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Biggest Movie/TV ML Gaffs

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K

kodiakmarine

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This topic is just for fun. I have seen many gaffs by filmmakers when it comes to firearms in general and MLs in particular. I have seen '73 Winchesters in pre Civil War settings and Brown Bess muskets routinely passed off as Kentucky rifles. Filmmakers seem to know no shame when it comes to misrepresenting firearms, especially muzzleloaders.

The gaff that stood out most to me was in the 1991 evening TV remake of the old 60s soap "Dark Shadows". This story began in colonial times, pre 1775. In one seen I saw about a dozen men carrying TC Hawken rifles. I am not making this up! There they were, half stalks, adjustable sights, percussion locks and all. I couldn't stop laughing :rotf: . I still get a good chuckle every time I think of it.

We have all seen such nonsense in film and on TV. Which gaff is your favorite?
 
Have to remember though, the original Dark Shadows was one big goof. :haha: They were so low budget that flubbed lines and mistakes made into the show. So the mistakes in the remake don't surprise me at all.
 
In "An American Haunting" in 2005, Donald Sutherland's character tries to commit suicide with a flintlock pistol. There is no flint in the **** jaws or powder in the pan. In the scene the gun doesn't go off. He just keeps snapping the lock in re-attempts. Well, duh.
 
One that I always laugh at and it was on the other night was a Clark Gable movie "Lone Star" set in early Texas circa 1840 or so.Buscadero holster rigs,Colt SAA,and by the end M1892 Winchesters.
 
Jeremia Johnson comes across Del Gue buried up to his neck in sand,
The very next scene they're walking to get Dels horses and Del is in pristene clean beaded bucskin!
 
I think my favorite is in Northwest Passage.
It’s the scene where the Rangers are running toward the fort where they expect to have food waiting.
Some are firing their guns to attract the attention of the men in the fort. There is a very good view of a trapdoor “flintlock”. You see the **** go forward, the frizzen flip forward, and, what we all know as a klatch. Yet, the gun goes off, because when the boom is provided by a 45/70 blank it doesn’t matter if the prime in the pan goes “poof” first.
 
There was Top Shot this year, they had a muzzleloading pistol segment. They just dropped the balls down the barrels, no patches. One guy had the ball roll out of the barrel before he fired. They were lucky nothing blew up with a ball halfway down. And these are the professionals!!
 
The most common one I have seen over the years is the 1870's Colts used in pre 1870 period settings,like the "Searchers" and such, even some of the 1840 films used them and lever actions probably due to availabilty of props and ease of use.
 
I saw that too. They even had a black powder arms "expert" on hand to help the shooters. :doh:
 
Poor Private:

In Red Badge of Courage with Audie Murphy I love the civil war battles with trap doors.
Click to expand...

I saw that version and I only remember seeing real muzzleloaders in that one.

The later version with Richard Thomas had the Trapdoors though.

Slowmatch Forever!
Teleoceras
 
How about the timed loading and firing of the flintlock pistol on the "History Channel?" The guy loads from a flask, then dumps some powder into the pan, and then puts the **** down, then pretends to fire the pistol.
 
On Top Shots I do not understand why the "expert" did not supply two loading blocks and two short starters for the flint pistol segments. I know this expert and he knows this. It must be some weird kind of network decision. I know this poor man is going to get hell when he shows up on the pistol range at Friendship next week!
 
I kind of wondered why he didn't have them patch the ball. Seems like it could have lead to a bad situation it they fired with the ball half way down the barrel. Only thing I could think of was because they were swing out maybe he was teaching them like a pirate might be doing and not have time for a patch and just shot the ball. There was no explaination though, I even backed it up because I thought I missed something. That's TV for you.
 
"He wanted a 50 caliber, settled for a 30...", that would have been a squirrel gun :haha: . Not what I would recommend for the Rockies!
 
How about Kevin Costner in Dances With Wolves? It wasn't an ML, but stopping a charging buffalo with a Henry. I not sure that 44 rimfire would even break the skin on a bufalo.
 
Have to remember as far as the Top Shot episode goes, they were looking for drama and they sure got it concerning this pistol shoot.
 

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