Hollywood gun goofs

[Old cop]

My favorite is the clicking sound just before a gun is introduced into the scene, regardless of the kind of gun being used. Another favorite is when someone is shot they fly backward with the impact.

It's good to know that the directors do get good and accurate tech advise and do something else for effect. That's something I've suspected for awhile.

 

[Nick B]

One time I was watching a no name western when I noticed one of the characters was armed with a stainless Ruger Redhawk .

 

[ky wonder]

I was watching a show the other night when the police brought out the long guns. Two officers had to rack theirs twice to get them chambered.

that is totally plausible if they were shooting a browning 50 cal. ma deuce

 

[TAROMAN]

Saw a bit of a WW2 movie on TV where the GI hero carried a G43 and the others in his unit had what looked like M95 Mannlichers.

 

[Len]

Along with all the other typical movie goofs, I look at a couple of other angles.

First, the "rule" that in a gunfight the one good guy never misses, the ten bad guys he's up against can't hit anything.

Then, coming from a medical background, I love the scene where someone gets shot in the shoulder, and it's never a big deal. "Naw, just a shoulder wound, I'm ok," says the hero.

If I could only count how many guys I've seen through the ER that died from shoulder wounds...hitting the top of the lung, the subclavian artery, etc....not to mention a few arm amputations I've seen as a result of a hopelessly destroyed shoulder joint.

It's actually dang difficult to not get hit in something important in the shoulder!

It's not a "lucky place" to get shot!

But....it's a movie, after all. A two hour vehicle for popcorn and sno-caps.

Len

 

[Alpo]

I believe the reason they do this is to create a sense of "action". Ever notice that when a Thompson SMG is used in a movie the bolt always has to be racked back before it can be fired. Anyway that's my opinion.
Jim

I'm puzzled by your complaint.

I have a Thompson. It fires from an open bolt. Just like a Single Action Army, it has to be cocked before it can be fired.

If your heartburn is that they are not carrying it "cocked and locked", then you have obviously never seen a Thompson safety. It has to be turned 180 degrees, and since it is on the left side of the gun, and is small, it is safest to turn the gun on its right side, pointed to your left, so you can see what you are doing when working the safety (or, for that matter, the selector switch - they both work the same way).

A much easier, safer, and all-around quicker way, is to have the bolt forward on the empty chamber, and load a magazine. Then when you need to shoot, pull the actuator back. You're now ready to go.

 

[A10]

Two things that drive me crazy: hearing a hammer being cockec on a Glock and when a gun gets changed in the middle of a scene. I've seen guns magically change from a Colt to a Smith, and back to a Colt. Poor prop management there.......

What drives my wife crazy? Me, watching any film with guns in it.....

 

[LazyKB]

Along with all the other typical movie goofs, I look at a couple of other angles.


Then, coming from a medical background, I love the scene where someone gets shot in the shoulder, and it's never a big deal. "Naw, just a shoulder wound, I'm ok," says the hero.

If I could only count how many guys I've seen through the ER that died from shoulder wounds...hitting the top of the lung, the subclavian artery, etc....not to mention a few arm amputations I've seen as a result of a hopelessly destroyed shoulder joint.

It's actually dang difficult to not get hit in something important in the shoulder!

It's not a "lucky place" to get shot!


Len

Should have had Doc Adams work on em. They would be back in the street shooting before the next commercial.

 

[BigBoy99]

My grip is with the holes which are made by the bullets when they strike something. All of the holes have the splintered edges FACING the shooter indicating that the holes were made from a bullet passing through the surface from the back to the front! It the bullets had passed through the surface, there would be a hole with the splinters facing the rear of the hole.

Also when you have armies fighting each other and both are using the same rifle, I.E. in Dr. Zhivago, both the Russians and the Germans are using Enfield rifles!

 

[LazyKB]

I don't know a lot about Winchester lever rifles, maybe someone will educate me, but how many times have you seen one pulled from the scabbard that didn't need the lever jacked? Ok maybe not a good idea to be horseback with a round in the chamber, maybe if the hammer gets wacked it fires like the SAs, but why do you wait until you are within six feet of the bad guy to work the lever?

I would like to see someone empty his gun, throw it at a guy.......and knock him out.

 

[MY15-22]

Where do the bullets go when they miss? No one behind the one being shot at is ever hit.

