Guns That Seemed Cool in Movies... Disappointed IRL.

Near as I can find in any of my research, the CIA never carried the Walther PPK, especially in .32 Auto. They used a High Standard for silent interventions of a close up nature.

Oddly enough, I think it was about 4 movies later that SPECTRE refers to Bond as "the only man known to use such a gun."

Still cool, though.

There's a lot of artistic license in the Bond series, primarily because the original author, Ian Fleming, wasn't a gun guy.

Bond originally carried a Beretta 418 in .25ACP in the first few books. Then, a fan wrote into Fleming complaining about the Beretta, basically saying that it was a lady's gun. Fleming wrote back to the fan for suggestions and the fan instead suggested the now-famous .32ACP, aka 7.65mm Browning, PPK.

Fleming wasn't a gun guy and thus didn't know the ins and outs of firearms useage, development, and history. Add on top of that the movie industry's anti-gun, or at least gun-ignorant, bias, and there's a recipe for bullshit in the Bond movies.
 
Fleming wasn't a gun guy and thus didn't know the ins and outs of firearms useage, development, and history. Add on top of that the movie industry's anti-gun, or at least gun-ignorant, bias, and there's a recipe for bullshit in the Bond movies.

I think that's true for most films. I mean, Shane Black wrote both Predator and Lethal Weapon. Both are awesome movies, but absolutely clueless about firearms.

In Predator, Dutch carries an M-16 (itself somewhat dated by that point), while Blaine carries an utterly unrealistic minigun. Through dense rain forest. And they don't run out of ammo. I can't carry 20 rounds of 9mm in mags on a hot day without regretting it.

It's always that way. Look at this exchange between Riggs and Murtaugh regarding the (then) relatively new sight of a Beretta 92:


View: https://youtu.be/ISQZ-9OMuHg


I mean, yes, Riggs is carrying about 2.66 times the ammo Murtaugh is. But he is loaded with 9mm (FMJ, apparently!) where Murtaugh is carrying a .357 S&W Model 19.

The movie made the Beretta seem mythical. All guns have the same 'power' in Hollywood. The scene focused on the 'old' versus 'young' nonsense. Never-you-mind that one round of .357 out of the 'six-gun' would be devastating compared to a round of 9mm FMJ.
 
The full size Uzi is an uninspiring gun to shoot. Weighs like 9 pounds and shoots 9mm at a cyclic rate of maybe 700 rpm. A 6 year old could shoot it is reliable and easy but not movie-worthy exciting. Now the Uzi mini there is a fun piece!

My most disappointing gun was the Uzi pistol. There are two safeties on it, the thumb safety (fine) and the grip safety. Not only was it heavy and chunky to hold, but you had to squeeze the safety ON THE BACK of the grip with your palm while pulling the trigger. It was an ok shooter, but when you're running through 30 round mags, that got really old fast. For the going rate of ~$1,700, there's a lot better stuff to own out there.
 
Near as I can find in any of my research, the CIA never carried the Walther PPK, especially in .32 Auto. They used a High Standard for silent interventions of a close up nature.

Oddly enough, I think it was about 4 movies later that SPECTRE refers to Bond as "the only man known to use such a gun."

Still cool, though.
That is a subtle catch that I never noticed in You Only Live Twice. Kudos.
 
My most disappointing gun was the Uzi pistol. There are two safeties on it, the thumb safety (fine) and the grip safety. Not only was it heavy and chunky to hold, but you had to squeeze the safety ON THE BACK of the grip with your palm while pulling the trigger. It was an ok shooter, but when you're running through 30 round mags, that got really old fast. For the going rate of ~$1,700, there's a lot better stuff to own out there.
And that grip safety is hard to hold in. I suspect (but don't know) that the grip safety was held in with tape or rubber bands when that 8 yo kid had that horrible fatal accident in Westfield years ago with the FA Micro Uzi. When the Micro Uzi was designed, they knew that the guns would rotate if the shooter lost control. When the gun rotated, the idea was that when it got to 45 degrees or so up the palm would lose pressure on the safety and the gun would stop firing. Never defeat any safety on any gun. Jack.
 
