[Michael Zeleny]

Bill's revolver looks like a 4 3/8" SAA pattern with a bird's head grip frame. Surely a man of his stature would not lower himself to the likes of a Ruger Vaquero. Was there ever a period Colt SAA variation in a similar pattern?

[Jim March]

The bird's-head grip frame in KB2 appeared to be brass. That would argue for a Vaq with a Qualite grip frame. And PEARL grip panels?!

:scrutiny:

Quentin went a little gonzo there.

Also: I don't think this was the same gun used in the bride head-shot scene from KB1.

Finally: did anybody else here think Bill was gonna get back up after five steps and sneer something like "hey, you screwed it up!?"

:rolleyes:

That whole "five fingered fist of FU" thing was just...sigh. Come on, Quentin, get REAL here!

Great flick, but...every once in a while...

Like with the snake. I mean, you KNEW something nasty was in with that money. You didn't know what, but it had to be *something*.

[Kamicosmos]

I liked the first one better, but this one was all right.

I liked the credits....Theater busted out laughing and clapping when it showed Carradine still laying there.

I thought his revolver sure had a havy barrel on it. Was hoping they'd show that gun a bit more. Seemed rather purty though, in that BBQ/Pimp gun kinda way. :)

[Michael Zeleny]

The bird's-head grip frame in KB2 appeared to be brass. That would argue for a Vaq with a Qualite grip frame. And PEARL grip panels?!Pearl grips are an apposite occupational accoutrement for a procurer of the ultimate orgasm. My question is whether the Colt SAA is known to have been fitted with a similar period grip frame, e.g patterned after the DA Thunderer, Frontier, or Lightning.

[Old Fuff]

Don't think so. At least I've never seen an original Single Action with a Birdshead grip documented. Colt did build all kinds of revolvers on special orders, but since their model 1878 D.A. did have a rounded butt I'm sure they would push it instead. Outside of the factory a gunsmith could have made one (or more) as all they had too do was alter the backstrap.

I have seen 1877 models (commonly called Lightnings") with aftermarket square grips of roughly S.A.A's shape.

[Josey]

Period correct for the post civil war reconstruction. Birdshead grips and other forms of grips were originally hackjobs for belly pistols. The Colt 1860 Army was a popular belly gun. The Mormon Danites created the first snubnosed black powder revolvers. These were also the first hideout pistols. Generically, they had bobbed hammers, cut away trigger guards, triggers were even removed for fanning with extended hammers, barrels were chopped ahead of the wedge, rammers were removed and grips were modified extensively. The birdshead grip was developed from this origin. There were many Colts so modified. I have read articles and instructions on how to perform such chop jobs. Ruger didn't invent the birdshead and Qualite isn't the only company making them. I have seen a Ruger 5.5" Old Army with a birdshead grip too. I wonder if he had a EMF Pinkerton model?

[9mmepiphany]

jim - and how can you be SURE there isn't a secret five point exploding heart thing...this is just one of the techniques of Dim Muk, especially if you buy into the 1000 year old master

i really liked the QT touch of making the snake a black mamba...benita's AKA...or the choice of movie she watched with BB in bed

i know carradine is active in CASA, but i think the SAA has been rebarreled, for effect, like the m-29 in "from dawn to dusk"

[racenutz]

i know carradine is active in CASA, but i think the SAA has been rebarreled, for effect, like the m-29 in "from dawn to dusk"

Wasn't the revolver used in "From Dusk to Dawn" a 3" blued Model 24?

[Nightcrawler]

Beatrix Kiddo...I loved it. LOL

I liked Bill's choice of firearms, though. Very fitting for his character. Didn't look like a Vaquero to me.

[Michael Zeleny]

Collectors Firearms (http://www.collectorsfirearms.com/c1703.htm) has the hideout version (http://www.collectorsfirearms.com/c1703.htm):
http://www.collectorsfirearms.com/c1703a.jpg
At $1995.00 with one-piece ivory grips, it's almost reasonably priced.

[Jim March]

I've learned a little more about actual SAAs than when I first posted here.

The gun Michael Zeleny posted a link to is period-correct for about 1880ish and a custom gunsmith job.

First, there's a flat mainspring in there connected to the bottom of the FRONT face of the grip frame. Second, the grip frame is in two pieces that bolt together near the bottom front corner. So they'd take the rear part, curve it around like that and the spring geometry would be unaffected...so it was a fairly easy modification and didn't affect reliability.

With the Ruger, it's much more difficult to convert a factory plowhandle grip (standard Blackhawk/Vaquero, SuperBlackhawk or Bisley) to bird's head because you have to re-create and re-locate the bottom coil spring mount. The bird's-head grips from Qualite and Ruger have that done for you but you can't really get there from the Ruger standard grip...you'll sometimes see ugly hack-job attempts that still have a "flat spot" on the bottom :(.

[stv]

David Carradine has long been one of my favorite actors, and this is from an interview with him (taken from a fansite).

13. What do you think about guns?

A. I love guns. I hate what some people do with them, and the fact that we needed to invent them says something sad about the nature of mankind, and the planet; but, they have a beauty that's as sweet in its way as a musical instrument, a great sculpture or a naked woman. Cars are like that, too. In the world we live in, guns are needed. They should be in everyone's hands, or, at least every sane persons. The more we know about them, the safer they are. The problem is, who decides who's sane?

