RUBBER GUNS in the MOVIES. (Westerns!) With film armorer Joey Dillon

[@TUCOtheratt]

It's amazing how real some of them look even up close.

[@DougShoeBushcraft]

If someone painted on that wood grain, he/she is a genius. Amazing work.

[@robertrobert7924]

The most funny props I have ever seen in a movie on screen were rubber socket bayonets flapping around during a bayonet charge set in the 1800's. It was hilarious.

[@FilmArmorerJoeyDillon]

Ha! nice. I just used some rubber bayonets on Horizon. Had to be careful not to use the real floppy ones...

[@82ismi]

These are seen very often.

[@NobbyClark-g3y]

If I recall Braveheart had a similar scene, rubber axes and swords, no wonder the English kicked the Jocks arses

[@Ramblingpete]

Was it a comedy film lol

[@Ramblingpete]

I thought they were real guns lol

[@patrickshannon4854]

That’s amazing. What impressed me the most was the realistic look of polished, blued steel on the flats on revolver barrels.

[@dunebuggy1286]

I love watching this kind of stuff. Something the news never covers.

[@Wildwest89]

Those really are fantastic, in the video it’s almost impossible to tell the difference until you point it out

[@peterstephens6168]

I think the average Joe Blow would be hard pressed to tell a "rubber gun"from a real one, even without sanding out the seams. But because you do, you fool even most of the gun savvy viewers. Kudos to you. Great video.

[@dfjtobin]

weight

[@bender7565]

Got to stay up on Fri/Sat to watch the late movie 60yrs ago. A bazillion movies/TV shows later, rubber guns never, ever occurred to me. Sunday is the best day to be amazed.

[@pughoneycutt1986]

Actually the soft stock shotgun just looked like a shotgun that has seen rough use.

[@michaelbrianrawlinsactor]

Awesome video man! Some of those rubbers looks so realistic.

[@SeanPat1001]

Some of these are truly works of art 😁👍

[@mikefule]

Years ago, I binge watched all the episodes of The Rifleman. There was a fantastic scene in an old mine or cave where the rifle was wobbling like a soggy stick of rhubarb as Lucas McCain climbed though a small gap.

[@FilmArmorerJoeyDillon]

Nice!

[@metrickarma]

I bet this guy never got anyone unalived. Cool video, The reflection they got on some of those was really good!

[@scottmcmichael1386]

That rubber 1851 Colt navy is amazing! You would never know looking at it that it’s not the real thing!

[@ScottM3]

How do they paint the rubber to get that realistic looking blued finish? I have always wondered about that.

[@ulpilotrmh]

Back in the 70's I was into Civil War Reenacting and was an extra in Glory, the movie. We reenactors had our own reproduction weapons and the stunt men had the rubber examples and I can attest that they looked as good as ours up close.

[@bikeman1x11]

alec baldwin needs these so no one is killed

[@LJS01]

Too late

[@ericchism4855]

He was practicing his drawstroke and blocking for a scene. There was no reason why he couldn't have used a rubber replica for that.

[@Disneygirl55]

This is awesome! I had no idea they could look so real! Great video!

[@gregorybrown3272]

I saw an episode of Entertainment Tonight, some 30 odd years ago, and they doing a behind the scenes segment on a movie set, and they were interviewing an actor dressed as a cop he says, "They gave me a rubber gun" and he pulls his handgun out of its holster, and rips it in two pieces and you could see it was made of foam rubber. Two thoughts came to my mind immediately 1) that gun looked so incredibly real, until he ripped it in half, and 2) the Prop Master was probably furious that he did that!

[@roysquires9486]

I vaguely remember “Bastille Day” pistol had to be forced into an actors mouth. First gun hurt, Armourer reached into his pelican case for gun number 2. That bent too easily. Gun number 3 was perfect! Have to admire the Armourers planning to cover all bases!

[@brealistic3542]

They make rubber bananas but hungry crews and actors tend to try to eat them. Now they only use the real thing but the armorer makes sure no one gets a loaded banana.

[@billkraemer4710]

A rubber gun is what was needed on the Rust set.

[@gutz1981]

Even then, Baldwin would have probably found a way to make it lethal.

[@Deribinkle]

@@gutz1981 yep. Baldwins need a rubber room and a box of crayons too.

[@allangibson8494]

The real gun was cheaper.