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And that grip safety is hard to hold in. I suspect (but don't know) that the grip safety was held in with tape or rubber bands when that 8 yo kid had that horrible fatal accident in Westford years ago with the FA Micro Uzi. When the Micro Uzi was designed, they knew that the guns would rotate if the shooter lost control. When the gun rotated, the idea was that when it got to 45 degrees or so up the palm would lose pressure on the safety and the gun would stop firing. Never defeat any safety on any gun. Jack.

Sage advice on the safety and it makes sense. Add the weight of the thing to the equation which many folks counter by holding closer to the body and you can see how out of hand a full auto version could get. I think there was a similar incident in Vegas with a kid losing control and shooting her range guide a few years ago.
 
Sage advice on the safety and it makes sense. Add the weight of the thing to the equation which many folks counter by holding closer to the body and you can see how out of hand a full auto version could get. Wasn't there a similar incident in Vegas with a kid a few years ago?

This is why I never even give brand new shooters more than one round when I take them to the range. One at a time until I'm sure they won't jump back and try to shake the gun off their hand like its biting them.
 
I wouldn't mind trying a Goncz/Claridge Hi-Tech. Admittedly, no idea how it would shoot. Looking at it, can't tell if the weight distribution is genius or torture.

Total Recall (1990)

Claridge_HiTech_S9.jpg
 
Nope, Glock 7.

Made in Germany, this firearm is constructed entirely of porcelain, is capable of passing through airport metal detectors completely unnoticed. The only downside to this amazing weapon is the price, which is quite expensive. The real MSRP is unknown, but experts say that they cost more than the Dulles International Airport Police Chief makes in a month.

I was bored.

In 1971, the Dulles Police Chief made about $13,041 according to a House hearing I found from that year. So at the time of Die Hard 2, that equates to $42,149 assuming there were no raises in the interim, but of course there were; call it $50k. So $4,167 a month. The Glock 7 was "more than" that, call it $4,300. In 2020 dollars, that's $8,095.

Anyone know any cool pistol right now that costs about $8k new?
 
I was bored.

In 1971, the Dulles Police Chief made about $13,041 according to a House hearing I found from that year. So at the time of Die Hard 2, that equates to $42,149 assuming there were no raises in the interim, but of course there were; call it $50k. So $4,167 a month. The Glock 7 was "more than" that, call it $4,300. In 2020 dollars, that's $8,095.

Anyone know any cool pistol right now that costs about $8k new?

A custom race gun for USPSA Open division could easily top $8k.
 
I was bored.

In 1971, the Dulles Police Chief made about $13,041 according to a House hearing I found from that year. So at the time of Die Hard 2, that equates to $42,149 assuming there were no raises in the interim, but of course there were; call it $50k. So $4,167 a month. The Glock 7 was "more than" that, call it $4,300. In 2020 dollars, that's $8,095.

Anyone know any cool pistol right now that costs about $8k new?

*FK BRNO, definitely

FK Brno 7.5 Field Pistol lands in U.S. market

*Tuned up Korth
*MR-73 .357/.38/9x19/.22 kit:

MANURHIN MR73 CONVERTIBLE 357 MAG 38 9mm 22 LR VERY RARE KIT w/ CASE - Revolvers at GunBroker.com : 867577234

*Ed Brown 1911s
*Tuned B&T
*FB Radom Wz. 35 Vis

» Wz.35 VIS Pistol

If we're going tricked-out terrorist gun, my bet's on the FK, the Korth, the MR-73, or the B&T.

A custom race gun for USPSA Open division could easily top $8k.

Yeah, probably.
 
I'm talking about something a badass terrorist would use. Something EPIC, man!

The Korth Pistole PRS 6:


Almost $5,600, oozes cool, and by all accounts is exceedingly well-made.


View: https://youtu.be/02ZdYUPtp7g


Badass as it gets.
 
Mmmm.

...but is it made outta porcelain? Or, for the update, CF?

One could likely build a fully-functional carbon fiber AR-15 (or AR10?). Proof or Christensen barrel, CF handguards, a polymer lower. Slap a fancy optic on there and you've got an $8k gun, no problem.
 
