Tags: Society at Large
JIMMIE JOHNSON: WHEN YOU HEAR “PROP GUN”…
THIS IS NOT WHAT COMES TO MIND.
KAYLA MAMELAK: “A prop director was killed after Alec Baldwin fired off a gun.”
JIMMIE: SO, HOW DID A PROP GUN TURN DEADLY ON THE NEW MEXICO SET OF ALEC BALDWIN’S FILM, RUST?
FOR STARTERS, AS INNOCENT AS IT SOUNDS, MOST PROP GUNS USED IN MOVIES ARE NOT TOYS.
THEY ARE REAL GUNS USED AS PROPS. WHAT MAKES IT A PROP? PRIMARILY, INSTEAD OF REAL BULLETS, BLANKS ARE USED TO MAKE IT LOOK AND SOUND LIKE REAL GUNFIRE.
HERE’S WHERE IT GETS TRICKY. BLANKS LOOK ALMOST IDENTICAL TO LIVE ROUNDS.
IT’S THE SAME TYPE OF CARTRIDGE AND IT’S ALSO FILLED WITH GUNPOWDER, BUT A LIVE ROUND HAS A PROJECTILE AT THE TOP OF THE SHELL, THE BULLET. A BLANK DOES NOT. SO WHILE A BLANK CAN LOOK AND SOUND LIKE LIVE-FIRE, IT’S NOT AS DANGEROUS BECAUSE THERE’S NO PROJECTILE FIRING OUT.
STILL, IT’S FAR FROM BEING PERFECTLY SAFE.
MIKE YARDLEY: “Now blanks can be dangerous, can be improperly loaded…if something got improperly loaded in the gun, that can be a projectile with the blank behind it.”
JIMMIE: THE EXPLOSIVENESS OF A BLANK CAN SOMETIMES SEND GUNPOWDER FROM THE CARTRIDGE SHOOTING OUT OF THE GUN. AND AT CLOSE RANGE, THAT COULD BE DEADLY.
IS THAT WHAT HAPPENED IN NEW MEXICO? IT’S TOO SOON TO TELL.
BUT THERE’S NO QUESTION, PROP GUNS ARE SERIOUS BUSINESS.
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