[@dennispowell2745]

Should have used these on rust

[@marmadukewinterbotham2599]

I remember spotting one in the 2009 film Public Enemies. During a bank robbery, Johnny Depp whacks somebody with a BAR and the thing visibly flexed! This video answers my wondering why film characters quite happily toss, carry, rifles like they don't weigh anything. I have a Uberti 1866 rifle and an 1873 carbine, and they'd be lumps to casually toss around I can tell you.

[@FilmArmorerJoeyDillon]

I like that movie! I was just at the prop house break room a couple days ago, trying to remember the name of the film, I kept describing it, and someone hearing my conversation said, "Public Enemies, I did that one..." It was the prop master of that film haha, what are the chances right when Im trying to bring up the movie to someone?! And that he would be at the prop house for something, and in the break room!

[@jeromemckenna7102]

The artistry behind fake stuff is just wonderful to see.

[@johnberry2877]

As a Master Diver for over 40 years I always wondered how actors were ably to pick up a scuba tank and straight arm it to another actor. Well, turns out those are fiberglass replicas that only weight 3 pounds. Just like the breathing tanks used by fireman. Very light compared to the smallest scuba tank .

[@dennistennyson4540]

I did wonder about such things, thanks for the information.

[@surfbouy]

Seems like it should be film industry standard to use rubber guns or other replicas for just about everything.

[@dfjtobin]

close up shots of a gun in action, or being loaded need real guns.

[@MervynPartin]

Having briefly assisted on a film location (Young Winston) many years ago, I have seen close hand the incredibly realistic props made by the production crew, but until this video, I had never realised that rubber firearms were used or that they were so magnificently made. This does mean, however, that I shall be intensely searching for pour marks in my future movie watching. Excellent Video- most enjoyable and educational.

[@Ryback1992]

If only Alec Baldwin had used a rubber.

[@wadegrant7465]

FIFY - "If only Alec Baldwin's father had used a rubber."

[@warrenwatkins9650]

😂😂😂 Great Comments

[@hoilst265]

With that perfect bandido facial hair, I trust him implicitly on the subject of Western prop guns.

[@kbjerke]

Excellent stuff! Thanks, Joey!!

[@longbowshooter5291]

I caught a rubber gun in "The Green Mile". The part where Wild Bill knees Tom Hanks in the groin and he falls to the ground. As he struggles to get up he has his pistol in his hand and he's pushing himself up with his pistol hand. As he does that you can see the barrel of the pistol fold over.

[@Deribinkle]

Thanks for sharing this Joey, a lot of fun to see.

[@Jim-Mc]

Love to know what kind of metallic paint is used for the brass. Looks amazing and I've never had much success when models needed that.

[@FilmArmorerJoeyDillon]

Yea I don't know but it is really great

[@jb6027]

...and a lot of actors have histories that prohibit them from handling real firearms. Those look remarkably real - even close up.

[@FilmArmorerJoeyDillon]

Very true!

[@dtnetlurker]

Wow that one brass revolver looked real enough for close ups! It would fool just about any casual viewer.

[@bwhog]

Some of those were very good. Even that shotgun, before you explained the black marks, looked like it was scars on the butt. In not the best light, that's still fine! Amazing things to behold! Almost makes me want to buy a pair to hang on a rack in my living room.

[@jeffyoung60]

The U.S. Army owned a number of hard rubber M16A1 replicas for training purposes. Just about every major training room on every army post had a rubber M16A1 or two. These were pretty neat as the replica approximated the weight and feel of the real thing. The only thing is that the rubber M16A1 looks as if a 20 round magazine is in place but it is not painted aluminum but remains the black rubber color.

[@jonathanparle8429]

Really impressive. You'd really need an extremely keen eye and a very large screen and very high fidelity source I would have thought to even see the "giveaways" assuming they got through to the final cut. No way in the world would I see that level of detail on my 42 inch 4K OLED - maybe with a 4K HD bluray but certainly not on a standard broadcast.

[@Cats-TM]

I like movies, I like guns, seems like the perfect channel for me.

[@JimboJangle]

Amazing.Very interesting 👍🇬🇧🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🇺🇸

[@tommycockles2947]

now i understand how the British soldier actors didnt get stabbed for real in the movie Zulu

[@fryingpanhead8809]

In Star Trek TOS A Piece of the Action, during the Fizzbin sequence, you can see that Lee Delano alternates between a rubber 45 and a replica.

