SPOILER ALERT! So, wikipedia tells us that “Shortly before the publication of From Russia, With Love in 1956, Fleming received a fan letter from an author and gun collector, Geoffrey Boothroyd. He told Fleming that he admired the Bond novels apart from the hero’s choice of weapon. Boothroyd felt the Beretta was ‘a lady’s gun’ with no real stopping power. He also objected to the choice of holster. Boothroyd proposed that Bond should use a revolver like the Smith & Wesson Centennial Airweight. It had no external hammer, so it would not catch on Bond’s clothes. The Smith & Wesson could be kept in a Berns-Martin triple draw holster held in place with a spring clip which would decrease Bond’s draw time. Boothroyd also said the suppressors Bond occasionally used were rarely silent and actually reduced the gun’s stopping power . . .

Fleming thanked Boothroyd for his letter and made a few points of his own in his reply. He felt that Bond ought to have an automatic instead of a revolver. Fleming agreed that the Beretta lacked power, but pointed out that Bond had used more powerful weapons when necessary, such as the Colt M1911 .45 cal auto pistol he uses in Moonraker. Fleming also said that he had seen a silenced Sten gun during the war and the weapon had hardly made a whisper.

Ultimately Boothroyd recommended the Walther PPK 7.65 mm as being the best choice for an automatic of that size, with its ammunition available everywhere. He suggested, however, that 007 ought to have a revolver for long-range shooting.

Yada yada yada. Pea shooter. Smith & Wesson .44 for the win. What’s your fave?

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR

202 COMMENTS

  2. Just off the top of my head, John Wayne’s large-loop Winchester. And Antonio Banderas’ cut-down double-barrel from “Desperado”.

    • I totally agree with John Wayne’s Winchester. He used it in several movies to great effect.

  3. My favorite real gun is the mini-gun from Terminator (and Predator,etc).

    Picking a favorite fictional gun would be much more of a challenge.

  4. Doom’s BFG. Why? In the movie it melts through walls like a blowtorch goes through soap suds. Of course, it probably costs a few million bucks a shot & finding an acceptable range to use it at would be problematic. I might manage to get a gig demolishing bridges before the ink’s dry on the demolition contract.

    For a real gun, probably Terminator 2’s man-portable minigun, in a titanium flavor.

  7. Since I can’t say “Proton Pack”. I would have to go with Desert Eagle from the Matrix.

    • And the fact that you’ve got “Replica” written down the side of your guns and the fact that I’ve got “Desert Eagle point five O” written down the side of mine should precipitate your b@lls into shrinking, along with your presence. Now… fu¢k off!

  11. SW4506 that Denzel carried in training day or sig p225 that Jason Bourne carried.

    Had to go out and buy them both!

  12. Gatling Gun from the 1860s- 1900, in any number of movies – John Wayne, Clint Eastwood, “The Magnificent 7″…

    S&W Schofield in “The Unforgiven”.

    M-1 Garand in any episode of the TV show “Combat”.

    Geez, this is hard – why do I have to pick just one?

    Wait, can I add the BAR in “Public Enemy”?

    • When I think BARs in movies I think Saving Private Ryan…

      “Where’s your BAR?”
      “At the bottom of the channel, the bitch tried to drown me…”

  13. The Glock that has the bottomless mag, a safety, goes through metal detectors, and goes *click click* everytime its drawn or appears on screen. For as many that I have seen in the movies, one would think I could find one at a gun show lol

    But seriously, I liked John Murtaugh’s model 19 from the Lethal Weapon series so much that it was my first handgun purchase.

      • Or Bruce Willis’s bottomless 1911’s from Last Man Standing. Not only did they have unlimited ammo they also sent people flying when they were hit.

    • +1 for the S&W Model 19. That was my first S&W revolver, inherited from my grandfather when he passed away. So much fun to shoot.

        • That was gonna be my vote. I am not even a fan of older guns, but before I die I’d like to own at least a shooting replica of that rifle… and the pistol and lever action from Dances With Wolves.

  16. The M14 used by Randy Shughart in Blackhawk Down.

    Second pace is Han Solo’s Mauser pistol inspired blaster

  17. Gotta be the M-41A Pulse Rifle from “Aliens”. It’s futuristic without being implausible, it’s still shooting solid slugs instead of energy beams, and it looks damned good doing it.

    • …and the only gun that would reasonably fit into a spacecraft or remote base.

      I still shake my head when I see the Marines with their giant six foot long HMG in the first movie. I’m thinking, did anyone mention they would be working in a cramped space?

