Firearms acquisitions by the sample were dominated by informal, off-the-record transactions, either with family and friends or with various gray- and black-market sources. Cash purchase was the principal acquisition mode, followed by theft. The market was primarily in used guns and was largely an in-State market. Once felons decided they wanted a handgun, they obtained one almost immediately. Not more than about one in six did so through means and sources likely to be concerned about the legality or advisability of the transaction. Restrictions on firearms acquisitions by felons at the point of retail sales thus misses the largest share of these transactions and are apparently ineffectual in preventing the remainder. Shutting off the supply of guns to criminals means thwarting the informal circulation of guns among the friends and associates of these men and stemming the supply obtained through theft. 5 tables.