How about an Urban Myths page? (about guns in movies)

[MoviePropMaster2008]

This idea stemmed from a comment from a woman I know who was scandalized that I worked with and owned firearms. When I was talking about one of the large tank collections in California and the work done on military movies, she made the comment "Oh, I thought they borrowed tanks from the Army". I did a double take .... 'You said WHAT?!?!?!"

She also assumed that all guns that fired in movies and television were either "borrowed from the police or ARMY" and that they were not privately owned (or owned by a private sector company).

Certainly in some (RARE) instances a film or show will get help from the Military (i.e. Stripes got a TON of help from the 3rd Armored division at Fort Knox, Goldfinger used active Army units as extras and Battle of the Bulge and Patton used the Spanish Army's M47 tanks as fake Panzers) but seriously people. Government Entities like the Nation's military has better things to do than spend Taxpayer's money loaning or renting their stuff to movie productions.

Also this woman didn't understand the concept of "blank adaption" and she (like some script writers) thought that blanks were interchangeable with live rounds in autoloading weapons (like MP5s). (She must have watched Die Hard 2 )

So I was wondering about a movie gun primer (not for the majority of our members/users, who know quite a bit about guns) but for the casual "gun ignorant" visitors who come here to check out the weapons in their favorite film.

Thoughts? But frankly I don't know how to put this type of page on this site. The limitations of this wiki format I suppose.

[Excalibur]

Well then, I think if that's the case, you would need to put a link to this page on the main page of the site, right under the "Forum" link so people will notice it. Otherwise, people won't know we have a page for movie firearms myths.

Hey, there's a title. "Movie Gun Myths"

And just a thought didn't they use live ammo before the invention of blanks?

On this page, we should also put up what blanks are and that also they might not shoot bullets out, they can seriously harm someone and even kill if misused.

Blank adapters, and that blank ammo are not interchangable with live ammo is one of the big things. We should also bring up examples from movies like Die Hard 2.



Oh and about government entities loaning their stuff for movies, while this example isn't about guns, the movies Hero and Curse of the Golden Flower, both big Chinese movies apparently used the Chinese army as extra for the countless soldiers we've seen, or at least that's what I've heard.

Anything, I think this page can be very informative about gun myths and misconceptions and history on firearms in movies. The more people know the better.

Another example we should put is the man carrying mini-guns and how, though cool, not a very realistic weapon we'd be seeing any soldier carry on the field.

I think suppressor myths should be addressed, like the sound real suppressor makes over what Hollywood has made suppressors cliche sound like and that despite the popular term silencer, no suppressor truly silences a gun shot.

Also we should put on that full auto firearms in the US at least aren't banned as a lot might think, but are limited to those who can get the paperwork down and can afford it and what film armorers are, what they really do and how they are able to do the things they do like...get all those wonderful guns we see in films.

This page should also point out the importance of historical accuracy with firearms.

Let me think, what else?

Oh, M203s comparison to 37mm Cobray launchers. Mock ups of rocket launchers, etc But at least for the M203, just put a link to the actual page to save time and effort.

[Gunmaster45]

I like this idea. One myth in films that people somehow never believe is that big guns DON'T launch you ten feet through the air.

Some defenses by them:

First, improper declaration: "Dude, a .45 ACP round will knock you off your feet. A 9mm is a pussy round that practically deflects off the skin."

You explain how stupid this is, he responds:

"Really?! Well, a 12 Gauge shotgun at close range will send you flying. You're a loser and don't know shit about guns. Go hang yourself"

Nope, no different, shotgun round is the same, and I'm rather knowledgable in guns. He responds in shock:

"NO WAY! A .50 caliber bullet will knock you out of the atmosphere. It will sever limbs and blow you up! I've seen it happen." (he fails to mention he sees this in COD4, not real life)

No, may leave a big hole but you won't go flying or blow up.

This is based on a conversation I had with a 12 year old Rainbow Six: Vegas fan on youtube.

I used to chat with a guy on another chatroom called the Mess where he told me how he was a .50 sniper in the USMC and he had to shoot guard dogs under orders (didn't like doing it), and even a dog doesn't blow up.

Ever seen Quigley Down Under with Tom Selleck? He shoots one guy with his .45-110 Sharps 1874 and the guy is litterally sent into a full body flip.

Also happens in Rambo (2008), and The Quick and the Dead (1995). It is a common movie myth and it is pure garbage. Bullets, no matter how big, don't send you flying. Infact, velocity has more to do with launching people than size. A .45 ACP round is big and slow. It stops in the body and can stop a charging man because the energy of the round stops in the body. 9mms are fast and small, they tend to pass through the body and the energy is lost. Many big game hunters use low velocity rounds for this exact reason.

Truth is, bullets don't launch people through the air, it isn't logically possible. Even Mythbusters proved it. Hope it makes the page.

[MT2008]

I think this would be a good idea!

Originally Posted by MoviePropMaster2008

She also assumed that all guns that fired in movies and television were either "borrowed from the police or ARMY" and that they were not privately owned (or owned by a private sector company).