    • There’s a reason for that, actually. The “pulse rifles” were actually fully functioning firearms, both the rifle upper and “grenade launcher” lower. The upper portion was a modified full-auto Thompson, firing .45ACP blanks, the lower was a cut down and stockless 870 that “fired” visually-modified 12g snap cap “grenades”. All visually modified to look like a complete futuristic weapon, of course. Load up some real .45 and 12g, and you could actually plink with it. Assuming the recoil of the 12g didn’t cause the hollywood frankenstein to come apart.

      BTW, the big arsed “smart guns” were real too – MG42s firing 8mm Mauser (blanks for the movie, of course) and the harness was a steady-cam rig.

      Check out 1:01:10 into this documentary: Kewel stuff

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VWLKwrmYd6A

      • Good stuff…but the interview with Weaver at 1:05:04 where she talks about hating guns and that she regularly gives money to anti gun causes pretty much ruined my respect for her. I doubt she has changed her views since then.

  28. Either the railguns in that Ahnoldian epic, or the triangular blaster from MiB. “I’m going to get my gun back>”

  33. Neville’s S&W M76 submachinegun: I was captivated by it as a child, seeing it in the movie ‘The Omega Man’, which I saw with my mother in the theater when it came out.
    It was truly cool. 🙂

    Decard’s hand cannon in Blade Runner is a close second.

  34. Dr. Loomis’ little six-shooter at the end of Halloween? Now there’s a dude who could have used a bigger caliber.

    • That’s one show you did not want to be an extra/guest on. They always got shot and killed by the “Jerries”.

  40. Powerful? The PPK? I laughed. Would still have one. I’m not sure what my favorite movie gun is.

  41. Hard to choose. Pretty fond of Winchester 73. Even though the movie sucked everything from Expendables 3:-)

  42. I’ll take the pump shotgun that can be racked any number of times before deciding to fire without dumping shells out, but can then fire any number of shells without being racked again.

  43. Really? No one has said John Wayne’s 1892 Winchester from “True Grit?” Often copied, never matched! One of the greatest face-offs in movie history!

  44. ” … Fleming agreed that the Beretta lacked power, but pointed out that Bond had used more powerful weapons when necessary,” …

    Didn’t he shoot down a helicopter with an AR-7 (.22 LR) in one movie?

    • He shot the hand of the man throwing grenades at him, causing him to drop a grenade inside his chopper. Bond is good, but he’s not that good.

      • I was watching FRWL and when Bond shot the grenade guy in the hand, someone shouted “Where is it, where is it!!!??” like famous last words. Boy, that helicopter exploded ten ways to Christmas on the way down.

        My favorite movie gun since is the Walther PPK. Much cheaper than an Aston-Martin.

  46. I also like The Phantom’s 1911 longslides. And knowing I’ll get howls of derision from the purists, the blinged out guns from “Romeo+Juliet” were pretty nifty.

    And the Blondie’s 1851 Navy — I totally forgot about the SAA after seeing Eastwood handle one of those.

    Also the GAU-8 Avenger scaled down to look like a Glock 18 in “Skyfall.”

    • Have to agree with the Romeo + Juliet guns. I kind of liked Tybalt’s Taurus with the Cmore myself.

  47. S&W Model 29 from the Dirty Harry series. I finally bought one a few years back and my only regret was not buying it sooner. It’s such a beautiful and brilliant machine, loads of fun to shoot.

    Close second would be the Desert Eagle. Although the idea of one-handed shooting is laughable, it’s shown in almost every move in which a DEagle makes an appearance.

    • I’ll second the S&W Model 29 in .44 Magnum with the 6 inch barrel … as my favorite movie firearm.

  49. Probably the first gun that comes to mind would be Quigley’s 1874 Sharps Rifle – it made an impression even when I wasn’t into guns as much as now.

    The next would have to be Neo’s pair of SMG’s from the lobby scene in the first Matrix. Thanks to IMFDB some time ago I found out these were Yugo Model 61 Skorpions (with barrel shrouds), and some “movie magic” with the wrong brass hitting the floor (5.56 brass vs .32ACP brass).

  52. Don’t too particular about the gun, but I do want that shotgun suppressor from No Country For Old Men. It has to work to actual sound levels as the movie.

  53. The Auto 9 – http://robocop.wikia.com/wiki/Auto_9

    “The Auto 9 was built from a Beretta 93R, the select-fire version of the Beretta 92, capable of three-round burst fire, with a custom fore end and compensator. The extended magazine holds 20 rounds. For RoboCop: The Series and RoboCop: Prime Directives, the Auto 9 was shown as being able to carry special ammunition (mainly armor piercing in Prime Directives and Non-Lethal in The Series). According to the cast & crew interviews in the Criterion Collection DVD, the production team had to fill out extra paperwork to even allow the gun into the United States, because while technically a “pistol”, for all intents and purposes it is a high-caliber near-automatic weapon, which comes with extra legal restrictions. Also according to the featurettes, their original plan was to have RoboCop wield an impressive Desert Eagle handgun (which was relatively new at the time). However, while the Desert Eagle looks big in the hands of a normal person, all of RoboCop’s extra bulky armor made the Desert Eagle look relatively small in comparison. Therefore, they sought out the modified Beretta 93R.”

