What other basic equipment will the beginner need as essential tools of the trade. What equipment should be added to his inventory later?
BASIC EQUIPMENT CHECKLIST
- WEAPONS
- AR-7 Rifle (or any breakdown type)
- 3-6 Powered Scope
- Disposable Rifle Silencer
- Two Extra 15 or 30 Shot Rifle Clips
- 22 Ruger Mark I or Mark II Pistol (or any fixed barrel type)
- Disposable Pistol Silencer
- Shoulder Holster
- Extra Pistol Clip
- AMMUNITIONS
- Hollow Point Bullets
- Liquid Poison
- Wax
- ACCESSORIES
- Double Edged Knife With Six-Inch Blade (Like the Gerber Mark II)
- Disposable Rubber or Surgical Gloves (Flesh Tone Preferred)
- Handcuffs
- Ski Mask or Stocking Mask
- Duffle Bag with Lock
THE WEAPONS
The AR-7 Rifle is recommended because it is both inexpensive and accurate. The barrel breaks down for storage inside the stick with the clip. It is lightweight and easy to carry or conceal when disassembled.
The rifle has a ridge on top that will easily accept a scope, even though it is not cut for one. Put the scope in place, tighten it down, then sight it in. After sighting it in, scratch a mark behind each scope clamp to allow remounting of the scope without resighting each time.
A three to six powered scope is recommended to insure accuracy at up to sixty-five yards. When braced, right to fifteen shots should cover a four inch pattern area with no difficulty.
Get two extra fifteen or thirty shot clips from your local gun dealer or order through one of the gun magazines. But never load these clips to full capacity, as they tend to jam when fully loaded. When loading the clip before job assignment, be sure to wipe each bullet to remove fingerprints, or spray with WD-40 or some other oil.
The AR=7 has a serial number stamped on the case, just above the clip port. This number should be completely drilled out. The hole left will be unsightly but will not interfere with the working mechanism of the gun or the clip feed. The serial number can remain on the gun until you prepare it for use on the job. After the job assignment is completed, you will be disposing of the gun; therefore you do not want any serial number available if, perhaps, some of the discarded gun parts are discovered.
If the serial number is on the barrel of the gun, grinding deeply enough to remove it may weaken the barrel to the point that the gun could explode in your face when fired. To make these numbers untraceable, use a hammer and chisel or a numbering set purchased from the hardware store to stamp them out or make them illegible. make sure your blows go as deep as or a little deeper than the existing numbers. Then grind the serial number off slightly. This method will keep the true serial number from being raised in any acid tests if the part is found.
The recommended handgun is the fixed barrel Ruger Mark I or Mark II, again because it is inexpensive and reliable. This gun has a ten shot clip that seldom jams if kept clean. The gun can be easily broken down in the field, which helps when disposing of it after use.
Extra clips are a must for both the rifle and pistol and should be carried as a precautionary measure. Hollow-point bullets are recommended because they deform on impact, making them nontraceable. As an added precaution, you can fill the hollows with liquid poison to insure the success of your operation.
Using a handheld one eighth inch drill, enlarge the hollow point openings. Fill the hollows with the liquid poison of your choice, then seal with a drop of melted wax.
TO test your guns and ammunition, set up a sheet of quarter inch plywood at distances of two to seven years maximum for your pistol, and twenty to sixty yards maximum for your rifle. Check for penetration of bullets at each range. Quarter inch plywood is only a little stronger than the human skull. Find the maximum range for both your rifle and your pistol. Also, test your weapons under various weather conditions and determine how wind, rain and snow affect your range and accuracy.
Close kills are by far preferred to shots fired over a long distance. You will need to know beyond any doubt that the desired result has been achieved.
When using a small caliber weapon like the 22, it is best to shoot from a distance of three to six feet. You will not want to be at point blank range to avoid having the victim’s blood splatter you or your clothing. At least three shots should be fired to ensure quick and sure death.
You can judge when death has occurred by observing the wound. When blood ceases to flow, the heart has stopped working. Check for pulse at both the wrist and throat as an added precaution.
If you must do your shooting from a distance, use a rifle with a good scope and silencer and aim for the head — preferably the eye sockets if you are a sharpshooter. Many people have been shot repeatedly, even in the head, and survived to tell about it. Close kills enable you to determine right away if you have successfully fulfilled your part of the contract; distance shots may mean waiting around to read the morning papers.
