Red Hood has always been the black sheep of the Bat-Family, even when he was Robin. Jason Todd has not had the easy time that other Robins have had and his return to life as the Red Hood transformed from a mouthy Robin to a gun-toting villain. Since then, his guns have become a part of his iconography, as he's one of the best gunslingers in the DC Universe. Even as a hero, he's known for his guns but does he really need them anymore?
Guns have always been deeply anathema to the characters of Bat-Family and Red Hood is back in their good graces. Beyond that, his skills have grown to a level where there are all kinds of reasons he doesn't need them.
10 He Was Trained By Batman Not To Need Them
Batman's stance on guns has morphed over the years but one thing about him is that he doesn't believe they should be depended on. Batman trained Jason Todd to be Robin and Todd excelled at it even if he was a bit of a hard case. The fact of the matter is that the basis of Red Hood's skills are completely gun-less.
He was trained by Batman to not need guns. While it sort of made sense for him to have them as a villain, he didn't even really need them then either. It was all an affectation because he could kill as efficiently with any other weapon.
9 His Later Training By The League Of Assassins Made Him A Master Of Many Weapons
After his return to life, Jason was taken in by Talia al Ghul and the League of Assassins. His training was expanded there, as he was taught things that Batman would almost certainly never have taught as angry a young man as Jason was. Members of the League of Assassins use all manner of weapons and while guns are a part of that, they're a very small part.
Red Hood's League of Assassin training has made him one of the toughest fighters around and he's mastered a wide variety of weapons. His guns just aren't needed.
8 They Slow Him Down
Guns are precision instruments when used correctly, especially pistols like Red Hood prefers. Since becoming a hero again, some of his more violent tendencies have been curbed which means just throwing up shots isn't something he's going to do. Now, he has to aim and hit the right parts, so as not to just kill everyone.
While veteran shooters get to the point where they can point, shoot without aiming, and hit the area they pointed at it, that's usually center mass. Bullet wounds tend to have a pretty lethal effect when they make hits in most parts of the torso, so Red Hood has to aim, which slows him down and leaves him open to attack.
7 Using Them Is The Exact Opposite Of How He Should Fight
Vigilantes like Red Hood aren't known for facing one person at a time. They go after large numbers of foes or find themselves in situations where they're suddenly surrounded by lackeys. Guns are not the best way to fight a large number of foes, especially not pistols. To begin with, they aren't automatic and hold less ammo than a rifle.
To be effective with a gun means stopping and shooting, since bullets shot on the fly don't have great accuracy. This is an extremely inefficient way to fight a group of people and is more dangerous to Red Hood than his guns are to those he fights.
6 Guns Run Out Of Ammo Fast
Being a non-superpowered vigilante is already hard enough. Someone like Red Hood has to keep himself in peak physical condition in order to keep himself in the fight. While on the surface, a gun does help this, as they aren't as labor-intensive as a bow and arrow, they come with a problem and that's ammo.
Red Hood commonly uses .45 caliber pistols, possibly modified M1911s. So, that's 7 to 8 shots per magazine. Figure he carries ten extra magazines. He's going to miss, so even eighty bullets in a pretty drastic situation isn't a lot. Even against fewer foes, the time it takes to reload is still time that his enemies can use against him. They aren't a great weapon for his purposes.
5 If He Needs To Kill, He Has A Million Different Ways To Do It Without Guns
Red Hood has changed a lot over the years and one of those changes is his willingness to kill. Of all the Bat-Family, Jason is the only one who has no problem with killing and guns are a rather efficient way to kill. The thing about Red Hood is that Jason doesn't really need guns to kill. Even with just his Batman training, he could kill someone just as quickly and efficiently with his hands or a well-thrown Batarang.
Add to that his League of Assassins training and Red Hood doesn't need guns to kill. There are a million more efficient ways that aren't nearly as noisy to do so and Red Hood knows them all.
4 They Aren't As Great Long Range Weapons As They Seem
Guns are long-range weapons and they do a pretty good job at that, giving the user the ability to hit someone from far away. Rifles are much better for that, as the longer barrel and more gunpowder per shell mean a longer range. A .45 caliber's effective range is 120 meters, which seems like a lot but really isn't.
After the first shot, everyone knows Red Hood is there because he doesn't use suppressors. He has to be somewhere within 120 meters and some of his opponents have rifles. He doesn't have the range to do a lot of damage before they find him.
3 They Ruin The Element Of Surprise
One thing that Batman and the members of the League of Assassins have in common is that their fighting styles depend on the element of surprise. That means that both Batman and the League would train someone to use the element of surprise to their advantage. Guns completely ruin the element of surprise.
Now, yes, part of Batman's whole thing is fear but at this point, most gang members aren't scared of guns; they're a part of their everyday lives. Red Hood's use of guns takes away a massive advantage he has - the element of surprise.
2 He Has Access To Better Weapons
Guns are good weapons but Batman has had billions dollars and an R&D department creating the best in non-lethal weapons technology ever. Red Hood has long been the black sheep of the Bat-Family but he's back in Batman's good graces. He can pretty much ask Batman for anything and get it.
Pistols work well but Batman has stuff that would be so much more efficient for the type of fights that Red Hood gets into. All Red Hood has to do is ask and Batman will kit him out with the best tech that money can buy. Maybe he needed them at first but now that he's in Batman's good graces again, he can get so much better.
1 They're A Legacy Of His Days As A Villain
Red Hood was a villain when he came back to life, a role he was pretty good at. Guns make sense for villains because villains don't care about the lives of others. Red Hood killed a lot of people with his guns and they became a part of his MO. Now that he's a hero again, still using the gun just reminds people that he was a killer.
He's left behind his time as a crime lord out for revenge against Batman and Joker. Keeping the guns doesn't exactly say he's reformed or that he's changed. He should leave them behind because they just aren't a good look for him anymore.
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