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Looking for Indiana Jones' gun
- Thread starter panaflex
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Welcome to the Forum.
If you do a search here on the Forum, there were a number of threads on the movie gun. Hopefully, they haven't been removed.
If you do a search here on the Forum, there were a number of threads on the movie gun. Hopefully, they haven't been removed.
Thanks for the welcome and the tip.
I did do some looking on the previous threads and found some good info on the pistol but the threads are a couple of years old; so recent info on sourcing one may be the difficult part.
Thanks again,
Ben
Gary7
Member
Assuming we're talking about the first Indy movie, it's too bad they didn't have him carrying a Registered Magnum. That to me seems like the more appropriate revolver for Indiana. After all they had him also carrying a Browning Hi-Power, which was brand new and state of the art at the time the first movie was set.
kscardsfan
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What movie did Indy have a BHP in?
Gary7
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The first one. Check out the fight in Marion's bar in Nepal and then later on the ship when the Nazi sub stops them.
Whoever edited the film of the bar fight screwed up the sequencing so it looks like he's using the S&W one second and then the Hi-Power and then back. The proper sequencing, which you can deduce if you watch closely, would have him opening fire with the revolver and when he's emptied it he then switches to the Hi-Power.
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Pook
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Indy Had Three Guns
In the first move, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Indy had three handguns: A S&W HE in .455 caliber (which can be seen as the one he tossed in his suitcase at the beginning of the movie and can be seen again on the ground in the fight by the airplane): a Colt 1917 .45 ACP revolver, which in the movie he is seen in a closeup shooting the bad guys when he is in Egypt; and the Browning HP, which he used in the bar fight againt the Nazis and that can be seen again on the ship when he pulls back the slide. My understanding is that the studio rented these guns from Stembridge Gun Rentals in Hollywood, CA
In the first move, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Indy had three handguns: A S&W HE in .455 caliber (which can be seen as the one he tossed in his suitcase at the beginning of the movie and can be seen again on the ground in the fight by the airplane): a Colt 1917 .45 ACP revolver, which in the movie he is seen in a closeup shooting the bad guys when he is in Egypt; and the Browning HP, which he used in the bar fight againt the Nazis and that can be seen again on the ship when he pulls back the slide. My understanding is that the studio rented these guns from Stembridge Gun Rentals in Hollywood, CA
sigp220.45
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roger bartlett
US Veteran
Indy prototype
The famous 1920's explorer/archaeologist Roy Chapman Andrews is widely considered the inspiration for the Indiana Jones character. In various pictures he is shown carrying what appears to be a Colt Official Police, Could be a Smith, can't really tell .He use the gun with good effect several times, including the time he shot himself in the thigh when unlimbering it when confronted by some banditos . His good friend William Morden owned a RM that has been discussed on a earlier thread on this forum, does anyone have any information on Chapman's pistol? Who has it ? Was it a Colt or Smith ? Regards, Bart
The famous 1920's explorer/archaeologist Roy Chapman Andrews is widely considered the inspiration for the Indiana Jones character. In various pictures he is shown carrying what appears to be a Colt Official Police, Could be a Smith, can't really tell .He use the gun with good effect several times, including the time he shot himself in the thigh when unlimbering it when confronted by some banditos . His good friend William Morden owned a RM that has been discussed on a earlier thread on this forum, does anyone have any information on Chapman's pistol? Who has it ? Was it a Colt or Smith ? Regards, Bart
Texas Star
US Veteran
In that day, a real Indy might well have found 9mm ammo abroad, as the Luger was well distributed, and still being made. .357 Magnum was brand new, and the bullets leaded bores badly. Indy probably wasn't a handloader, either. But he might have liked the .38-44 Heavy Duty. It got some press then as a powerful revolver.
