WORST firearm moment in a movie

[Thefabulousfink]

The most jaw-dropping scene of gun-handling in a Western undoubtedly is in the movie "The Outlaw Josey Wales".
Two reprobates get the drop on Josey in a general store and tells him to hand over his pistols - butt end first. Josey complies, and then flips them over and blows them away.
I must have rewinded and played that scene in slow motion two dozen times to see if it was for real. To this day I wonder who was the person that did that trick for the camera. It was LIGHTNING fast.

It is a fairly easy trick: have you index finger covering the trigger gaurd, flip the gun sideways (away from your palm) so that it is now upside-down hanging from your index finger by the trigger gaurd. Then spin the gun (Barrel goes up, over, and toward bg) as the gun is coming around cock the hammer with your thumb or the palm of your hand.
(works with all types of guns, some better than others)

with practice you can get pretty fast with a cowboy style gun, but, IMHO never fast enough to beat someone who has you dead to rights.

As far as "Pirates of the Craib." and Jack's water-loged pistol, he would have to plug the touch-hole with greese or wax and probably the barrel too. he would then have to clean the touch-hole out and prime the pan before it would fire.

 

[Greybeard7]

Well, since no ones mentioned it yet, I've got to nominate "The Gauntlet" with Clint Eastwood and Sondra Locke.

In particular, the scene at the end with the bus driving through town, cops lined up on both sides of the street and on rooftops shooting the bus to pieces and not a single round got to the other side of the street.

GB7

 

[lawson]

there's a bit in "saving private ryan" (i think that's the right movie), where a german sniper has his eye pressed up against his scope. OUCH!

 

[modifiedbrowning]

Commando.
When Arnie storms the island to save his daughter he kills over 100 badguys and suffers only a minor shoulder wound. Then fights Bennett hand to hand.

 

[FPrice]

Commando.
When Arnie storms the island to save his daughter he kills over 100 badguys and suffers only a minor shoulder wound. Then fights Bennett hand to hand.

And your point is?????

 

[noresttill]

I like the scene in "The Punisher" when the musician is chasing him and crashes him up against the bridge. The punisher crawls out the upside down car and pulls out a switchblade.

The musician tells him, "You don't bring a knife to a gunfight."

The punisher then procedes to use his modified ballistics knife to shot a blade into him neck.

not a gun, but more lethal than an airsoft.

BTW the guy dies and fires no shots. Good justice movie though.

 

[newfalguy101]

But, these are semi-automatic handguns! You'd KNOW if you'd fired your last shot -- your slide would be locked back!

-Jeffrey

I own no less than THREE autos that DO NOT lock open on the last round, they DO NOT have a hold-open device.

 

[Creeping Incrementalism]

Non-trigger pull discharges

The gun moments I hate the most are the accidental discharges. Dropped guns, guns hitting something, etc. Someone drops a gun on the ground and it goes off. One of the few TV shows or movies I've ever seen mention this fallacy was, surprisingly enough, Desperate Housewives. The show actually has some positive gun messages in it. At one point, someone is being questioned and blames a person getting shot on a gun that was dropped on the floor. The detective questioning her says "I've been in Law Enforcement for 25 years and I've never once seen a firearm discharge from being dropped on the floor." I thought that was cool.

Some modern firearms in good condition can discharge from just being bumped in certain circumstances. It isn't as rare as you might think, and it happened to me once, within the first 500 to 1000 cartidges I'd fired in my life. I had initiated squeezing the trigger, stopped and took my finger out of the trigger guard, then bumped the butt with that hand, and the gun discharged. I suppose the hammer had just barely been released by my partial trigger pull, and the bump released it the rest of the way. This was a single-shot rifle, by the way, and my barrel was pointed downrange the whole time.

 

[Manedwolf]

Some modern firearms in good condition can discharge from just being bumped in certain circumstances. It isn't as rare as you might think, and it happened to me once, within the first 500 to 1000 cartidges I'd fired in my life. I had initiated squeezing the trigger, stopped and took my finger out of the trigger guard, then bumped the butt with that hand, and the gun discharged. I suppose the hammer had just barely been released by my partial trigger pull, and the bump released it the rest of the way. This was a single-shot rifle, by the way, and my barrel was pointed downrange the whole time.

But nothing can fire from being dropped or thrown unless the hammer IS cocked. To me, carrying a safed auto that's capable of being carried cocked-and-locked is alright, but leaving it that way sitting on a desk, table, counter, etc...around your home would be asking for that sort of mishap?

 

[psyopspec]

24 Hours in London

Silenced revolvers anyone?

 

[TheArchDuke]

What I hate about movies the most is what someone has already mentioned. I hate how noisy the guns are when they're just being held. It's like all the parts on the gun are loose. Seriously, if someone in a movie raises a machine gun and aims it, it sounds like they just shook a can full of nails.

 

[R.O.F]

Ahhh, I agree with the dude on gaurd duty who FINALLY cocks his weapon when he hears something suspicious. But, the only thing that peeves me is the scene in "La Patriot" or those viewers in America, "The Patriot" is the scene on the hillside at the semi-end where "Did the little boy die" bad guy is about to do in Mel. Watch the bayonet in slow mo, I realize all your hate-mail, but I thought it funny that it waves like a piece of spaghetti.

 

[Janitor]

But nothing can fire from being dropped or thrown unless the hammer IS cocked.

