Walther PPK
September 16, 2011 12:16 PM   Subscribe

 
First Youtube comment

I wonder if Bond using a .44 magnum in "Live and Let Die" was intentionally done in response to how he wanted Bond to one day use something like that.

Live and Let Die came out in '73, Dirty Harry in '71. Aaaaand that about wraps up my case.
posted by nathancaswell at 12:23 PM on September 16, 2011 [1 favorite]


For added fun, here's the category of James Bond films over at imfdb, which lists all the firearms used in each film by both heroes and villains alike. Quite extensive.
posted by Edogy at 12:23 PM on September 16, 2011 [1 favorite]


Jolly good can opener indeed
posted by Jibuzaemon at 12:28 PM on September 16, 2011 [1 favorite]


OMFG this is so fricking awesome I may never be the same person ever.

One of my goals in life -- IN LIFE, PEOPLE -- is to be able to fire handguns in my house. To date I haven't advanced beyond a hand-made bow and arrow and a bb pistol...

(Minor: in one of the Ian Fleming novels, can't remember which, Bond had a .44 Magnum Ruger Redhawk in the glove box as a CAR KILLER because a single round could crack an engine block! <3 <3 )
posted by honkeoki at 12:28 PM on September 16, 2011


Is there anything more British than that gent? That mustache - OMG, classic!
posted by VikingSword at 12:29 PM on September 16, 2011 [1 favorite]


Somewhat related previously.

I feel like I should be both slightly embarrassed and more than a little proud by the number of Bond's guns that I've both owned and/ or fired.
posted by quin at 12:32 PM on September 16, 2011


It was nice to hear about the armalite rifle, although I'd heard a good description of it somewhere before.
posted by koeselitz at 12:33 PM on September 16, 2011


in 1956, Fleming received a fan letter from an author and gun collector...Boothroyd felt the Beretta 418 was "a lady's gun"

There's some truth in this. Women who carry a WTS .50 BMG Pistol are often looking for a lightweight sidearm to go with it. That .50 caliber pistol can punch a hole through a car's engine block but it's single shot bolt action and would be awkward at close range.

Full disclosure: I am not a gun owner and IANYQ (I am not your Q)
posted by justsomebodythatyouusedtoknow at 1:01 PM on September 16, 2011 [1 favorite]


Is there anything more British than that gent?

Accrington Stanley 0 Scunthorpe United 0 on a wet Tuesday night in November.
posted by Abiezer at 1:04 PM on September 16, 2011 [5 favorites]


Except that Accrington and Scunthorpe are in different divisions. Unless it was a cup game, obviously. What ho! Jolly hockey sticks.
posted by marienbad at 1:07 PM on September 16, 2011


Bond had a .44 Magnum Ruger Redhawk

True. My dad was a huge fan of the Ian Fleming novels, and bought (and carried, for some years) this handgun for specifically this reason. He remembered it from the book. All I recall is that it had a barrel like one of those novelty Joker guns, hysterically overlong.
posted by penduluum at 1:08 PM on September 16, 2011


marienbad, you are an incorrigible antagonist to the possible, and missed this year's Carling Cup draw. Dates and scores are obviously hobgoblins of little minds.
posted by Abiezer at 1:15 PM on September 16, 2011


So, since he talks about holsters, I've got a question: in movies and cop shows and stuff, men will frequently stick a gun in the back of their pants. Does that actually work? It always seemed to me like it would just fall out. (They're supposed to be sticking it in their belt, right? Or is there a buttcrack holster available these days in addition to the ones mentioned in the FPP video?)
posted by XMLicious at 1:55 PM on September 16, 2011


Ask Plaxico Burress how that works out.
posted by nathancaswell at 1:55 PM on September 16, 2011 [1 favorite]


I read that as the gums of James Bond.
posted by Kloryne at 1:58 PM on September 16, 2011


"After all, in real life, we're shooting at men."

Well, not Geoffrey Boothroyd. He was shooting at matches and tin cans. Not Bond, either. he was a fictional character, even though it was Boothroyd's .38 Smith & Wesson snubnosed revolver (modified with one third of the trigger guard removed) that was used as the model for the one on the cover of "From Russia With Love."

However, a pistol exactly like that was once used against a person. Three, actually. In a string of at least 18. The killer was Peter Manuel ("The Beast of Birkenshaw"), one of Scotland's most notorious mass murderers, I believe the weapon was used against Peter, Doris, and Michael Smart; the latter was 10 when he died. Boothroyd was questioned about the weapon, but the only connection was that it was on the cover of a book. There's been some argument that Manuel was insane and that this fact was kept hidden, because it would have prevented his execution.

He was the basis for Brian Cox's performance as Hannibal Lecter in Manhunter. Oh, and his last words were "Turn up the radio, and I’ll go quietly." Which are pretty good last words from a man who ended a lot of lives.
posted by Bunny Ultramod at 2:00 PM on September 16, 2011 [2 favorites]


XM, a GIS of 'back holsters' has some good examples. That's how I found this little number.