 

[tompehret]

We all love the Magnificent Seven movie, right?. I do. Remember the scene when the 7 have returned to the village (after being "allowed" to leave)? Robert Vaughan's character pauses at the door of a casita, gathers his thoughts and bursts in to sweep the room of a few bandits, freeing the captive villagers within. Great movie, great scene. Vaughan's character carries a Colt SAA throughout the movie but uses a DA revolver in the casita-clearing scene. Can't tell the make as it's pretty dimly-lit inside, but look close and you'll see it. STILL a great scene in a great movie. My guess is Mr. Vaughan couldn't get a SAA to cycle fast enough for the scene's dramatic requirement. I've been shooting SASS in Duelist (one-hand hold) Class for a long time and I couldn't come close to it either. With a Model 10, maybe.

 

[Mike Grasso]

Wow most every pet peeve was covered!

Roger that on cotton in horses ears / dogs ears and such. If they do the scene over and over you can see the animals react before the shot!

Let's see what else, sound effects! How about using the racking sound of a pump shotgun for a semi auto rifle.

There was a comment about muzzle flash, interesting fact on that. When we shoot on film and you watch it sometimes the flash is wrong. It's because the film is taking "photos" at a certain speed, it's possible in the shoot out that the flash occurred between frames. Therefore it has to be added in post. So the flash will look odd.

On the other hand I've worked with great actors, directors that were very true to their characters and like the realism, those shows are always fun.

Clint Eastwood hated the way squibs looked on a car ( dust hits and spark hits) so I actually spent a day at a range with him, two Thompsons and bucket of 45! We shot the car for real! Then they took it, bondo'd it, painted it and squibed it. When they shot the scene the squibs blew out the bondo revealing the real bullet holes.

That was fun.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[bwerth42]

What about all the indoor shots? No one ever seems to have problems hearing after multiple rounds are fired indoors!

 

[timn8er]

The one that always gets me is when the good guy pulls out his little .38 snubby, fires an unaimed quick shot and hits the bad guy 50 yards away.

And people don't believe in magic bullets!

 

[Taurus627]

I hear ya and since becoming a "gun geek" myself I do notice these mistakes a lot more. You all need to realize that 90% of those watching these shows probably wouldn't know a semi auto from a revolver, let alone if it's hammer fired or striker fired. Like has been stated, those involved with the production of these shows go more for dramatic as opposed to reality.
With Bones being one of my favorite shows, I find it odd that in one of the seasons, Bones was carrying a S&W 500, but it made for some great TV!

 

[NYlakesider]

I watch a lot of shows on The Military Channel/History channel on the cable and of course they do a lot of reenactments of certain events.

I note with regularity they show a solder shooting 1 shot from a MI or a Mi carbine and then racking the bolt. Saw this plenty of times. Also when a .45 is fired the slide stays back and sometimes sees a hand grabbing the slide as the camera moves to something else. I also note that many times when they show crew type automatic weapons you can see the rounds in the belt are blanks, or in some close looks you can see what looks like looks like ball ammo but no primer is in the pocket!

Another crazy thing is seeing LEFT handed Springfield's, Enfield's, Mausers, and M1s. In not a photo bug but it's like the shoot is backwards. When I was in the Navy back in the 60s they set up a light duty screen in the middle of the space so people could see from both sides. If you were on the opposite side from the projector left and right directions were reversed, perhaps that is why I sometimes see left handed guns.

 

[Mike Grasso]

With Bones being one of my favorite shows, I find it odd that in one of the seasons, Bones was carrying a S&W 500, but it made for some great TV!

There is a story about that! Suffice it to say it was hard on Emily, she hated that pistol, it was heavy and a bear to shoot.
It's gone now! I changed it to a Hk P7M8, very easy to trigger press and the slide release is part of the squeeze cocking, very very easy.

 

[Alpo]

I really liked the Halloween show, where she is Wonder Woman. Hot pants and a bustier. Then suddenly she has that 500 in her hand. Booth does a double-take.

"Where did you have THAT?"

She just look at him. "What?"



Then later - "Booth - my gun's too big".

 

[Alpo]

But where do they come up with them STUPID story ideas?

She is applying for a license to carry - in Washington DC.

The FBI is processing her application to carry - in Washington DC.

Booth marks her application DENIED because she had been arrested. Not convicted - just arrested.

She asks, "If you were going to DENY it, why did you let me fill out the form?"

He says, "It's every American's Constitutional Right to apply for a license to carry a gun".

Really? That's not what my copy says.