Films with realistic depiction's of firefights and shoot-outs

Originally Posted by MT2008

I'll give you the room clearing and tactical reloads, but magazine capacity? In the final shootout, they were routinely firing dozens of rounds from their 1911s without reloading.

Not to mention that I still think it's pretty ridiculous that they carry so many 1911 mags, but Longbaugh goes into combat with only two mags for his .308 Galil (the one weapon which would have been decisive in the outcome of the gun battle).

Every round fired is accounted for and all characters reload when appropriate, with the exception of one sequence in the brothel courtyard where Parker and Longbaugh fire dozens of rounds in rapid succession without pausing to reload: an intentional sort of fun tribute to classic action movies. Plus the 1911s in the movie were 9mm so they would shoot more than a .45 version would.

[MT2008]

Originally Posted by sillybunz13

Every round fired is accounted for and all characters reload when appropriate, with the exception of one sequence in the brothel courtyard where Parker and Longbaugh fire dozens of rounds in rapid succession without pausing to reload: an intentional sort of fun tribute to classic action movies.

You got that from IMDB's Trivia section for the movie. Next time, please cite it.

The person who wrote that comment on IMDB took it from the DVD commentary. Although McQuarrie claims that every round fired in the movie is accounted for (except for the courtyard shootout), I personally think he's exaggerating. Characters fire more ammo than their weapons hold in more scenes than just that one (i.e. in the motel shootout, Jeffers fires 25 rounds from his USP without reloading).

Originally Posted by sillybunz13

Plus the 1911s in the movie were 9mm so they would shoot more than a .45 version would.

The Mark IV Series 70 (the type they used) takes a 9-shot magazine, which is not substantially more than the .45 ACP version.

Originally Posted by predator20

I didn't think much of The Way of the Gun when I saw it back in high school. But I rented it a few months back and then bought it on Blu-Ray.

Likewise. I saw it first about 5 years ago and didn't care much for it (thought it ripped off Tarantino too much). But I watched it again recently, and now I have to admit that I enjoy it more than I used to.

That being said, I still don't think it's quite as realistic as some gun guys claim it is (even though the CQB tactics are used quite well).

[predator20]

Originally Posted by MT2008

True, but I think in this case, it was more of a plot device than anything else. If he had been carrying enough Galil mags and .308 ammo to last the entire standoff, he would have pretty much dominated (even without Parker's help). A half-dozen washed-up old men with revolvers and shotguns are not going to be a match for a guy with a Galil and body armor.

Also, I thought it was equally ridiculous that he used the Galil the way he did...spraying the walls on full-auto (or rather, semi-auto with automatic gunfire sound F/X) and hoping to hit Jeffers and the other guy. Considering that he and Parker display such excellent tactical competence for the rest of the movie, you'd think he would know that "spray-and-pray" shooting is a dumb idea.



There's no way anybody could carry as many 1911 mags as they went through (especially for the number of rounds they went through). It would be almost physically impossible. At the very least, we should have seen bandoleers full of 1911 mags draped across their chests, but we didn't.



Because HK sucks and hates them. Sorry, J/K, couldn't resist. That is another good point.

I never understood that part when Longbaugh spends 2 mags trying to hit Jeffers. I guess you can say he was laying down suppressing fire. He would have run through all those guys if he would have had additional mags on him. But you're right it was more of a plot device to even the odds. He may have had additional .308 ammo in his vehicle. Who knows. Parker still had his 870 and a large shell bag on him. Which helped them.

In terms of true capacity for their 9mm 1911s. 10 rounds for the gun itself (9 + 1 in chamber). Quad mag holders 4x9 = 36, 46 total rounds apiece. They could have also been carrying some in their pockets. So you're looking at maybe 60 to 70 at the most.

[MT2008]

Originally Posted by predator20

I never understood that part when Longbaugh spends 2 mags trying to hit Jeffers. I guess you can say he was laying down suppressing fire.

Initially, yeah, but once he and Parker were behind cover, he was still firing way too much. Suppressive fire is used to advance or cover a retreat. He was basically just emptying his mags into the walls and hoping that if he fired enough rounds, one might hit the target. That's the sort of thing that nobody with his (apparent) level of military training would do.

Speaking of which, another thing that I thought ridiculous was that he was using the Galil indoors at all. A .308 rifle (especially with the Galil's barrel length) is a poor CQB choice. Plus, he knew that they were going to be facing Joe Sarno later (even though they didn't know how many other guys he was going to have with him). Since Longbaugh had only two Galil mags, wouldn't it have made more sense to stick with the 1911 while he was indoors? Then, later on, he could have set up his Galil in a window and covered Parker while he went outside to get the money. If I were in their situation, with their equipment, that's what I would probably do.

Originally Posted by predator20

In terms of true capacity for their 9mm 1911s. 10 rounds for the gun itself (9 + 1 in chamber). Quad mag holders 4x9 = 36, 46 total rounds apiece. They could have also been carrying some in their pockets. So you're looking at maybe 60 to 70 at the most.

Yeah, I'm pretty sure Parker went through 60 rounds in the fountain alone. Too bad this movie was made in the days before PALS web gear became popular; then they could have probably carried way more mags on their vests.

[predator20]

Originally Posted by MT2008

Likewise. I saw it first about 5 years ago and didn't care much for it (thought it ripped off Tarantino too much). But I watched it again recently, and now I have to admit that I enjoy it more than I used to.

I didn't really see it as a Tarantino rip-off when I first watched it, with Tarantino's dialogue being the way it is.

Originally Posted by MT2008

That being said, I still don't think it's quite as realistic as some gun guys claim it is (even though the CQB tactics are used quite well).

The film might cheat in some places, but it's better than 95% of the action films out there. Back when I first watched it I wasn't into guns, but now that I am, I have a lot more respect for the film.

Another thing I liked is you didn't see guys flying through the air when shot. Back when I was younger I thought it was cool, now it will ruin a movie for me.