Treasure Island muzzle loading pistol effect

mtodd2qq

Member
Hi everybody quick question Doing Treasure Island and have circled back around to were young Hawkins takes over the ship and shoots Hands. I know there are many ways to accomplish this but our director keeps circling back to having a real muzzle loading pistol on stage because of the way the action plays out.
Our Campus security doesn't like the idea, I dont like the idea, I am betting risk management in HR will hate the idea, its just over all a terrible idea.

I have rentals that use 22 blanks but again not everyone is happy with having to rent and how they look and so on and so forth.
I am looking for alternative ideas for how anyone else has pulled off this effect with something other then an actual muzzle loading pistol that is loaded with black powered and a patch/wad. And if there was already a thread on this please point me to it. my search brought up nothing. And like I said, I can think of a couple of different ways to do this much safer but so far none of those has rung the directors bell.

thanks
 
First off, Tell your Director that is a very st....... Ok, Wait.

If the Director refuses to re-envision this then send them here: https://weaponsofchoice.com/weapons/firearms/longarms/ I'm sure there are other place but I have a long history with WOC. Half way down the page is a Muzzle loading long gun. the description of which includes the following " (You should know that actors and ramrods are not a good mix. Actors panic when ramrods don’t come out easily, which leads to broken ramrods and ruined guns. Seriously. ) "

Sorry, I just realized you were looking for pistols. Follow the link and click on the menu for Pistols. they have them as well.
 
Also remind the director that it is very likely that a real muzzle loader would be in fact ILLEGAL to bring onto campus.
 
First off, Tell your Director that is a very st....... Ok, Wait.

If the Director refuses to re-envision this then send them here: https://weaponsofchoice.com/weapons/firearms/longarms/

Thanks for the reminder that its been too long since I've taken a look at their site. I've loved them for years and are great quality and prices that are fantastic... even for purchasing.

Security and risk management are the easiest way to shut this down. Present what you'd like to do/or your solution to them and your concerns with the idea you don't like and they're likely the final say on the matter. Like Van linked, there's tons of options that are safer and designed for stage.
 
I'm assuming your in Casper, WY. Some quick googling says that it would only be legal to have the firearm on campus if campus security gives the ok. So if campus security is against it then you don't really have a choice in the matter.
 
Hi everybody quick question Doing Treasure Island and have circled back around to were young Hawkins takes over the ship and shoots Hands. I know there are many ways to accomplish this but our director keeps circling back to having a real muzzle loading pistol on stage because of the way the action plays out.
Our Campus security doesn't like the idea, I dont like the idea, I am betting risk management in HR will hate the idea, its just over all a terrible idea.

I have rentals that use 22 blanks but again not everyone is happy with having to rent and how they look and so on and so forth.
I am looking for alternative ideas for how anyone else has pulled off this effect with something other then an actual muzzle loading pistol that is loaded with black powered and a patch/wad. And if there was already a thread on this please point me to it. my search brought up nothing. And like I said, I can think of a couple of different ways to do this much safer but so far none of those has rung the directors bell.

thanks
I will only allow a prop gun with solid barrel an not able to fire anything. Not even blanks. This is the only way to 100% prevent injury or death. The prop wepons are secured before, after and during the show.
Also a 1x4 held with fingers and under your foot makes a great gun sound when released to slap down on the stage..
 
This is the only way to 100% prevent injury or death.

They could still hit each other over the head with it. I'm being cheeky, but risk management is always a matter of percentages; you can only reduce risk, not eliminate.

In my experiences as PM, trying to exert prior restraint on artists' ideas leads people to dig in their heels and puts everyone at odds. If they really want this, present a plan that gets it done safely and legally, with all the costs and bureaucracy laid out. If it's worth enough to them they can go for it. Or, they get to make the decision that it's not worth it and you happen to have a great back-up plan to save the day.

Wish I could be more help on the back-up plan, which is what you're really here asking for.
 
Nick you nailed it. I am looking for alternatives to avoid having to deal with this as a conflict. At the end of the day its going to be taken out of my control.
 
Muzzle loaders are rendered inoperable by welding the flash hole shut. I would feel 100% comfortable with a weapon altered in this way. Now to selling the effect. I've tried this in college but never used it for an actual production. I took an airsoft gun (sig p228), and pulled out the firing mechanism and magazine. In the mag well went a 9v battery with leads that ran to a momentary switch behind the trigger, through the action, and into the barrel. I twisted a model rocket igniter on the leads and shoved all that into the barrel. From the muzzle end I pushed in a wad of flash paper. When the trigger is squeezed, it activates the switch which fires the igniter and lights the flash paper. I got a nice muzzle flash (not as fast as the real thing, but still...) It had some issues that needed refinement, sometimes it wouldn't light the paper, so maybe it depends on how tight the wad is packed in there, maybe cotton would have worked better. Idk. Food for thought. Maybe you can roll with the idea and do something like this...

I always thought it would be cool to wire up some kind of transmitter into the gun that triggers (pun) a gun shot sound effect from the board, but that's beyond my capabilities. I just build stuff...
 
Last time I had to do an effect like this, I used a plastic, toy flintlock pistol and added a pair of LED's, one amber, one red to the barrel, put a 9 volt battery in the grip and replaced the trigger with a switch. It took about two hours to make the modifications. The firing had to be coordinated with a sound cue, but other than a lack of smoke, it looked like a pistol firing as far as the audience was concerned.
 
Make a prop that shoots baking flour and uses an LED light as the flashy and the "bang" comes from CO2
Rye flour. Standard, wheat based flour can trigger allergies. Rye flour was found to be the most hypo-allergenic in an Equity study.
 
Rye flour. Standard, wheat based flour can trigger allergies. Rye flour was found to be the most hypo-allergenic in an Equity study.
THAT'S one of those pearls that keep me coming back. I hope it comes up in my life one day, and that I remember.
 

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