14. What do you think about gun control?

A. A little goes a long way. A lot leads to a totalitarian state. Gun control can only keep guns out of the hands of law-abiding people. It can't keep them away from criminals. In Canada, where the murder rate is so low, the rate of burglaries in occupied houses is extremely high. In England, where even the police don't carry guns, the rape rate is far above that of any city in the U.S. In Florida, a law was passed allowing citizens to carry concealed weapons. In the first year, violent crimes dropped 28 percent. In a world full of terrorists, racists, supremacists, religious zealots, and dysfunctional or deranged survivors of child abuse and institutional mishandling, many of these creepy types being government officials, or even heads of state, guns are handy things to have around.


This is from a Stuff magazine interview
How’s your arsenal looking these days?
I have a lot of swords. Several samurai swords and a couple of broadswords. I have an old Spanish sword-cane, but I don’t walk around with it. In the first place, I don’t need a cane, and in the second place, it’s a concealed weapon, which is a no-no. I have a lot of guns, too. I have a lot of single-action Colts and a .44 Smokeless Dance—which is a very rare black-powder six-shooter. One hundred were made for the Confederate Army. That’s a safe gun to have around, because no one can load it.

[MrMurphy]

I bet somewhere on here knows how to load a Dance. :) If it's anything like a '60 Colt or a '58 Remington, I can!



Cool, i never knew Mr. Kung Fu was into guns.


Still haven't seen KB 1 or 2.


As to birds head grips, they were factory standard on almost all of the Webley's of the time period from England... it's not just a US thing.

[IndianaDean]

His brother Keith hosts Wild West Tech on the History Channel, and does his own riding, roping, shooting, knife handling, and hits the targets well at large distances when he does shoot. Just from that I inferred the entire Carradine family was probably pro-gun.

[stv]

Here's some brief info about the JH Dance Bros revolvers. Seems like Mr. Carradine might be a tad off on the numbers produced - other estimates for the .44 caliber Dance range from 250-325 made. Still, that's a rare bird and a couple of price estimates I found range from $50k on up.

http://www.civilwar.si.edu/weapons_dance.html

http://www.tsha.utexas.edu/handbook/online/articles/view/DD/dhd1.html

[Plinkerton]

Both Kill Bills were awesome. The 5 Finger thing was definitely not meant to be taken completely seriously. The humor in that was hilarious I though. The whole idea of it was ridiculous, and great at the same time.

And the snake in the money thing was great. Of course we knew he was going to die, but that doesn't matter. It was awesome.

And you really think someone could just "pluck" out somebody's eye? Common, that doesn't happen like that. But was it awesome?

HELL YEAH! :D

I loved those movies. The second one was a great ending to the first one.

[theanomaly017]

Has anyone identified Bill's revolver yet?

If not, here are some pics of it that could maybe help you out:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v207/theanomaly017/billgun2.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v207/theanomaly017/billgun1.jpg

Thanks a lot!

[stiletto raggio]

Can you just pluck someone's eye out? Yes, and the US army can teach you how. I am not kidding. You gotta get your finger in there right (they teach us to us the thumb) but if you do it wil pop right out into your hand.

"Insert to second knuckle. POP! Now rip the optic nerve."

If Joe can learn it, I believe an expert assassin could, too.



As for the movies, I think they will be better once Tarantino finishes recutting them into one film. for clarity, it was necessarily edited differently as two movies than the single-film script originally called for.

I still think they were brilliant, with just the right amount of action, drama, character development and Tarantino's fantastic dialog. Those movies made me finally buy a katana, and not one of the crappy hundred-dollar rip-offs.

[Panthera Tigris]

The KBs are two of my favorites. I'm just sorry Bill had to die. I'm not sure what the gun is. I read somewhere last year some folks thought it was a Ruger.

I love David's hosting of Wild West Tech too. Did anyone see his first episode where he won the right to host in a poker game with Keith? ( who along with is brother Robert are also pro gun, btw)

[Phil DeGraves]

I think his gun is a Uberti Thunderer.

[Phil DeGraves]

http://www.uberti.com/firearms/BirdsHead.tpl

[Phil DeGraves]

http://www.cimarron-firearms.com/oThunder.htm

[Carl N. Brown]

I believe Peter Fonda supplied his own, personal shotgun
(remington 870) to use in Race With The Devil one of
the drive-in movie classics of the 1970s.

David Carradine, Peter Fonda, if you look there are more
progun people in Hollywood than you might think.

[Terrierman]

I wonder if it might have been a Reeder custom? http://www.reedercustomguns.com/

[Zundfolge]

Wasn't the revolver used in "From Dusk to Dawn" a 3" blued Model 24?
IIRC it was a 2" Taurus M44 used in the move (despite the S&W used on the poster and DVD cover).


As for Bill's revolver, it must be a piece of junk ... the bore must be completely gone as the bullet that you see come out of it in slow motion doesn't even rotate :scrutiny:

[Gaucho Gringo]

I am also a fan of the History Channel's "Wild West Tech". A lot of good information and entertainment on firearms and weapons of the 19th Century. If you are into CAS it is a good resource. Although once in a while it stumbles on it's facts, it is generally pretty accurate on it's information. And don't forget that David & Keith Carradine both host the show and their father(John) played in lots of 30-40's westerns and some horror flicks. Also "Tales of the Gun" is a vey good series in my opinion.