      • Yeah, no kidding. Personally I think it’s so hideous that it looks awesome. But then again I’m a weird that way.

        Although as I sit here looking at the thing I’m starting to enjoy the base look of it. The rotating barrels are meh. The over all ‘sci-fi’ look of it is making think of a combo rifle/shotgun on that general pattern. Something like that would probably end up just being too heavy.

  55. The shoulder cannons from Predator (dually if possible) and all light spectrum helmet.

    Very close second would be a Noisy Cricket from MiB.

  63. “They made it for him special. It’s an 88 Magnum.”
    “It shoots through schools”

    later

    “This goes through armor…then it goes through the victim…through the wall…through a tree outside”

  64. Judge Dredd the “Lawgiver Mark II” handgun is a voice-activated handgun with seven different kinds of ammunition

  66. The Guns of Navarone. I have no idea what they were supposed to be, but they were mighty impressive.

      • According to Alistair MacLean’s novel – I just fetched my treasured copy of “The Guns of Navarone” to check – the Navarone guns were estimated by British Intelligence to be nine-inchers ; when Mallory and Miller finally penetrated the fortress and got a look at them, Mallory figured them to have at least a 12-inch bore. (“The fools, the bloody fools that sent the Sybaris out against these…”)

        One of my favorite novels. Also one of my favorite movies, for that matter.

  68. Mickey Rourke’s Glock 17 in “Johnny Handsome”… The first use of a Glock in a film… I enjoyed watching him dump an entire magazine into Lance Henrickson’s chest.

  69. “Mare’s Leg” as seen in everything from “Wanted Dead or Alive” to “Firefly/Serenity.”

    …That reminds me; I really need to pick up a Rossi Ranch Hand in .357…

  72. Nickel-plated 1911s have always been a favorite of mine (saw one first in Mafia, a videogame). Since then the idea of a nickel-plated 1911 with wood grips has stuck in my head as the ultimate cool pistol.

    For rifles it is a tough choice. AKs and SVDs are personal favourites but the SIG 3000 (seen in “Behind enemy lines”) and Steyr AUG (Die Hard) made an impression on me. The first was “dayum, that’s my gat”, the second one was because of the character wielding it. The AUG fit Hans well IMO, being unusual, unpredictable and intelligent.

  75. Got to go with the Holland & Holland double rifle carried by Michael Douglas in The Ghost and the Darkness. If I could have any gin in the world, it would be a Holland & Holland double rifle! The BSA Lee-Speed sporter carried by Val Kilmer was pretty nice too.

  77. John Candy Armed and Dangerous.
    “This is 50 caliber. They used to use it for hunting buffalo, up close.
    It’s only legal in two states and this isn’t one of them!”

    • excellent movie, but the battle scenes were kind of sanitized. wonder how many kids today even know about Battleground (or Van Johnson)?

  80. Nothing “mini” about that “minigun” that both Jesse Ventura and Bill Duke kill the jungle with in the movie “Predator”. It’s my all-time favorite of all time. The look, the sound, the damage…. mama like.

  81. Huh… no one has called out the most obviously versatile handgun from any movie I can think of: a phaser. I guess the best would be from Nemesis, since that is the most technically advanced version. No other weapon from pretty much anywhere has settings anywhere from “tickle a bit”, clear up to “nuke them from orbit just to be sure”. Very few have the extreme accuracy and precision displayed by these things. Hell, they can even be set up to spray an entire arc nearly simultaneously at any power setting (or at least on both stun and kill). Who wouldn’t want one of these things?

  84. The Phaser in either rifle or pistol form.
    Seriously why has no one mentioned this one?
    It can stun it can kill and it can get rid of garbage and much more!
    http://youtu.be/EvI_FYarYIY

    might be a pain to conceal (depending on which version) but If they existed it would be my daily carry .

    Or the zatnikatel from stargate SG1 (They had movies too)
    it can do almost as much as the Phaser. (1st shot stun, 2nd kill, 3rd disintegrate)

  85. You characters think too small. Ship’s phasers on stun and an entire village goes to sleep. Ship’s phasers on full power and someone redoes the planet’s maps.

    In the here and now a factory-silenced H&K MP5SD as featured in an number of movies. Far and away the most satisfying carbine that YoursTruly has ever fired.