Kriss Vector is mine for sure. So clunky boxy and awkward.
Movies and Call of Duty make it seem so tacticool and I could just not get along with it and had to sell it pretty quickly after buying it.
 
We have both the Thompson and Grease Gun in the family. Takes a while to get the hang of the Tommy before you can actually hit anything with it. The Grease Gun is the favorite. Problem these days is that you have to win the lottery to buy one of each to compare them. Jack.

When I was about 15, I got a machine gun catalog. I tried to convince my Dad to but a grease gun because they were only a couple hundred and way cheaper than anything else in the catalog. My Dad wouldn’t pay it because he thought it wasn’t worth it (valid point, a Kreighoff it ain’t). Then came 1987.
 
There's a lot of artistic license in the Bond series, primarily because the original author, Ian Fleming, wasn't a gun guy.

Bond originally carried a Beretta 418 in .25ACP in the first few books. Then, a fan wrote into Fleming complaining about the Beretta, basically saying that it was a lady's gun. Fleming wrote back to the fan for suggestions and the fan instead suggested the now-famous .32ACP, aka 7.65mm Browning, PPK.

Fleming wasn't a gun guy and thus didn't know the ins and outs of firearms useage, development, and history. Add on top of that the movie industry's anti-gun, or at least gun-ignorant, bias, and there's a recipe for bullshit in the Bond movies.
True, except in the first movies Bond used a PP. He first got a PPK in From Russia with Love.
 
Ha, yes! Agent Smith in the Matrix with his Desert Eagle too. I don't even understand how they could *pretend* those things hid well under jackets.

They bent the rules of perspective, just as Neo bent the rules of gravity.

"You think that's air you're breathing? Hmpf."

[laugh]
 
I'll probably get hate for this, and I actually do still want one, but Bond/PPK.

.32 ACP mouse cartridge in an uncomfortable, snappy little gun.

I have no issue with mine.

But I don't have it because of Bond. Archer is where it's at!
 
True, except in the first movies Bond used a PP. He first got a PPK in From Russia with Love.

Which, again, proves my point: Bond never carried a PP in the books. The PP only appeared on screen as the result of an error:

This part reveals an error made during production as the gun supplied on-screen was not a PPK but, in fact,a Walther PP chambered in .380 AC, with a longer barrel than the PPK. Years later, a Christies auction illustrated said error : "A Walther PP, serial number 19174-A, used by Sean Connery in Dr. No".

Walther PP - James Bond Wiki

My point being, the Bond franchise had a lot of erroneous gun bull.
 
Oh god yes. The ergonomics of the Thompson are the absolute worst, and it weighs a metric ton. If we're talking actual practical usability, give me a grease gun over a Thompson any day.

Being an armorer in WWII, my dad had his choice, and the Thompson was his. BUT not the vertical foregrip, and NO drum mags. He was quite adamant on that [laugh]
 
Not sure if serious.

Probably one of my biggest regret sales, ever. (P7M8) It's about as close as anyone will ever get to a rolex in a concealable
handgun. It was also my first pistol.

The only real criticism of the gun that I ever had was it overheats easily. You can't run the gun hard for very long. After about 40 rounds you are done for at least 15 minutes.

I'd buy your argument if you said "Magazines too f***ing expensive. Overheats easily. "

this.

probably the best pistol ever made.
excellent sites
superior trigger
extremely low bore axis

but yes. After about 2 mags you need to put it down as it definitely heats up!
 
When I was about 15, I got a machine gun catalog. I tried to convince my Dad to but a grease gun because they were only a couple hundred and way cheaper than anything else in the catalog. My Dad wouldn’t pay it because he thought it wasn’t worth it (valid point, a Kreighoff it ain’t). Then came 1987.
Those times are long gone. My 1928 A1 Thompson I got for $500 and the M3A1 Grease Gun for $200. Both post samples. Now they are just toys for Little Jack to play with. Jack.
 
Sage advice on the safety and it makes sense. Add the weight of the thing to the equation which many folks counter by holding closer to the body and you can see how out of hand a full auto version could get. I think there was a similar incident in Vegas with a kid losing control and shooting her range guide a few years ago.

That happened in Arizona, IIRC.

-Mike
 
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