The Colt New Service in .45 Colt would be a sound choice, and was at one time so popular that British Army "stores" contained stocks of it, as officers in the far East liked it and the .44/40. Fosbery said that the .44/40 was the best handgun "stopper" that he had seen up around the Khyber Pass. Keep in mind that he was awarded the Victoria Cross. He had seen battle! He received that highest of British decorations for an action in Khandahar! We've come full circle...
I read an account by a British lady who shot a sloth bear in the 1930's with her husband's New Service in .45 Colt, so the ammo was definitely available in India. I suspect that .45 ACP also saw distribution there, as many officers and civilians bought Colt Govt. Model autos. Churchill took one to France in WW I. (Not a .455 auto, either.)
I seriously doubt that Indy would find a Browning 9mm then. Most were being used to fill new miitary orders, and the gun was probably virtually unknown in the USA. But movies will show anything even remotely possible.
The real life Dr. Roy Chapman Andrews, on whom Indy was very loosely based, used Colt .38's, but he didn't name the exact model(s) in his books. He also carried a Colt .32 auto for concealed wear. The Roosevelt brothers had Colt .38 autos, bought before the .38 Super appeared in 1929. They also got into areas where Indy might have gone. I suspect that they replaced them with .38 Supers when they became available.
T-Star
The Colt New Service in .45 Colt would be a sound choice, and was at one time so popular that British Army "stores" contained stocks of it, as officers in the far East liked it and the .44/40. Fosbery said that the .44/40 was the best handgun "stopper" that he had seen up around the Khyber Pass. Keep in mind that he was awarded the Victoria Cross. He had seen battle! He received that highest of British decorations for an action in Khandahar! We've come full circle...
I read an account by a British lady who shot a sloth bear in the 1930's with her husband's New Service in .45 Colt, so the ammo was definitely available in India. I suspect that .45 ACP also saw distribution there, as many officers and civilians bought Colt Govt. Model autos. Churchill took one to France in WW I. (Not a .455 auto, either.)
I seriously doubt that Indy would find a Browning 9mm then. Most were being used to fill new miitary orders, and the gun was probably virtually unknown in the USA. But movies will show anything even remotely possible.
The real life Dr. Roy Chapman Andrews, on whom Indy was very loosely based, used Colt .38's, but he didn't name the exact model(s) in his books. He also carried a Colt .32 auto for concealed wear. The Roosevelt brothers had Colt .38 autos, bought before the .38 Super appeared in 1929. They also got into areas where Indy might have gone. I suspect that they replaced them with .38 Supers when they became available.
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tbury
Member
IIRC the highpower in Nepal was in the hand of the badguy. When the Nazi said shoot them both Indy directed the guys arm and hand toward the shooter. Browning probably came from the Nazis. But a P38 or Luger would have been more likely.
Gary7
Member
Nope. Indy had it. He's shown pulling it out of his pack during the gun fight. It's the gun he switched to after he emptied the revolver and that's why he had it in his hand when he was wrestling with the goon when the Nazi said shoot them both.
Texas Star
US Veteran
Read my post above, which crossed with yours in reply. Andrews definitely stated on numerous occcasions in his books, which I own, that he used Colt .38 revolvers. I have a sharp photo of him in the Gobi Desert, in which the handle of the gun is very visible. It's almost surely an Army Special or Official Police, which was a later name for the same model. The name changed in 1926, but unless he bought a new gun then (very possible, for he loved guns and was an enthusiastic hunter), it was an Army Special, NOT to be confused with the older New Army in .38 Long Colt. It might be an Officers Model target version, but I think that less likely.
I read that some guy in Dallas last had one of his .38's. I may check this later in, "Dragon Hunter", a fairly recent biography of Andrews. If you don't own it, look for a copy. His own books are also thrilling, and were very well written. He often mentioned his various firearms.
His Savage was a M-1920 bolt action, not the more widely known M-99, although he may have had one of them, too. And he liked the 6.5mm and 9mm Mannlicher-Schoenauer rifles. Had a Winchester auto rifle for the .22WRF round, with which he sometimes shot savage Mongol dogs.