In either case, as soon as possible, run a rat-tail file or wire cleaning brush down the ore of the gun to change the ballistic markings. Do this even though you intend to discard the crime weapon, And make sure you carry away and discard all shells that were ejected as the shots were fired.
If, for some reason, you just can’t bear to part with your weapons, there are five parts that will require immediate alteration, and this alteration can only be made once in the life of the gun:
Using a rat-tail file, alter the gun barrel, the shell chamber, the loading ramp, the firing pin and the ejector pin.
Each one of these items leaves its own definite mark and impression on the shell casing which, if any shells happened to be left behind, can be matched up to the gun under a microscope in the police laboratory.
When using the file, make sure that you scrape the part on each listed item where it makes contact with the shell.
Personally, I feel that any weapon used to commit a crime is disposable. If you consider the value of a gun to be higher than that of your personal freedom, you’d better leave that gun at home.
A subject of primary importance is where to purchase the weapons you use on job assignments. As suggested in Chapter 1, you can often pick up throwaways from people who advertise in the classified section of the newspaper. Just be sure that any weapon you use on a job cannot be traced back to you by the person you purchase it from. Gun shows offer a wide variety of tools and weapons useful in this line of work. Usually no registration is required. At most, they may ask to see your driver’s license. And with so many dealers present vying for your business, prices may be competitive. Flea Markets, private gun collectors, veterans who hoard and stash a variety of interesting toys, and bargain hunter magazines are other possible sources.
If you must obtain a weapon through legal channels (signing registration and the like), it might be wise to pay some beggar or wino ten or twenty dollars to present his driver’s license and do the signing before you disappear with the gun.
AN IMPORTANT WORD ABOUT REVOLVERS
Although revolvers are often depicted as being a favorite tool among hit men, they are not recommended by this pro. Revolvers cannot be effectively silenced. The open cylinder allows gases to escape, thus making some noise. When fired, gas is forced around the cylinder in a 360 degree circle, thereby throwing powder all over the person who fired the gun.
An automatic, on the other hand, is tightly sealed so that when it is fired almost all the powder residue is forced into the silencer, where it is trapped. This prevents the powder from escaping and covering the person who fired the shot. Some residue will come out from the automatic’s ejection port, but only a very small amount. If a shell catcher is used, the powder residue will become trapped inside the catch bag.
Remember that a silencer will affect the range and accuracy of your gun. Once the silencer is in place you will have to resight to maintain accuracy.
BASIC ACCESSORIES
A duffel bagor some other method of inconspicuously transporting your tools to the jobsite will be needed. Preferably, it will have a lock. It should be large enough to hold your pistol, disassembled rifle and several small accessory items. These items should be kept assembled in the bad in a safe hiding place, wiped clean of fingerprints and ready for use.
Inside the bag should be several (at least dour or five pairs) of flesh-tone, tight-fitting surgical gloves. If these are not available, rubber gloves can be purchased at a reasonable price in the prescription department of most drug stores in boxes of 100. You will wear the gloves when you assemble and disassemble your weapons as well as on the actual job. Because the metal gun parts cause the rubber to wear so quickly, it is a good practice to change and dispose of worn gloves several times during each operation. A small tear in the thin, worn rubber can lead to a hole, leaving behind a partial, identifiable fingerprint at the most inopportune time.
Never dispose of the gloves worn on an assignment in the vicinity of the job. Although your fingerprints may have been covered while you worked, they are clearly and distinctly obtainable by turning the found gloves inside out. I know a fellow or two who learned this lesson the hard way.
Leather gloves are not to be considered as a job tool. The leather has the same, individual, distinct characteristics of the human fingerprint. If you have to use leather gloves, destroy them immediately after the job. If found in your possession, they can convict you as quickly as a set of your own fingerprints.
Your bag should contain a few pairs of cheap handcuffs, usually available at pawn shops or army surplus stores. These, two, are throwaways, and may be needed to restrain the mark while you gather information that has been requested by the employer before you pull the trigger.
The knife you carry should have a six inch blade with a serrated section for making efficient, quiet kills. Your physical training and combat techniques, outlines in Chapter 1, should have taught you where to strike.
