Prop Gun

lieperjp

Well-Known Member
Prop guns (and other stage firearms) are a touchy subject here on CB.

Here are some basic Safety procedures regarding firearms (taken from Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Hunter's Safety guidelines) using the TABK system:

T: Treat every firearm as if it were loaded.
A: Always point the muzzle in a safe direction.
B: Be certain of your target and what's beyond.
K: Keep your finger outside the trigger guard unless ready to shoot.

Obviously, these may not apply to theatre, but nevertheless are important to review.

Guns and theatre should not be mixed by the average person. See these threads about people who have been killed/injured in theatre to know this is a serious subject:

http://www.controlbooth.com/forums/news/10869-danger-prop-gun.html

http://www.controlbooth.com/forums/news/9932-high-school-student-dies-prop-gun-injury.html

---

Here are some highlights from a thread called http://www.controlbooth.com/forums/special-f-x/9087-gunfire-gunshot-sound.html.

get yourself a 4' piece of 1x4. Stand with it wedged against your left toe one end and in your right hand on the other end. Raise your right foot and when the time is right drive it into the deck with your right foot (hinging it with the front of your left foot). I think you'll be amazed. Even with a killer sound system and a collection of great sound effects in my theater I prefer the sound of the 1x4.

Sometimes this doesn't work due to your stage, so another option is to hinge two pieces of 1x4 together, one slightly longer than the other. Lay the long one on the floor and smack the shorter one into it.

We did a skit in church once that had five or six gunshots in it. It was a Book of Revelation thing that involved taking people outside who would not take the mark of the beast and shooting them. We had a responsible adult use a rifle with blanks in the next room, after obtaining permission from the police and notifying the neighbors that we would be firing a gun during our services on this particular Sunday morning.

Your "from the stage, not through the sound system" restriction not withstanding, the safest way to do it is to use a dedicated sound system (speaker, amp, and playback device), and hide the speaker in the set somewhere near where the gunshots are supposed to come from.

The most realistic way to do it is with a starter pistol. Set up an area backstage, or behind the set upstage, where the gun op has a clear view of his/her surroundings and cannot be "snuck up on" from behind. Make sure you clear the use of the starter pistol with the proper authorities before hand and double check with them to make sure you observe all relevant safety protocols.

There's also the belt snap. Just take a big leather belt and fold it in half like you're going to spank someone. Grab both ends and push toward the middle. The centers will bow out from each other. Pull the ends away from each other and... snap! I have tried this with various belts over the years and achieved varying results. With the right belt it sounds pretty realistic.

Here's a link from this thread: http://www.controlbooth.com/forums/news/10869-danger-prop-gun-3.html#post119620

I'm gonna tell you what I work on without telling you what I work on.

My guns are handled by one and ONLY one technician per day. That means when it's my turn, I am the only one-besides our stunts and performers-to handle them. They come out of the gun safe where they have been overnight, since the end of the last show. That's right: GUN SAFE. A real live, computer locked gun safe. I take them out, I inspect each one to make sure it's empty before I load it. BTW: these are single round, single action period correct (sorta) pistols. For the guns in the air, I put their safety lanyards on their connections, put the necessary rounds in my tool bag, clip 'em to my harness and climb. At each location, I secure them accordingly to their points- carefully loading each one (as they are ONLY handled by myself or the stunts and are stowed in a position so as to NOT be pointed where people will be, including the decks, rigging, or audience. Not easy at 80 feet. All shots are choreographed to happen at specific points in our section of the show. NO pistols are EVER pointed at anyone, including audience. ESPECIALLY audience. Or other humans for that matter. After each shot, each gun is re-holstered at it's point before the stunt performer moves on in his/her show track. It's pretty much the same for the deck pistols, where the same rules apply, and every person who handles one is carefully trained one-on-one with one of us as to how/where/why/when/who safely handles a weapon. Failure to follow our instruction is grounds for immediate termination, no ifs ands or buts.

Have I mentioned our show is over 15 years old, with NO injuries beyond bumps, bruises, sore muscles, etc...? 'Tis true.

Between shows, I climb the rig and I am the one to confirm each shot fired, empty spent rounds, re-load and set each hammer. Deck guns are loaded at 2 minutes to curtain before anyone besides the crew are aboard following the above protocols.

During nightly strike, I go up and retrieve the guns, empty them, inspect them, re-rack them on their storage carriers and twice a week we clean 'em. Then, back in the safe.

What makes this a success is that we SEVERELY LIMIT who touches the guns, how, where, and when. Guns are NEVER 'dry fired'. That is, fired without a live round in 'em. In our world, if you pull the trigger, you are doing it for real every time. If you're not doing it for real, your finger does NOT even go inside the trigger guard, and there will still be no live round in it. If the weapon fails to discharge, you DO NOT get to try again. You re-holster it, and move on.

The shotgun cue is called by the SM, who counts down to it from 10. If you aren't ready at "go", you don't fire late. You don't fire early. "GO" is all there is and if you screw up reloading and miss your cue, you WILL be razzed severely by the entire crew. Oh man, it sucks. But you don't fire unless it's ON CUE.

Guess what else? All our guns are registered with and approved by ATF.

If you think of it like this you'll be better off no matter what in many cases: a gun is a gun is a gun. They're ALL loaded, ALL the time. They ALL want to kill you for any reason. YOU are ultimately responsible for your own safety and YOU must act accordingly. YOU, nor anyone else, can EVER assume a gun is unloaded, non-functioning, etc...



---

Here are two links to some prop gun sellers. Before we give you the links, here are some safety tips.

ALL FIREARMS THAT USE EXPLODING CAPS OR BLANKS STILL HAVE DISCHARGE. This includes starter pistols. This discharge is hot gas that occurs as a result of the explosion and can burn skin. This discharge also can contain small shards of metal from the blank. In real guns, discharge is released through the front of the barrel. In prop guns and most starter pistols the barrel is sealed and the discharge is released through the side of the gun. All sealed guns should have an orange cap on the end signifying it as a sealed barrel gun. This orange cap should not be removed or painted over. A prop gun is still very dangerous and should NEVER be pointed directly at a person. Any stage firearm should always be locked up when not on stage and it should be under supervision when not locked up. Stage firearms also need to be cleaned after any and every use to prevent dangerous malfunctions as well as keep the gun in proper working order.

Now that you've read the above paragraph, here are two links:

Movie Props and Stage Props
Wester Stage Props - Guns
 
Last edited:

Users who are viewing this thread

Back