Archive for the ‘Weapons’ Category

This is what it looks like to peer down-range from behind a Thompson fully-automatic sub-machine gun. You can actually see a spent cartridge ejecting at the lower right-hand side of the picture, just above the major’s right elbow.

The Thompson is an extremely heavy weapon that’s capable of firing 600-900 rounds of .45 caliber ammunition per minute. And let me tell you, that’s fast. The experience of firing one of these babies is like no other. I took this photo and was peppered with gunpowder during each burst of gunfire, even from the distance where I stood, which was as you see it. I didn’t use the zoom.

We took this shot in a controlled situation while wearing full protective gear, and employing other safety precautions. I say this because I don’t recommend this method of photography. It’s not safe. Gee, the things we do for research.

The Thompson was extremely popular in the 1920s among both law enforcement and gangsters alike. The notorious John Dillinger and his gang amassed an arsenal of these “Chicago Typewriters.” The FBI and other agencies, such as the NYPD, also put Tommy Guns to use in their efforts to battle crime. In fact, the weapon became so popular in law enforcement circles it earned another nickname, The Anti-Bandit Gun.

Here’s a brief video of the Thompson, complete with a 100 round drum magazine, in action.

Imagine one of these in the wrong hands.

Recently, I received an email from a writer who was working on a scene where the killer wanted to throw the police off his tracks by firing bullets, instead of shotgun shells, from a shotgun. The question was if this was realistic, or not.

Well, no, you can’t fire an actual bullet from a shotgun. Slugs, yes, but not bullets. However, there is such a thing as an over/under shotgun and rifle combination. These unique firearms have been around for years and the design is simple. A rifle barrel is mounted above a standard shotgun barrel.

Various versions of the rifle/shotgun are available. For example:

The Savage Model 24 is a combination 12 gauge shotgun and 30-30 rifle.

30-30 round

12 gauge shotgun shell

Savage Arms .22 LR over .410 gauge shotgun.

The top barrel fires .22 caliber bullets. The bottom barrel is for .410 gauage shotgun shells.

Here’s a video showing the use of an over/under combo rifle and shotgun. Warning. The language of these folks is a bit graphic. Also, their safety habits are nonexistent—no hearing or eye protection among other things. I used this video as an example mainly because it’s the only one I could find that shows someone loading ammunition into the weapon.

Please be safe when handling firearms!

So, to sum up the writer’s question about throwing the police off the killer’s trail by using bullets in a shotgun…it won’t work.

* I also saw a discussion about this topic on a popular writer’s discussion group. So, thanks to Wally and crew for today’s blog idea.

*     *     *

As promised, we’re going to give away a DVD of the entire 5th season of The Closer.

To win, be the first person to correctly name the character played by Kyra Sedgwick’s real-life  husband in a 1978 film with John Belushi.