Guns Of The FBI: A History Of The Bureau’s Firearms And Training

posted on May 1, 2019
fbiguns.jpg

Perhaps no law enforcement agency is as respected for its work in firearm training and ballistic research than the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The FBI’s testing protocol for firearms and ammunition are considered to be the standard for determining performance, and when the Bureau selects new equipment for issue to its field agents, well, where the FBI goes, much of the American law enforcement market follows.

Agents are also held to a fairly high standard of marksmanship, and qualification courses have been refined over decades to better reflect the skills required in real-world encounters with armed and dangerous adversaries. But the FBI’s advancement in all things ballistic was a long, sometimes slow, evolution during its 111-year history, a history well documented in Guns Of The FBI: A History Of The Bureau’s Firearms And Training by former FBI agent and American Rifleman contributor Bill Vanderpool. Vanderpool’s authority in the field is particularly relevant not only because of his 31-year career in law enforcement, but especially because of his time assigned to Quantico as a member of the FBI’s Firearms Training Unit, and his work with ammunition testing which led to the establishment of the FBI’s Ballistic Research Facility.

In Guns Of The FBI, Vanderpool traces the use of handguns and longarms by federal investigators from a time before the FBI right up to present day. Of particular interest to me was the evolution of handguns—the primary defensive tool of FBI agents and armed citizens, alike—based on ammunition. The history is rich and includes the dominant .38 Spl. and .357 Mag. revolvers, a foray into some excellent double-action/single-action automatics in 9 mm Luger, the 1986 Miami Shootout and the FBI’s 10 mm Auto response—leading to the ascendance of striker-fired .40 S&Ws—and finally a return to 9 mm Luger with the FBI’s newest pistols, the Glock 17M and 19M. Vanderpool even includes the FBI’s position paper detailing why the agency returned to the 9 mm Luger cartridge. In fact, the 351-pp. hardcover is replete with such documents, as well as photographs, manuals, diagrams and eight addendums, which add an astonishing level of depth and historical detail to the author’s engaging and encompassing narrative. Price: $60. Contact: Gun Digest Books; gundigeststore.com.

Latest

Precision Rimfire Christensen Arms
Precision Rimfire Christensen Arms

Review: Christensen Arms Modern Precision Rimfire Rifle

The Modern Precision Rimfire from Christensen Arms builds upon time-honored blueprints and is crafted from its maker's flash-forged carbon-fiber technology to create an accurate and fun-to-shoot repeating rifle.

New For 2025: H&K MR A4 Series

Building on its existing commercial line of MR556 and MR762 rifles, HK USA now offers A4 versions of both rifles, as well as large-format pistol variants.

Gun Of The Week: Smith & Wesson Model 1854

Welcome to another American Rifleman Gun Of The Week video, and this time we have a modernized American lever-action to take to the range. Meet the Smith & Wesson Model 1854.

New For 2025: Kimber 2K11

With its new 2K11, Kimber now has a dedicated design based on the 2011 concept that comes loaded with a number of added features.

The Armed Citizen® Nov. 22, 2024

Read today's "The Armed Citizen" entry for real stories of law-abiding citizens, past and present, who used their firearms to save lives.

Red Fifty: The Soviet 12.7 mm DShK Heavy Machine Gun

While the Browning .50-cal. M2 machine gun has been unequaled for more than a century, John Moses Browning’s genius design has had one significant 12.7 mm competitor: the Soviet DShK.

Interests



Get the best of American Rifleman delivered to your inbox.