Another mistake I read about this was the gunman was suppose to shoot off to the side of Brandon....Don't ask me where I read it though...but the source said this is practiced so that the muzzle blast, or even if a bullet is in the gun it wouldn't strike the person...this was not followed either. Brandon was struck in the stomach an died I believe 4 days later. The gun handler was to blame because he never examined the barrel to make sure it was clear... he failed at his job...but I think if I was an actor...ha..I wouldn't trust anyone pointing a gun at me..."I'll check that for myself if you please before you fire it at me....an you better aim off to my side when pulling that trigger too."
I used to work in props for theater, though not for film. Anyways, I once worked a show where flintlock pistols were fired onstage. The actors in the shooting scene worked side-by-side with the arms master (and I looked over their shoulders, of course) so that they could in fact check their own weapons. They were taught how to load/unload the pistols, and care for them. They were also instructed to shoot at each other, but off to the side (as you said). The process made me feel very safe about having the firearms around (they were, in fact, fully real flintlock pistols, purchased new for the production, definitely capable of harming another if proper procedures were not followed).
The rest of the cast knew next to nothing about the weapons, their operation, or how to know if they were safe. I will say, though, that many of the guys in the cast were interested in them...and the arms master was cool enough to gather everyone interested around, and explained to them about basic gun safety and specifically how to get the flintlock pistol to the "safe area" and secure it until it could be rendered safe by him (in event of an emergency/problem etc with the actors or "shooters"). He even let anyone who was interested fire the pistol (blank charge, of course), to appease anyone's curiosity...including mine
We had a hang fire one night (out of a run of a few weeks). I was working under the stage, arranging props for the next act, when i heard an actor yell, "BANG!" and the audience kind of nervously laughed. Immediately I cleared a path under the stage from the exit to the gun "safe area" (a niche built under the stage, with an extremely thick walled box that the gun could be set inside and locked up - i believe the barrel pointed at the concrete wall of the theater itself). Well, the actor was doing what he was told to do - he pulled the trigger, there was a flash in the pan, but no "FWOOM!" from the barrel...not a great situation to be in live on stage! So, the actor yelled, "BANG!" and the scene halted, the actor pointed the gun directly up (the only safe direction as it was a thrust/3-sided audience stage) and walked off down the pre-designated exit ramp, past me holding the other actors back (some of whom had no idea what was going on, but obliged my pushing) and locked the hang-fire pistol in the safe area. Then the show went on. I was reeeeally nervous until the arms master got the thing unloaded. I'll bet he was, too! The arms master during early rehearsals would have the actors say bang, and occasionally just say "hang fire" and they'd do the drill. I'm so glad they did.
The tragedy that befell Brandon Lee was a series of unfortunate events and ignorance that culminated in him losing his life. It sucks that it ended up being the son of someone with such an amazing life, who'd just begun his own film career. As a former propmaster, I can say without a doubt that I would never have accepted the responsiblity of real firearms on the set without an arms master present at all times. Even if i were hurting for a paycheck, i'd be hurting a lot more when some tragedy like this happened on my watch...because my services sure wouldn't be much in demand then. I could see them making dummy bullets, but man they should have just removed them from the gun after the scene