Well, that at least means she's an improvement over many people I've seen, who think that the guns in movies are all "fake". Especially people my own age, who seem to think the guns they see in movies are airsoft guns or commercially-available blank-firers (like the ones made by Umarex and Bruni).

It's even pretty common that I meet gun owners who think movie guns are fake, especially since so many movies are made in California. They always assume that because California's gun laws suck so much, that means movies couldn't possibly get ahold of real ones. And then I have to explain to them that there are actually armorers who have licenses to own/rent/transport guns that us common folk can't touch and that they are the ones supplying to Hollywood.

Originally Posted by MoviePropMaster2008

But frankly I don't know how to put this type of page on this site. The limitations of this wiki format I suppose.

I've thought about this idea myself. It also applies to the Rules for New Members that you've worked on.

My recommendation is that we create a new page category (with a name like "Information"). Then we edit the sidebar menu (also something we can do as admins) and add a section for Information pages. Then, we group all such pages on this Index.

[Excalibur]

Well I did say we should put ths "Information" link on the main page where anyone can see it

[MT2008]

Originally Posted by Excalibur

Well I did say we should put ths "Information" link on the main page where anyone can see it

That could work, but what I mean is that we should have something on the Main Menu, a new category.

[MoviePropMaster2008]

Originally Posted by MT2008

Well, that at least means she's an improvement over many people I've seen, who think that the guns in movies are all "fake". Especially people my own age, who seem to think the guns they see in movies are airsoft guns or commercially-available blank-firers (like the ones made by Umarex and Bruni).

That's not the least of it. She hates all guns and is of the opinion "If you want to own a gun ... then join the ARMY!" I try to explain to her that by enlisting you don't OWN your own gun, in fact, unless you're in a hotzone, like Iraq or Afghanistan, (also depending on your MOS) you rarely touch a firearm, except in boot, advance training or weapons qualifications. I know of a Lt. Colonel who never touched an M16 after OCS (he oversaw the Finance office filled with 73 Deltas aka "Accounting pencil pushers". ) Also you can only carry and use what is approved (though in combat zones there is leeway in getting or using personally purchased weapons, but only to a certain extent). Anyway, I hate people like her.

It's even pretty common that I meet gun owners who think movie guns are fake, especially since so many movies are made in California. They always assume that because California's gun laws suck so much, that means movies couldn't possibly get ahold of real ones.

There are so many retarded gun owners in other states (sorry guys ) who slam California, like all of us gun people just "gave up" and threw our guns into the sea. Apart from the special licenses for the 'special toys" alot of us just have tons of personal guns as well. Sure, all previously owned guns were grandfathered in, so it really sucks for the younger guys, but there are literally millions of gun owners in the state. Tons of guys MY age were buying their guns all through out the 1980s, so we have everything that other guys in other states have. There are guys in other gun free states, who don't believe that my personal collection is just as big as (actually bigger) than theirs, purely because I'm in California (The PRK). I also love how they slam ALL Californians because we have stupid politicians. Talk about stabbing one's allies in the back....

Back to topic: I like the stories of stupid people, though with the advent of the Internet and military or weapon themed video games, there is a lot of idiocy that we are exposed to on a daily basis. Can we have a 'stupid gun stories page' one of these days? hahahaha. I'll tell you about the guy who said that" the SKS was based on the M16 but changed from a .45 ACP caliber because it was too super sonic and required a silencer to control the recoil ..." (real story BTW)

[Excalibur]

You serious? Wow...

Anyway, I think we should also add a part about caliber of bullets and what it is what ACP stands for, HE (High Explosive), AP (Armor piercing) etc. I think people need to know or be reminded about bullet caliber and how they are measured. And what hollow points are, FMJs, etc

[Yournamehere]

I think that, and I'm sure you'd all agree, that it's a fantastic idea, since it's always good to educate people about the true aspects of the firearm world, but the real question is, "Is this what the site is for, and if or if not, should we make the jump anyway, or rationalize it accordingly?" Are we going to be strictly about movie guns, or are we going to be Brownings advocate like a lot of internet sites in addition to that?

My vote is yes. Firearms are part of an institution, and if we do no better than show what's in a movie or show or something then we aren't much better than Call of Duty 4 showing off the Javelin or Abrams Tank.

[Gunmaster45]

With liberals pounding us with gun laws by the minute, I think we should show right now that we support these guns we document, that maybe we should start supporting the NRA (they're pretty much the only guys fighting to keep our guns) and it is noticable in magazines like Cheaper Than Dirt (they now have a $1 donation for the NRA and prices have raised, sales have plummeted), we should advertize. Turn it into more than a wiki site. I hate to preach but the liberals are digging us a ditch we can't climb out of now that one runs the country (it's like the liberals went from using shovels to a bulldozer now), but this country is dominated by republicans and gun loving independants like me and no one should idoly sit around while the citizen is raped of their guns. I live in NY, a liberal state with lots of stressful gun laws. Before we know it, most of the US could end up this way, or worse. Fight to win.

Maybe we can be payed to have gun stuff advertized on the site (and finally get a small paycheck for our work)

But I'm pretty sure all my thoughts are fantasy, but wouldn't it be awesome?