ABSTRACT
Firearm investigations are opened through direct, proactive efforts or peripheral to other types of cases in which a firearm component is revealed. In this text, several different investigations are cited for reference – some were proactive efforts, while others involve a firearm that was used in the commission of a crime or centric to the events under review. It seems that self-made firearms and the very nature in which they are obtained –secretively – naturally attract persons who are prohibited from acquiring firearms. While there is a factual basis to this point, it does not mean that criminals do not still obtain firearms to further their criminal enterprises through other methods. To date, there is no known effective means of completely keeping firearms out of the hands of prohibited persons, for as long as a person is not concerned about violating the law, laws written to punish firearms offenses will be ignored. Although self-made firearms are not traceable, this does not render these arms a dead-end investigation. They are still firearms, and all the traditional avenues of inquiry and evidentiary value of these items still applies.