He did kill a couple of bandits, firing his Colt .38 from his Dodge car as they charged one another.
You may also want to check on Wendell Phillips, who sort of repeated Andrews's quests in Arabia, in the 1950's. He too, used Savage rifles and Colt handguns.
I have somewhere some very sharp 8X10 B&W prints of Andrews with his guns, obtained years ago from the American Museum of Natural History. They were taken by the expedition's official photographer. I meant to write an article on him and his guns, but the Museum wanted too much for reproduction rights. (Gun magazines pay only a few hundred dollars.) At least one of these photos is in, "Dragon Hunter", but the author is a former museum staffer, who may have gotten a favorable deal on the pics. And his book publisher was probably willing to pay more to reproduce them. The Savage M-20 in .250 and the Colt .38 in an Audley holster were very sharp in the original photos. Roy usually wore his gun pretty low on the hip.
Andrews was also an enthusiastic shotgunner, even after he retired from the Museum (he was the Director) and bought land where he could hunt. But I don't know which shotguns he used. A photo from his time in Korea shows an unknown double shotgun and a lever-action Winchester rifle. If memory serves, it was either an M-1876 or 1886. It should have been the latter, and he knew guns! I suspect it was a heavy caliber, in Winchester terms. He hunted tigers there!
By the way, his last name was Andrews. Chapman was his MIDDLE name. You may wish to correct your post.
He was a fascinating man. Today's liberal, usually very PC, scientists pale by comparison. But I've met and talked briefly with Dr. Donald Johanson, whose expeditions found the celebrated "Lucy" skeleton of an Australopithicine. He was pretty cordial, if a little distracted by the size of the audience for his lecture, and by some death threats from people who don't believe in evolution. The SMU campus police (they're sworn officers, not guards) were all over the audatorium that evening.
Keep in mind that these modern scientists are not only operating under very different political conditions, they are drawn from a different academic atmosphere than were Andrews and Phillips.
I've also met Jane Goodall, about whom the less said, the better. I found her to be very condescending. Johanson is a far more effective and entertaining speaker, although both probably suffer tours and write books primarily to raise funds for their work.
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kscardsfan
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My favorite scene with Indiana and his gun was when he was in the market and that thug wanted to have a sword fight and ole indy dropped him on the spot! That's the way to have a gunfight right there!
Wow, that's a lot of info guys, thanks. I did find one item of interest. The M1917 Anniversary edition. I'm considering buying it and having the appropriate modifications done. Can anyone comment on the value of one of these. I'd mention their asking price but don't know if that's frowned upon here...
Thanks again for all the great info.
Ben
Thanks again for all the great info.
Ben
ElToro
Member
an excerpt from his book: "On the Trail of Ancient Man"
"In the [first] fifteen years [of field work] I can remember just ten times when I had really narrow escapes from death. Two were from drowning in typhoons, one was when our boat was charged by a wounded whale; once my wife and I were nearly eaten by wild dogs, once we were in great danger from fanatical lama priests; two were close calls when I fell over cliffs, once I was nearly caught by a huge python, and twice I might have been killed by bandits."
wow. pretty exciting life this guy led. if you do a goodle image search you can see the photos of him with his revolver in his belt and teh savage with the scnabel forend.
"In the [first] fifteen years [of field work] I can remember just ten times when I had really narrow escapes from death. Two were from drowning in typhoons, one was when our boat was charged by a wounded whale; once my wife and I were nearly eaten by wild dogs, once we were in great danger from fanatical lama priests; two were close calls when I fell over cliffs, once I was nearly caught by a huge python, and twice I might have been killed by bandits."
wow. pretty exciting life this guy led. if you do a goodle image search you can see the photos of him with his revolver in his belt and teh savage with the scnabel forend.
ElToro
Member
$260 for a .44 2nd model? are you kidding me? its unfortunate also that they indicate not able to sell in California as its C&R and therefore actually it is legal.
