STORIES from the armory world....

[MT2008]

Originally Posted by MoviePropMaster2008

Being ignorant as to the workings of a movie set doesn't mean you're dumb or incompetent. I know quite a few people who are lovely and smart people who don't know shit about filmmaking, and they have some of dumbest assumptions! hahahahaha

Using live weapons is definitely a sign of incompetence.

[MoviePropMaster2008]

Originally Posted by MT2008

Using live weapons is definitely a sign of incompetence.

Okay, you have me confused again. We ALL work with live weapons. I just handed out some K98 Mausers which are perfectly LIVE. If I were to pop a live 7.92 Mauser round into them, I could wreak some havoc.

I think you're reading my comment "He only had live ammunition" with "He brought and expected to USE live ammunition". Cops I know all have live ammunition. I think low budget filmmakers forget that Cops don't usually carry the appropriate blanks. It was more of a dumb assumption on the part of the movie makers than the cop.

[MT2008]

Originally Posted by MoviePropMaster2008

Okay, you have me confused again. We ALL work with live weapons. I just handed out some K98 Mausers which are perfectly LIVE. If I were to pop a live 7.92 Mauser round into them, I could wreak some havoc.

I think you're reading my comment "He only had live ammunition" with "He brought and expected to USE live ammunition". Cops I know all have live ammunition. I think low budget filmmakers forget that Cops don't usually carry the appropriate blanks. It was more of a dumb assumption on the part of the movie makers than the cop.

Sorry, yeah, live ammunition is what I meant. Isn't that pretty ridiculous?

[Jcordell]

MPM2008 have you ever seen (or prevented) people on a set from doing something real stupid with blank loaded firearms ala the infamous 1984 Jon-Erik Hexum inccident with the blank loaded 44 magnum?

[MoviePropMaster2008]

Originally Posted by Checkman

MPM2008 have you ever seen (or prevented) people on a set from doing something real stupid with blank loaded firearms ala the infamous 1984 Jon-Erik Hexum inccident with the blank loaded 44 magnum?

We all have. One of my assistants stopped a director from telling an actor to shoot a Beretta 92FS at the back of a 'bad guys' head. I mean full powered full flash blanks a distance of THREE INCHES from the back of the other actor's skull. He forced them to use that 'forced perspective' camera trick (like they did in Beverly Hills Cop). You pull the camera WAY BACK and ZOOM IN so the guy firing can be pretty far away from the guy reacting and it looks like he shot the guy right in the head. It's a camera trick regarding angles and compression of the image with a long lens. Another armorer who I sub hired for a project, YANKED a H&K USP from an actor who was really unsafe with it. He actually fired too close to the face of another actor who was working with him (accidentally) during a firefight scene. They had rehearsed their blocking on that scene over and over again, but when it came to filming, adrenaline kicked in and the guy forgot everything he was told. Good thing ALL the actors had sunglasses on because the other guy had unburnt powder and crap peppering his face. The "junior" armorer (technically he was working for me) yanked the guy's live gun and said "You're an idiot. You get a RUBBER GUN from now on". The actor complained loudly and the Asst. Director came up to me and I said "Don't ask me. I back up my armorer 100%" The director was so pissed that he almost FIRED that actor from the set. But they just continued shooting, and that actor had a RUBBER pistol the rest of the entire movie.....

[Jcordell]

Whew. I have to admit that back in my Army days I "played" with the blanks that we used in our M-16's.

I and my fellow soldiers would unscrew the blank adapters from our barrels then shoot cleaning rods out of the barrels by firing the blanks. We didn't shoot at each other, but I did see cleaning rods driven into tree trunks.

Young soldiers can be dangerous if left unattended. I also recall playing with artillery simulators.

It was many many years ago and I like to think that I'm smarter now. But blanks aren't toys that's for sure.

Now I shudder when I think about the damage that we probably did to the barrels as well with those cleaning rods.

I look at my teenage kids and find myself hoping that they are smarter than I was.

[Excalibur]

Originally Posted by Checkman

I look at my teenage kids and find myself hoping that they are smarter than I was.

Then be a smart parent and teach them to be smarter

[Rockwolf66]

Originally Posted by Checkman

Whew. I have to admit that back in my Army days I "played" with the blanks that we used in our M-16's.

I look at my teenage kids and find myself hoping that they are smarter than I was.

I remember a time when my dad was talking about his time in the british military and how two guys in a WWII concrete machinegun nest were killed when a grenade simulator was tossed in with them. the duo had closed the door in back and the only opening was the machinegun slit. cuncussion killed them.

Then I have some of the details of all the industrial accidents dad investigated. Suprisingly few of them involved explosives.