking time to tap and rack the gun if there is a bad round, a feeding problem or a failure to eject. Add that to the advantage of not leaving any casings behind and i think its shortcommings is outweighed by this.

another advantage with the shotgun is that it´s pretty hard to match a handfull of buckshot to a specific weapon = dont have to worry about ballistics.

Shot gun interesting stick it in your pants. People will think you have a really really big dick

Then after you use it you can call Stanley steemer to clean up the mess. Like it never even happened.

pesky buffalo mobsters pilfering too many condiments from your fast food establishment then retreating like the cowards that they are behind a brick wall? the mk211 raufoss may be the solution!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_jF9eqi4oK0