Would compliment a Chuck Norris Invasion USA double Micro-Uzi shoulder harness.
posted by chambers at 2:05 PM on September 16, 2011 [1 favorite]


Would compliment a Chuck Norris Invasion USA double Micro-Uzi shoulder harness.

Not as well as the matching sleeveless denim outfit.
posted by Rangeboy at 2:10 PM on September 16, 2011 [1 favorite]


Sticking it in the back of your pants works OK, as long as you're not moving around and jumping up and down a lot, and your pants are of sufficient tightness. Small-of-the-back holsters are preferred for security, but these days someone has put together a holster for just about everywhere on the human body. Cue Thunderwear links...
posted by pupdog at 2:19 PM on September 16, 2011 [1 favorite]


men will frequently stick a gun in the back of their pants. Does that actually work?

It really depends on your build, but yeah, if I wanted to, I could stick a full sized semi-auto in my back and carry it there all day (for a value of "all day" that didn't include a lot of changing from a seated position to a standing one). The trick for me is to not carry it exactly in the center of my back, but to do it grip backwards in the spot to the right of my spine, pretty much right below my shoulder blade, or grip forward on my left hip for a cross draw. The shape of the gun holds it really tightly against the body and that is usually enough to keep it in place.

Were I to carry a holster, these are the same points on my body at which I would attach them to my belt, so using improvising a waistband carry with sufficiently tight pants really isn't too difficult.

The problem is that 1.) a lot of people wear baggy pants and this simply won't work, 2.) people think this is a good idea and try it (it's not, because of the aforementioned sitting/ standing thing, it's easy for it to slip out and get loose) and 3.) the kind of people that think carrying a gun in their pants without a holster is a cool idea are generally the exact people I least want to have access to a firearm.

Shorter: Yes, it can be done, but no, it probably shouldn't be.
posted by quin at 2:19 PM on September 16, 2011 [4 favorites]


XMLicious: "So, since he talks about holsters, I've got a question: in movies and cop shows and stuff, men will frequently stick a gun in the back of their pants. Does that actually work? It always seemed to me like it would just fall out. (They're supposed to be sticking it in their belt, right? Or is there a buttcrack holster available these days in addition to the ones mentioned in the FPP video?)"

It's called "mexican carry" and I think the term applies front or back. If you believe this article (I'm not sure if I do, as it's got the usual "rebel against the tyrants" rhetoric), the origins are with Mexican vaqueros who were outlawed from owning guns and wearing holsters.

They do make small of back holsters, and inner waist band holsters, and all other manner of concealed and not so concealed holsters, and these are way more secure than just sticking a gun between your pants and your body.
posted by danny the boy at 2:51 PM on September 16, 2011 [1 favorite]


Oh and I have tried on a holster for fun, and I will say that a normal hip holster (not made for concealment) is pretty much completely obvious under any type of clothing. Whereas just sticking it into your pants, front or back, is surprisingly unnoticeable.
posted by danny the boy at 2:56 PM on September 16, 2011


Using your rear wasteband as a holster is not a great idea. A relative of an acquaintance shot himself in the ass like that. To make matters worse, because there was a child in the room at the time, he actually went to jail for shooting himself in the ass.
posted by w0mbat at 4:00 PM on September 16, 2011


Makes a jolly good can opener.
posted by tumid dahlia at 6:12 PM on September 16, 2011


I find guns to be quite hideous inventions but never fail to find them fascinating. So clinky!
posted by tumid dahlia at 6:15 PM on September 16, 2011


I appreciate that they didn't want the holster to disturb the line of the jacket. You need to look good whilst packing heat.

The history of the James Bond guns is interesting to me because I never knew it was such an important subtext to the books/films. (I'm on a mission to watch all of the films this year... it's been hard.)
posted by kendrak at 7:23 PM on September 16, 2011


s there anything more British than that gent? That mustache - OMG, classic!

I know! Somebody please make a sophisticated action movie with him as the protagonist, all stiff upper lip, "Dear boy," and "jolly good," while he perforates the baddies full of holes.
posted by jonp72 at 6:57 AM on September 17, 2011 [1 favorite]


I know! Somebody please make a sophisticated action movie with him as the protagonist, all stiff upper lip, "Dear boy," and "jolly good," while he perforates the baddies full of holes.

Somebody already did that, and it's full of awesome!
posted by Fizz at 11:21 AM on September 17, 2011


Minor: in one of the Ian Fleming novels, can't remember which, Bond had a .44 Magnum Ruger Redhawk in the glove box as a CAR KILLER because a single round could crack an engine block!

The Ruger Redhawk was first manufactured in 1979, 15 years after Fleming's death. You are probably recalling John Gardner's Licence Renewed which came out ~1984 which did feature the Redhawk (and a return to the Bentley of the original novels). The .44 Magnum round is powerful but would be unlikely to damage an engine block although a lucky shot might damage one of the other parts of a car's engine. The Ithaca MAG10 10-gauge 3 1/2" magnum Roadblocker is what you want if you're wanting to stop a car, that or a .50 cal.
posted by longbaugh at 12:54 PM on September 17, 2011


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