[@kevinmurphy3464]

Don’t know how this came up, but this was a very interesting video.

[@ScrewballMcAdams]

Great video. Very interesting. Thanks.

[@steveneldred8928]

This is absolutely fascinating! Thank you Joey! I recall one episode of "The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp" where Hugh O'Brian hits a guy over the head with his Buntline Special. It was a brawl, and the filming was from a distance. You can see the barrel of the Buntline bend in an arch over the bad guy's head. It bent so much that O'Brian couldn't get it back into the holster. You can also see O'Brian laughing a little as he attempts to re-holster it.

[@FilmArmorerJoeyDillon]

that's pretty cool haha!

[@davidpowell5437]

Really interesting, and making perfect sense. Thanks for posting!

[@ViktorHartmann]

I was a comparse in a Netflix serie. My AK74 was a rubber gun. It was very good maked opticaly.

[@anzelmasmatutis2500]

Thanks for sharing!

[@tango1zero22]

I bought some off ebay 25 years ago. A glock 17 and a AK47 Rubber and foam. The AK had a steel rod inside for the barrel. I still have the AK

[@FilmArmorerJoeyDillon]

Yes! Forgot to mention, steel rods in them yup yup.

[@jbmbryant]

When I worked as an extra for Paramount, I might be issued a prop gun of some sort, and we extras would ooh and aah at how real they looked. Haha

[@AntiPlatitude]

Hey Joey! I think I worked with you on The Highwaymen. I’m actually a Local 399 guy, now. Your video got recommended to me because I’m a bit of a historic firearms guy myself. Great content here, man!

[@FilmArmorerJoeyDillon]

Hello! Thanks man! Appreciate the encouragement.

[@AntiPlatitude]

@@FilmArmorerJoeyDillon 👊🏻

[@tedyearta2637]

Wow. They look like the real thing

[@LizzyTexBorden]

Those paint jobs are just unreal.

[@MozTS]

They are guarded secrets among prop makers now. It typically involves graphite powder though (and brass powder)

[@LizzyTexBorden]

@@MozTS Thanks....

[@bb5242]

what's unreal is how little the artists who painted them got paid

[@robbhahn8897]

I had no idea. Pretty neat.

[@lewistaylor1965]

I want to see the workshop making these and especially painting them...That would be really fascinating...They are so good and there's a huge amount of work in them

[@FilmArmorerJoeyDillon]

That would be a good vid... hmmmmm

[@gerarddunlap8263]

Watch the fight in Winchester 73 in the boarding house, where Lin McAdam (James Stewart) wrestles with Henry "Dutch" Brown (Stephen McNally). you can see the rubber dummy rifle bend as they struggle in the floor.

[@thelastjohnwayne]

FACT Alec Baldwin should have used a RUBBER

[@BrianStorey-j5n]

I have friends in the Prop building industry and have some of these 3 of my favorites are A TEAMS Mini 14, Pernel Roberts Pistol from Bonanza and from BATMAN one of the Jokers Henchmens painted up machine pistol..

[@FilmArmorerJoeyDillon]

Oh nice!

[@bombfog1]

I just watched “Horizon” last night and really enjoyed it, but the firearms seemed off. A few times, an actor would be holding a clearly cap and ball pistol and then after firing would reload with brass cased cartridges.

[@FilmArmorerJoeyDillon]

Good eyes. I didn't work "Chapter One." I did Chapter Two and part of Three. However a few things we did in Two made it into the cut of one, but not much. Yea historically for Chapter One it should have been all cap and ball, with the exception of the Henry and Spencer rifles they showed. I had some great conversations with the prop master from "Chapter One" while prepping Two, and he acknowledged there was some cheating for cartridges in the pistols, and that that was a request by the man himself. The prop master used conversions of cap and ball pistols to at least keep it as close to the proper look as possible. For the sake of entertainment and the director's wishes, some fudging was done haha... Such is the way sometimes. I had to match some of the established guns on Two, even if they were cartridge. I may do a vid covering this sort of stuff, after Chapter Two is released perhaps. The prop master from Chapter One of Horizon was the same propmaster from Buster Scruggs, and few other great western as well. He's a great guy.

