ABSTRACT
This chapter addresses itself to the quality of criminal firearms consumption: what felons look for in their firearms, and what characteristics are important to them, whether they qualify as reasonably sophisticated firearms consumers. The criminal-use and convenience traits were both correlated at about the same level with the Saturday Night Special (SNS) and serious-handgun traits; or the convenience and criminal-use traits were about equally important to men who preferred SNS-style handguns and to those who preferred the heavier duty equipment. There is no guarantee that felons can translate their expressed preferences into actual ownership. Felons who had owned guns were substantially more knowledgeable than felons who had not; gun-owning felons who had owned handguns were the most knowledgeable of all. The breakdown according to categories of the armed criminals' typology shows that men who had used guns to commit crimes were generally more knowledgeable than men who had not.
