By Friedrich Seiltgen
Editor’s Note: Don’t forget to check out Part 1 of this series as well.
We’ve been getting emails from a lot of Gunpowder readers who want more movie guns. So here we go!
Quigley Down Under – The Shiloh-Sharps .45-110 carried by Tom Selleck is an Iionic piece of movie history. Selleck’s description of the rifle to his employer, soon to be enemy, is a classic:
“…a lever action, breech loader. Usual barrel length’s thirty inches. This one has an extra four. It’s converted to use a special forty-five caliber, one-hundred-and-ten-grain metal cartridge, with a five-hundred-and-forty grain paper patched bullet. It’s fitted with double set triggers and a Vernier sight. It’s marked up to twelve-hundred yards. This one shoots a mite further.”
After filming had finished, Selleck kept three of the rifles made for the movie. One was given to the Brownell’s family, and another was presented to the NRA during a fundraiser. The rifle brought in $69,000!
The Sharps was a favorite of the buffalo hunters at the time, as it could take down buffalo at long ranges without spooking the rest of the herd. The Uberti Company makes a copy of the “Down Under” rifle in .45-70 instead of the .45-110, if you absolutely need one. The price is a mere $3,169.
Tremors – I loved the original movie, and no one can forget the legendary line from Bert Gummer after killing the “Graboid” that breached his prepper compound:
“Broke into the wrong GD rec room didn’t you, you Bastard!”
During the attack, Bert and his wife went to their gun wall and engaged the monster with an array of weaponry. As a last resort, Bert took out his William and Moore 8 gauge “elephant” gun to deal with the situation. This gun weighs in at 12.5 pounds, and the shells used brass hulls instead of paper for a more dramatic effect.
John Wick I, II, III – With all three movies having a “gun room” scene, it may be easier to list the firearms NOT used in the John Wick series!
John Wick – Keanu Reeves uses a H&K P30L with custom compensator and a Glock 26 as a backup.
John Wick II – Our hero makes a visit to the sommelier in Rome and picks up a Taran Tactical Innovations (TTI) Combat Master Glock 36 and a TTI Custom Glock 26. Both guns custom-built by Reeves’ firearms trainer Taran Butler. As for long guns, Wick chooses a TTI TR-1 Ultralight M-4 Style weapon with a pair of Magpul 30-round magazines clamped together with another on his person. He also chooses a Benelli M4 Super 90 12- gauge shotgun. As for the bad guys, and girls, the female assassin Ares packs a SW1911SCS pistol with suppressor. Most of the other goons are toting SIG 551 long guns.
John Wick Parabellum – At the beginning of Parabellum, Wick receives a Bond Arms Derringer from a doctor who then requests that Wick shoot him with it, so the doctor isn’t accused of helping Wick! The list is endless with guns ranging from a Colt 1903 hammerless pistol to a Remington 1875 to an Angstadt Arms UDP-9 Sub Gun, SIG MPX Carbine, PTR 9CT pistol MP5 Clone, and a SIG MPX Copperhead Prototype! During fight scenes in all three movies, miscellaneous Glocks, and other firearms too numerous to mention are picked up and used to take out Wick – to no avail.
Predator – The Schwarzenegger classic is chock full of cool stuff for its time. Arnie equipped with an M-16 with replica M203 grenade launcher mounted underneath, Carl Weathers and Shane Black toting MP5s which were actually HK94s cut down and converted to full auto, Bill Duke with the venerable M60E3 Belt fed machine gun, Sonny Landham with an M16, actually an SP1, with under mounted Mossberg 500 shotgun, and Jesse Ventura with the backpack GE Minigun!
For the movie, the minigun had a rate of fire of 1,250 rounds per minute. Given the ammo pack has a capacity of 550 rounds, this meant the minigun had only 25 seconds of ammo! As the minigun needs electricity to work, the batteries were hidden off screen with the power cables routed up the actor’s pant leg.
That’s all for now. Let us know what movie guns you’d like to read about. Maybe there’s a part III in the works?!
Friedrich Seiltgen is a retired Master Police Officer with 20 years of service with the Orlando Police Department. He is currently a part-time policer officer with the Starke, Florida Police Department. He conducts training in Lone Wolf Terrorism, Firearms, First Aid, Active Shooter Response, and Law Enforcement Vehicle Operations in Florida. His writing has appeared in The Counter Terrorist Magazine, Homeland Security Today, and The Journal of Counterterrorism & Homeland Security International. Contact him at [email protected].