May arguably be a rare occurance, but a dropped, uncocked, loaded gun could fire. At least it could f it had no hammer block safety & no inertial firing pin. It would depend on a couple other things too though -

- Weight of the gun
- How high it's dropped from
- How hard the surface is that it's dropped on
- Did it fall directly on the hammer?

And of course ... are you having a miserably horrible day?

--

did you notice at one point the cylinder came out from the right side of the revolver as well? I distinctly remember that, cause i'm a lefty and would love that revolver

Went back and looked at that episode of "The Lost" last night- by Pooh! You're right! They have a left handed wheel gun! I'll bet that wasn't a mistake. I'll bet some evil ba###rd in Hawaii did it on purpose to make the lefties spend their days looking for that rare left handed J frame.

 

[usp9]

It is possible

24 Hours in London

Silenced revolvers anyone?

It is possible to silence certain revolvers, however it is very implausable for a modern operator to use one. A wonderful HK is a much better choice.

 

[KriegHund]

I own no less than THREE autos that DO NOT lock open on the last round, they DO NOT have a hold-open device.

What are they? Alot of autos nowadays have the slide lock back. There are of course those that dont, im just curious as to what they are.

 

[Janitor]

What are they? Alot of autos nowadays have the slide lock back. There are of course those that dont, im just curious as to what they are.

IIRC - many European versions of semi autos we have here don't have slide locks.

 

[nucstl1]

Something learned from the movies.

I posted this experience in a previous post, but I was caught in the crossfire of a couple of gangbangers, and the form of the shooter in front of me stuck out. In typical hollywood fashion, he leaned out the passenger door, aimed, and started shooting with the gun cocked to the side....It was a scarry situation, but that fact that he was too stupid to use the sites was kinda funny.

 

[Herself]

But nothing can fire from being dropped or thrown unless the hammer IS cocked. To me, carrying a safed auto that's capable of being carried cocked-and-locked is alright, but leaving it that way sitting on a desk, table, counter, etc...around your home would be asking for that sort of mishap?

Only if it's got nothing to keep the firing pin from moving if the trigger hasn't been pressed, falls muzzle down, and has a weak spring in the firing pin. Or if the safety fails and the sear/hammer slips. (Another reason to not do your own "trigger job," IMO).

The little Stars I routinely carry have a safety that locks the hammer in place when on, and a strong firing pin spring. When in my purse, they're carried muzzle-down; and my purse, with gun in it, has taken a couple of trips to the floor . No NDs yet -- which doesn't mean it isn't a very bad idea to drop it like that.

The movies have it wrong. Condition one carry a of semi-auto in good repair is not dangerous. Dropping them doesn't routinely set them off, especially not dropping them on the side as the movies are so fond of showing.

Leaving a SA semi-auto in condtion one on a counter or table is no more dangerous than leaving a loaded revolver or DA/DAO semi-auto there: okay if and only if you can still keep the weapon out of the hands of the irresponsible.

Which would include most actors!


In "Pulp Fiction," Samuel Jackson's gun is indeed a Star B or B Super with a nice plating job. A Star BM would have looked like a toy in his hand.

--Herself

 

[mrmeval]

I think there's a 12 shot pin fire that's slightly larger caliber.

I know theres a 20 shot but not sure of the caliber. :-D

Im still looking for a 12 shot .45 cal revolver.

I know its out there, Ive seen e'm use it.

Stag

 

[poppy]

I never understood the silenced revolver. Not a movie, but there was a TV show this week staring Tom Sellick where one of the Baldwin brothers was a hit man carrying a silenced revolver.

It must be easier for the prop guys to slip a "silencer" onto a revolver barrel, rather than get a longer or threaded barrel for a pistol. Having said that though, I just finished a novel from a pretty good writer who had the bad guy carrying a silenced revolver.

Oh well, finding these flaws helps keep an old mind active. poppy

 

[Manedwolf]

I realize all your hate-mail, but I thought it funny that it waves like a piece of spaghetti.

Whenever a prop blade or any long object, like a prop gun, is to be used in stunts or close/fast action, it's generally a painted semi-hard rubber one that will bend if an actor falls on it. That's likely what it was.

 

[Justin]

I can recall people in a theater being annoyed at me for pointing out numerous times that 1911s can't be decocked with one hand because of the grip safety.

I'd have been annoyed at you, too.

"...you're going to burn in a very special level of Hell, a level they reserve for child molesters and people who talk at the theater."

-Shepard Book, Firefly

 

[Working Man]

But nothing can fire from being dropped or thrown unless the hammer IS cocked. To me, carrying a safed auto that's capable of being carried cocked-and-locked is alright, but leaving it that way sitting on a desk, table, counter, etc...around your home would be asking for that sort of mishap?

I'm willing to bet a NAA mini 22Lr or Mag will if all chambers are loaded and it
hits right. That is if the hammer is not in a safety notched.

 

[BigFatKen]

Shaft

Shaft goes to the wise old gunsmith who displays his silenced revolver by firing it. His right hand holds well, but his left hand is surrounding the flash gap. He "fires" and no hot gases burn his hand.

I wonder how many young men tried that trick (once)?

 

[Carl N. Brown]

Striker fired autos, especially the inexpensive (cheap) models or
even good ones worn or dirty, may fire when dropped since the sear
is usually free to move under inertia even with the safety applied
(most safeties only block trigger or disconnector bar movement).

A revolver with a silencer cannot be silent, but it can be partially
suppressed; the Class III dealers I have visited have silencers for
semi autos, bolt actions or single shots: I have never seen a
revolver silencer at a Class III dealer. I know they are common in
Hollywood prop departments.