So, I'm writing a story that starts during the 1920s-1930s of the United States, and I wonder, What kind of guns did police and civilians own at the time? I think revolvers were still popular, given that handguns lacked certain evolutions, but, what guns were popular with civilian gun owners at the time? I know the Great Depression presumably wiped out a lot of firearms consumption, but, what about the 1920s? Also, what guns did police like to use? I have a pretty good handle on the American military small arms at the time, but, I have no flipping clue what everyone else liked at the time. I'm especially looking for anything on what cops liked to use in places like Texas, or Florida. Was there a popular shotgun for police issue? What revolvers were popular, given that from what I understand, the 1911 never took off with cops countrywide and we were a long way off from Glock, along with similar pistols. Thoughts? I've tried researching and I can't find anything concrete on this for this particular area of firearms ownership.
I think the colt official police revolver in .38 was pretty popular in the late 20s and 30s - it started being made in 1927 (and went on to the 50s). Prior to that the army special also in .38 was popular ( they started moving to .38 from .32 in the 1900s) The standard issue shotgun of a lot of departments was the Winchester 1897 pump action
Killer300: their we're lots of guns that were available to both civilians & police during that timeframe. The colt detective special debuted in 1927. The s&w model m&p later know as the s&w model 10 debuted in 1899 and it was used by police officers for many years. The s&w register magnum chambered in .357 magnum later know as the s&w model 27. debuted in 1935 but at $60 it was not available. to your average civilian or police officer because it was so expensive. The colt 1911 in 45 Acp was around during that time period. The thompson submachine was also available but at $200 your average citizen or police officer would not be able to afford it do to it's high price.
