Movie gun, Clint Eastwood (NOT Dirty Harry lol)

[S&W Fan]

In "The Gaunlet" (on right now on Encore) he uses a 2.5" 66 but it's a square butt. I know with S&W anything is possible but it seems like a lot of trouble, even in 1977 for a prop house/film armory to swap barrels. Anyone here have more info about this? Thanks for your time.

 

[gutterman]

I owned a 66 with SB. They aren't as plentiful as the RB version. Also a little off subject- but I lived in Phx. when they filmed the Gauntlet and it really made the Phd. P.D. look like fools.JMO

 

[S&W Fan]

Thanks, I never knew they built sb 2.5" 66s, but as mentioned with S&W you never know. I was in Tucson at the time & virtually all the 66s were going to the TPD & Pima Co. S.O., my dad had both a 4" & 2.5" which he ended selling off before I could get my grubby hands on either in '81 to get a 4" 686-that I still have. Sorry for the drift in my own thread.

Any more info on these rare sb snub 66s is appreciated.

 

[Maximumbob54]

I can't believe I never noticed that. I even like that terrible movie.

I would love to own a square butt snub M66!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[gdnagle]

Smith & Wesson Model 66

Phoenix Detective Ben Shockley (Clint Eastwood) carries a Smith & Wesson Model 66 with a 2.5" barrel in the film. It's also used by Gus Mally (Sondra Locke). The revolver has a square butt profile, instead of the round butt, more common in the short-barreled version of this revolver.
Check out here Internet Movie Firearms Database - Guns in Movies, TV and Video Games all kinds of movie gun info. Left column under movies then pick movie....

 

[gunnut44]

I would like to see a picture of someones 66 with a square butt, never seen one or heard of one, so make me believe that this is a factory produced gun. On the other hand maybe all these years I thought that the gun used in the Gauntlet was a 44 spl, it just looks too big in the movie to be a 66 to me anyway?

So lets see a factory SB 66

And we all know in the DH films it was a 57 and sometimes a 25 NEVER a 29 because the guy at S&W who made the 44's quit when they were about to start filming. Thats what I heard anyway?

 

[sipowicz]

Movies like this are what happen when you are more concerned about giving your girlfriend a starring role than reading the script.

 

[A10]

True dat, Sip, true dat. Bronco Billy too.....

 

[Vegetaman]

Movies like this are what happen when you are more concerned about giving your girlfriend a starring role than reading the script.

Of all the Dirty Harry movies, The Enforcer is the only one of the five that is bad, IMO. The other 4 I all quite enjoyed.

Fortunately her appearance in The Outlaw Josey Wales did not hamper that fantastic film in any way.

 

[S&W Fan]

The Gauntlet is a truly awful film, I stayed with it long enough to confirm my memory of the sb 66. The myth of not using a 29 has been done ad nauseum, as well as proven it was a 29 in the original DH film.
With what I know of the film industry, my brother works in it, I still can't see a prop company making up something like that for no apparent reason. Just curious.

 

[k22fan]

I’ve never heard of a factory square butt 2 ½ inch 66 but I have heard of them assembled from the left overs after fellas really wanted a round butt 4 inch 66 before S&W made those.

Of course I’m not denying anything is possible from S&W.

 

[BUFF]

The short Model 66 and 19 were still hard guns to buy when The Gauntlet was filmed. It could well be that the prop house may have been unable to obtain a 2-1/2 inch Model 66 at the time of filming and sent a 4 incher back to S&W to have it rebarreled to the short tube, if the entire shorter Magnum wasn't in production at the time.

As Dan Akroyd would say, The Gauntlet was indeed "Bad Cimema." And Akroyd would know.

 

[Lew Archer]

Well, say what you will about "The Gauntlet", it did have one great line...one of the cops, a friend of Eastwood's character, looks at an inept prosecutor and quips, "He couldn't convict Hitler."

 

[mkk41]

There were some cool old scooters in that movie. Too bad he put a hole thru that oil tank.

 

[sipowicz]

I loved how the cops lined both sides of the street then cross-fired 10,000 rounds at the bus....rediculous.

 

[sigp220.45]

I don't think it would be any big deal for a movie armorer to spin the barrel off a 4" square butt Model 66 and spin on a 2 1/2" barrel. The thing only needs to shoot blanks.

 

[Texas Star]

If memory serves, Melvin Tyler pictured a square butt snub M-19 on his grip adaptor boxes. He probably had a square butt gun re-barelled.

I can see round-butting a M-66 or 19 to get a four-inch round butt gun. Never had any desire to have a sq. butt snub.

The sq. butt J-frames have a somewhat rounded butt, not too bad. I had a M-36 with three-inch bbl., factory Magna smooth rosewood grrips and the Tyler adaptor. Nice gun that I regret having had to sell. Yes, I salvaged the grips when I sold it and no, they aren't for sale. I hope to find the stainless equivalent M-60 and put the grips on it. They're around, occasionally. I once owned one. (My M-60-4 has a round butt and wears Pachmayr Presentation Compac grips.)

 

[Old 44 Guy]

I did not care for the movie, either. Lousey script & acting for sure. I seem to remember that Sandra Locke wound up in a mental hospital some where. Anybody know?