The knife should have a double edged blade. This double edge, combined with the serrated section and six-inch length, will insure a deep, ragged tear, and the wound will be difficult, if not impossible, to close without prompt medical attention.
Make the thrusts to a vital organ and twist the knife before you withdraw it. If you hit bone, you will have to file the blade to remove the marks left on the metal when it struck the victim’s bone.
A rolled up ski-mask can be worn inconspicuously as a knit cap until the time to intrude on your victim. Then, pull it down to cover your features. A stocking mask may also be used, but may prove a bit awkward. And the distorted features created tend to shock people, whereas the ski mask is not so monstrous.
You will want to complete your bag with a few minor accessories like an inexpensive pen-light from the drug store flashlight department. This will be of extreme value as you pick locks or search darkened rooms. Remember to hold your hand over the beam of light as you direct it.
Throw in an ice pick, a large screwdriver and a flat-bladed knife like a putty or hook knife for gaining entry through locked doors, windows, or sliding glass doors.
You may not need all these items on any one job, but it will be to your advantage to have them in case they are called for.
EXTRAS
After the basic equipment has been assembled, the following items can be added to your inventory as they are called for or as you can afford them.
If you are seen by some observant witness, it will be to your advantage if the description he gives the authorities is completely inaccurate. Using your imagination, you can totally change your appearance by using wigs, false beards, wash-in hair color and other disguises. Get books on theatrical make-up from magic shops or then public library and start to experiment with the many ways professionals completely change their looks. Learn to use wigs, false tattoos, scars, black eyes and the like to fool your observers. If a man has an unsightly wart on the end of his nose, that is what everyone will remember about him, not the color of his eyes.
A mark in hiding who expects to become a target may not open his door to you, but he very likely would respond to a request for help from a woman or old person who came calling. Along the same lines, props like repairman, medic and police officer uniforms may get deadbolts unbolted and guards let down.
Some people will argue that a professional will not stoop so low as to play games with disguises. It may be great fun to fool people about who you really are, but it is certainly no game. By using disguises and changing them regularly, a professional has added freedom of movement. If the disguise is easily changeable — that is if he can get out of it and into another quickly — then he is time and money ahead.
A man who calls himself a professional and would walk up barefaced and blow someone away with witnesses lurking about is only fooling himself. If you are going to take such great care in the selection and preparation of your tools, why risk being clearly identifiable? Indeed, the use of disguise and props while you carry out your assignment is highly advisable.
CLOTHING
Dress, as well as disguises, should be coordinated according to the job setting. A hippie would be totally out of place in an office complex among men in three piece suits. A clean-shaven, well dressed young man would be out of his natural element among a group of bikers. A feeble old man with a walking cane and a bag of groceries, on the other hand, might fit in almost anywhere. Dress to blend inconspicuously with your surroundings.
You might start with a basic pair of dark coveralls. Except in certain circumstances, camouflage is out. Black, dark brown or olive green clothes do not stand out and will probably appear at first glance to be a mechanic or delivery driver’s uniform. The many large pockets provided will enable you to easily conceal rubber gloves, extra clips and other tools. The bulkiness will even allow for concealment of your weapon. And underneath, you can wear your street clothes for a quick change after the job is completed.
Recon of night work, where you do not intend to have your movements detected, call for camouflage or night suits. Be sure to fit this apparel to terrain and weather conditions. You wouldn’t dress in black like a ninja to move about on a moonlit night or on a snowy white background. Neither would you wear light clothes to move about in dark alleys or against dark backgrounds. and if you are the only one running around in camouflage garb, you are more than likely to draw attention to yourself.
UNINVITED ENTRY
Following is a template for lock picks which will allow you to make a completely adequate set of picks out of ordinary hacksaw blades ground to shape on your workshop grinder:
THE STANDARD PICKS
Notice that one has slightly less angle at the tip. These two are the most commonly used.
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THE TORSION BAR
Notice the small site-down at the tip to allow for different sized key slots. A large, thick hair pin makes a good torsion bar.
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LOCK PICK DIRECTIONS
1. Insert the pick all the way into the lock, facing up.
2. Place the torsion bar in the bottom of the lock, facing down. Exert a slight amount of pressure on the torsion bar in the direction the knob turns to open the door. (on the doors, if the knob is on the right, it turns to the right. If one the left, it turns to the left.)
