Old Movie prop guns......

Husqvarna you are so right on FIREFLY

I did enjoy the guns on FIREFLY they put a little thought in those. But they just has so many Hero & shooter guns they the ran out of money to fix them all up to look Futuristic.. But they had so many shooting parts it would have been very expensive...
 
The Webley Fosberry automatic self cocking revolver was featured in "the Maltese Falcon" and in the sci fi film "Zardoz".
I don't remember if they ever showed the pistol fired in Zardoz.
I wonder just how they could make a Webley Fosberry operate if using blanks?

In Hatcher's notebook he wrote of several attempts to convert 1911 pistols to use blanks, and these attempts ended badly with blown up barrels and/or damaged slides.
I suspect this was due to trying to produce enough recoil by jet effect of muzzle blast alone to operate a locked breech action. Blowback actions are more easily converted.

Most blank firing prop guns these days are purpose made devices rather than conversions of real firearms.

Two reasons why blank firing guns have been replaced by non firing dummy guns and CGI muzzle blasts is that when filming on location a film company must get clearance from a local fire marshall before using any pyrotechnic device, and must obtain a special insurance policy.
Materials coming in contact with the smoldering particles or wadding from a blank load can catch fire hours afterwards.
Another reason is possibility of hearing damage to actors when blanks are fired indoors.
 
Hey Rainbow Demon, In both movies you see the gun shoot but the blanks do not operate the slide action, In Falcon, When you get the killers view of holding the gun firing at Mr Archer, if you frame walk after the shot, There is no movement or trigger cocking..

In Zardoz. Zed will cock the gun by pulling the barrel back with his other hand. You will see him shoot it several times in other parts, and the blanks do not re-cock the trigger.

I always fault the actors for these prop failures because of their unwillingness to really 100% commit to the part and Use real bullets.. :rolleyes:
 
Back in the 1980s there was a mini series about Peter the Great.

The "muskets" were some form of bolt-action magazine rifle with a fake lockwork added.
 
Per Bonanzas date, Just saw one of the later episodes where Little Joe gets hurt (Yeah like that did not happen every other show).. But he had a bill of sale on him for some horses that he just sold and it was dated 1868 or 69 so everyone in that show should all be toting cap and balls or conversions at the best
 
Indy1919, I sold the trapdoor a few years back, cant find any details I may have noted, all I can tell you is it was a shooter & a cutdown rifle, I brought it at Ted Rodgers Militaria auction held in Wellington NZ a couple of times a year.
Sorry cant be more help.
 
I remember an old Gunsmoke episode where a young man came after Matt Dillion with the pistol his dad had carried before Matt shot him.

The pistol was a Patterson. This was long before any replica Pattersons were manufactured, so it had to be the real deal.
Another rare pistol I've seen in an old western TV series ( don't remember which program) was a Walch twelve shooter.
This odd Cap & Ball revolver used stacked loads, two loads per chamber with six chambers. The hammer was actually two side by side hammers. One nipple feed directly into a chamber while the other sent its flash down a tunnel on the exterior of the chamber to fire the top load.
The cylinder was fairly long, but powder space for each round was still limited.
The pistol resembled a Colt 1851.

I suppose at least some of the executives or A list actors in these series had serious gun collections, or knew wealthy fans that would loan out these rare fire arms.
 
Now that you say that Rainbow, you sparked a memory, there was one of the 1/2" hour Marshal Dillon episodes. The stars were in the General store talking, and on the counter there was a board with 4 or 5 hand guns on display. Under each gun there was a 3x5 card with small printing on them. And the board looked more like it was museum display then a sales display.

And the guns were a nice varied gun collection

So you may be right there may have been some type of gun collection used in some of the background guns..
 
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