Stub-Nose .38 revolver prop gun

[filmnoirphotos]

Hi all,

I've been searching for a quality stub-nose .38 revolver prop gun for some time now. Have found lots of blank firing semi-autos and a few bigger revolvers, but I have not come up with a source for an older detective style .38. Perhaps some of the Indy' lot might have a clue. I have a resin cast prop gun, but want something that will photograph well up close.

No doubt I could find a used .38 (real gun), but using a real gun as a prop gun welcomes a multitude of problems.

Any suggestions? Thanks.

 

[Flitcraft]

I can understand your concearns about using a real gun, but an old .38 snubby at a reasonable price is pretty easy to find. If you're worried about the potential of someone firing it, and you don't need to show it with the hammer cocked, you could always get an old S&W, Colt, or even an H&R and pull out the firing pin. You'd have an authentic, but non-firing, prop.

 

[filmnoirphotos]

Oh, disabling the gun is not an issue, nor is dummy ammunition, etc. The issue is transporting and using a real gun on location or on the street. My local police department was pretty clear on the point that if I do not have a license to use a gun on a film/photo set, it is against the law. There is also insurance issues as well. As my photography is essentially just a hobby, I really cannot justify the cost of both a city license for theatrical use nor the insurance that must accompany the license.

The very curious thing is, no matter how I disable the weapon, it is still considered a firearm in the eyes of the law. I guess they figure I could, at anytime, re-activate the firing mechanism.

So a quality prop gun is really the only realistic alternative.

 

[Flitcraft]

O.K.- now I understand.
I used to deal with a company when I was doing firearm/ self defense training that made some pretty realistic-looking metal non-firing replicas.
I never bought a snubby from them because we needed Colt Gov't. Models. Let me poke around and see if I still have any info. on them and I'll get back to you.
If you find something on your own, try to get a snubby without the barrel shroud for the ejector housing- those are more authentic to the "Golden Era" time period.

 

[BellyTank]

In the UK and Europe, you can buy 'deactivated' weapons, which are 'non-guns'- sounds like just what you need. Can you get such a thing in the US?
Get a gunsmith to 'de-ac' and certify yer .38?
I know the blank guns and most replicas don't cut the custard-

I have my eye on this one-
http://www.deactivated-guns.co.uk/detail/Colt_1902_military_model.htm
...and...
http://www.deactivated-guns.co.uk/detail/colt_1903_hammer.htm
...and of course...
http://www.deactivated-guns.co.uk/detail/Dreyse_1907.htm
http://www.deactivated-guns.co.uk/detail/1922_nazi_browning.htm
http://www.deactivated-guns.co.uk/detail/langenhan.htm
http://www.deactivated-guns.co.uk/detail/ Deactivated_Italian Beretta_1915 .htm
B
T

 

[filmnoirphotos]

In the UK and Europe, you can buy 'deactivated' weapons, which are 'non-guns'- sounds like just what you need. Can you get such a thing in the US?
Get a gunsmith to 'de-ac' and certify yer .38?
I know the blank guns and most replicas don't cut the custard-
BT

Hmmmmm......I'll go to a local gun shop and see if certified deactivation of a handgun is a possibility. That would be totally cool.

Thanks, BT

 

[filmnoirphotos]

O.K.- now I understand.
I used to deal with a company when I was doing firearm/ self defense training that made some pretty realistic-looking metal non-firing replicas.
I never bought a snubby from them because we needed Colt Gov't. Models. Let me poke around and see if I still have any info. on them and I'll get back to you.
If you find something on your own, try to get a snubby without the barrel shroud for the ejector housing- those are more authentic to the "Golden Era" time period.

Thanks for the tip on the barrel shroud for the ejector housing. Will keep that in mind.

 

[Flitcraft]

Hey, I just saw L.A. Confidential again at a friend's house. Check out the scenes with Russel Crowe 'brandishing a firearm'- great closeups of a .38 minus the ejector shroud. Gives you an idea of what I'm talking about.

 

[Biltmore Bob]

Old Colt revolvers did not have an ejector rod shroud. Neither does the S&W Mod. 10.

 

[Doctor Strange]

How about a blanks-shooter like this one?

http://ssl.maxsell.com/ProductDetails.aspx?productID=1573&sm=1_4

 

[Absinthe_1900]

http://www.iar-arms.com/detectiveblanks.htm

Try these.

 

[Biltmore Bob]

The S&W .357 Mag always had the shroud but the Colt Lawman .357 did not.