  86. The boomstick from Army of darkness for sure. Already own it.

    The lever shotgun from terminator 2, also own it.

    That railgun in eraser is awesome.

    I always liked the elephant gun in Tremors. I’m guessing it was a .500 nitro express.

    And any guns from westerns cuz I love westerns.

    • The elephant gun in Tremors was a William Moore & Company 8 gauge shotgun firing solids. Shotguns loaded with solids were and probably still are used for elephants and other dangerous game. Much cheaper than double rifles.

  97. What’s the name of the movie with the PMC named Rockstar that is covered in tattoos? The weapons he had. I’ll take two of each. Weird movie, but good acting. If any one can remember the name of the movie, I’d appreciate it if you can remind me,

    • off topic, but google “Terry Crews Euro Training” for the funniest video you’ve seen in a while

    • Oh HELL yes. Don’t forget the part where his arm turns into more cannon with it. Blew a hole in the third moon, and never could get more than 30% power. Both his and Knives’ together, stunning. Pin point accurate too, with his shooting the bullets aside. Wolfwood’s cross was stellar too.

  101. Heckler & Koch USP Match with stainless slides. The signature pistols of Lara Croft (Angelina Jolie). My first thought was the Noisy Cricket from MiB, but it’s already been mentioned.

  102. And I got to add (To Hell and Back) with Audie Murphy with the Thomson Machine gun and the fact it is a TRUE story Audie got the Medal of Honor and he is credited with killing over 360 some Germans too.. ( not sure if that is correct may be more) any way , he also used the M1 carbine and got on a knocked out tank that was on fire and used M2 fifty ca. machine to single handled stopped a major German attack… That guy could fight……..

  104. James Caan’s Hoag 6″ long slide in the movie “Thief”. A couple of other Hoag 1911s in there also.
    Michael Mann knew his way around guns, even back then.

    Second choice – Sonny Crockett’s Bren Ten. Another Michael Mann show.

  105. Patton’s ivory handles pistols (in real life an 1873 .45 and a model 27 .357 mag).

    Why? Because they are real, unlike the gay-a** phasers from Star Trek or the zl1 (or whatever) from the 5th element, and because Randy Shugart’s M14 from BHD was already taken.

  107. M-60 with a mounted M-203 from the ’89 Punisher with Dolph Lundgren. And any gun in the hands of Chow Yun Fat, they only need to be reloaded when it looks cool, or adds tension. Plus his shotguns are always loaded with explosive buck.

  108. I’ll have to add the old school black powder wheel guns from Josey Wales… I’m guessing 1851 Navy’s or Griswold’s

    Speaking of Griswolds…Cullen Bohannon’s well used .36 cal from Hell on Wheels

  112. So many great ones here guys, nice work. For me it goes back to 1985, Clint Eastwood’s Pale Rider. I remember sitting in the theater, watching with my dad, as Preacher is taking out all of the bad guys with his 1858 Remington Conversion pistol (multiple cylinders). I thought that was the coolest, most beautiful gun i had ever seen! Now, at 42, i STILL think the same thing. About 1 month ago, i went to the NRA Firearms Museum in Fairfax, VA (just outside of DC) and (to my total surprise), they had the ACTUAL gun Clint used (or at least the one in the close-ups as he’s walking down the street). They also had many of the others cited here.

  113. Double Barrel shotgun from Evil Dead 2 and Army of Darkness. When life throws you demon possession, its time to whip out your boom stick!

  115. Nickle plated Saturday night special with pearl grips. From any movie with such a gun. I just always liked them. I would say Dirty Harry’s .44 magnum is up there, as well as Ash’s boomstick. “Shop smart, shop S-Mart.” And most of the stuff in Desperado, like, the entire guitar case.

  118. Favorite fictional movie gun? Yeah, the M41A Pulse Rifle up top is probably it. (Although the M56 Smart Gun from the same movie is probably a close second)

    Favorite movie appearance of a real gun? The LAR Grizzly Big Boar in Tremors 2: Aftershocks. Realistic, awesome, and hilarious:

    [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Ew_jfj9798&w=420&h=315%5D

    The clip doesn’t even show the best part, where the bullet (a custom-made solid bronze slug) is revealed to have punched through not just the shrieker, but the cinderblock wall behind it, a few oil drums, a metal shed, and the engine block of the car they were intending to escape in.

    “We were supposed to be hunting graboids! I wanted maximum penetration.”
    “Well, you got it.”

  119. Either the guitar case mac-10 with rocket launcher. Or the M1-L1 Triple-Pulse Rifle. And that’s just talking about movie guns.

Comments are closed.