People with guns collection # 17 - Originally posted Sunday, August 23, 2009

From my own personal collection!"International News Photo, Washington D.C. Oct. 8th '40

Quantico, Va. - F.B.I. Agents demonstrate quick-draw, pistol shooting from the hips, at their pistol and rifle range at Quantico, Va. The exhibition was given for students of the National Police Academy."

F.B.I. Agents demonstrating for the crowd and attending press the classic crouching, instinctive point shooting method that was standard law enforcement training doctrine of the time. Note of the eight agents that can be observed six are using Smith & Wesson 357 Magnum revolvers with 3 ½ barrels. S&W had introduced their revolutionary 357 only five years earlier and the new cartridge and handgun, especially in the shorter barrel lengths, was already very popular with many peace officers of the era. The six shot 357 represented the ultimate in handgun firepower in law enforcement circles and would remain so for many years, only being replaced in recent decades when auto pistols of higher capacities became the norm. Also note the total lack of safety measures on the F.B.I.'s live range, no eye or ear protection and in some cases agents firing their magnums within inches of one another! These men were made of tougher stuff than I!