3. Use only one finger to exert pressure on the torsion bar while you jiggle pick up and down (no more than an eighth of an inch at the most) and work the pick all the way back out of the lock. If you exert too much pressure or try to force the lock, you may freeze it or break the pick. The tumblers inside the lock must be bounced into place.
4. Each time you remove the pick, you must release the pressure on the torsion bar and begin again.
In a short time you should become an expert at opening common door locks. Padlocks will hardly take any time at all to master. Deadbolts may take a little longer, but they are well worth the time and effort.
You can also use ordinary channel lock pliers to open most deadbolts. By twisting the lock and breaking the retaining bolts, you can use a knife point or pick to turn the bolt and gain entry.
Auto part stores also carry a handy little gadget called the Slim Jim that will enable you to get into almost any locked automobile in a manner of seconds. These are inexpensive and come with an instruction booklet depicting the methods for entering different makes and models.
SURVEILLANCE
The walkie-talkie, or two way radio, if it is a really good one, can be an indispensable tool when working with a partner. A good set is expensive, but has the range and ability for communicating through walls and over long distances — up to two miles at least. It will also have a volume control as well as a code “beeping” device.
The vast array of available surveillance equipment and the rapid advances in technology in this field are mind boggling. The old microphones and reel-to-reel tape recorders that had to be stored nearby are a thing of the past. Now you can plant a bug less than the size of a quarter and sit in you car two miles away while you listen to the action on your car radio. If you are interested in these James Bond tactics, start collecting catalogs and prices now for future use.
One fellow gave a girl who lived with his mark a pretty barrette he found on the floor in a bar. The girl took the barrette home and left it on the dresser. Unfortunately for the mark, who eventually met his demise, the “found” barrette concealed a micro-transmitter. The hit man was able to collect enough information on their activities to plan a successful hit.
Bugs offer some fascinating alternatives to the old standby method of sit-and-watch. Check into them as well as the electronic bug detectors, which are now easily accessible. Think of the kinds of information you could assemble with just a micro-bug and a voice-activated micro-cassette recorder, and think how hard it would be for someone without proper detection equipment to discover.
Of course, no surveillance equipment would be complete with a good pair of binoculars. The best have a rating of 10 x 50 or higher for night vision, range and clarity.
Even a small micro-cassette recorder can come in handy while you are doing your prejob research and will take the place of pen, paper, and fumbling in the dark.
MISCELLANEOUS
An air gun (one with pump, not spring, action), will come in handy on a number of occasions. You can use pellets to knock out lights or to create diversions. Or, you can make your own darts to carry a fast-acting poison to the mark or to his noisy watchdog.
From time to time you may need a method for climbing to or from high places. Twenty feet of knotted rope (measure after knots are tied) can come in handy for climbing to second floor balconies or coming down from a roof. Tie one end in a high branch of a large tree and practice until you can scale it easily.
Of course, the tools you use will vary from job to job. Some you will find yourself using again and again, while other suggested items will never be called for. Stock your inventory according to personal preference and need.
LUXURY ITEMS
As you move up the ladder of professionalism and become accustomed to success, you may want to increase you inventory with several toys that will make James Bond envious. Among these may be cleverly designed attaché cases with concealed weapons activated by a button on the handle, fancy cameras, Star-Light scopes, Laser bugging equipment, electronic gadgets and the like.
Of course, your selection of weapons will grow and you may even have a secret vault in your home to conceal your collection of fully automatic toys like the Mac-11, M-16, tranquilizer guns, hand grenades and sophisticated exploding devices.
You will be able to afford the best in false identifications and obtain real uniforms and badges for various state and federal law enforcement agencies to aid in the performance of your contracts.
Throwaway cars and boats may even become common and you even own your very own plane, through legal methods explained later.
Money talks, and for every need you have, there is a man out there who is willing to fill it for you for a price. That’s how you got started, remember? But money buys a lot more than material things. Money can buy smart attorneys, judges, alibis, and even time, if necessary. The possibilities are endless for the smart man who plans his moves carefully, is mentally and physically prepared and doesn’t leave any trails as he performs his highly paid services.
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