[@bombfog1]

@@FilmArmorerJoeyDillon Thank you. I really appreciate you giving me a peak behind the curtain!

[@tetechicopapu5955]

do they use replicas like denix or kolser on films?? have you used one of those/

[@FilmArmorerJoeyDillon]

Sometimes, for background. Personally when I am in control I like just all rubber for the replicas.

[@mace8873]

Yes, we do.

[@skoolzone]

Soft stock on shotgun that’s genius. I bet I’ve seen that kind of news in the movies. Looks realistic in action cracking skulls.

[@Papa-fv1rn]

That lever action Winchester is incredible.

[@nittneylion84]

Impressive…thank you

[@mattiasandersson2315]

They had a rubber version of a LeMat revolver in Furiosa movie,,we need more LeMat's 😁

[@doraran2138]

The old 1950's era Superman TV show had hollow rubber revolver often thrown at actor and in some scenes Superman has hollow rubber gun in hand squeezing out air, but appearing as Superman squishing gun.. Old toy catalogues list these and also ones with a nozzle and tube inside to allow water to squeeze out. Occasionally seen in antique store, but obviously rubber hardened. I've never personally seen them. They would be an interesting item though.

[@dfjtobin]

The thing I notice when watching actors handling guns is how heavy it looks in their hand, the posture and grip is different when handling a heavy, metal firearm compared to the limp wristed light decoy. You guys who handle real guns know the weight involved. The actors using rubber guns but make it look like a heavy weapon are good.

[@reinaldogarcia70]

Mr. Baldwin should have been Personally trained on how to use Single action revolvers

[@earlgreco8636]

I sure wish that lady who lost her life on the current Alec Balwin movie was saved by one of those.

[@RICHARD-mn3nd]

Yes! Why do ACTORS have to handle real guns, can't they act?

[@wanaraz]

One accident in 30 years is not a referendum. We love real looking weapons .

[@wanaraz]

@@RICHARD-mn3nd Westerns have to have real guns or reproduction real guns. It has nothing to do with theiracting. It's a prop. Get over it. We don't want computers we want the real deal.

[@aravenabovepress]

Those are cool.

[@mikep3788]

So Cool.

[@damianoneil1078]

Is the painting in the background by Simon Bisley?

[@FilmArmorerJoeyDillon]

It's actually Gabe Leonard. It is the historic battle between Jim Courtright and Luke Short. Jim got his gun caught on his pocket watch chain before he could fire and Luke fired first and blew Jim's thumb off. Jim switched his gun to the other hand and then still got shot and died. A historic "border shift" move of the gun... My buddy and I posed for Gabe years ago so he could come up with how he wanted to frame it. That's me blowing his thumb off.

[@jeffreybarton1297]

What sort of rubber is used? Looks more solid than any latex or natural rubber. And what sort of paint do they use on rubber to get that perfect look?

[@FilmArmorerJoeyDillon]

Not sure what type of rubber, or what paint. But yes it is a firm rubber.

[@jeffreybarton1297]

​@@FilmArmorerJoeyDillon They look great 😎

[@petersone6172]

I can’t think of a good reason for having live ammo for any firearm on a TV/film set.

[@ColdWarShot]

There wasn’t supposed to be. A contamination of the ammo storage from a live training course on a completely separate production two years before led to mixing live ammunition with dummies. Failure on multiple parties to check and double check cartridges led to some of those live rounds being in a box marked dummies. The final failure was Hannah not personally inspecting each cartridge before loading them into Baldwin’s gun.

[@sakamoto2467]

The final failure was Baldwin throwing a tantrum and directly shooting what he thought was a blank at the victim.

[@glenrich-uu9zr]

Kids must want ones.

[@MichaelRoberts-t7c]

Your flag has the blue field and stars on the right, the blue field and stars should be on the left side. Interesting video, I enjoyed it.

[@FilmArmorerJoeyDillon]

I appreciate that! I gotta change it around! Thanks for watching.

[@MrAffrank]

Haha first thing I noticed.

[@richardburchell7312]

Fantastic info Please make more recording loved it 🙏

[@FilmArmorerJoeyDillon]

Will do...

[@davidmacnab5213]

Amazing!

[@fokkerd3red618]

Could someone answer this. Pale Rider the movie, were Clint Eastwoods pistols the real deal?

[@ZazuYen]

What do you mean by real? The firing weapons were probably replicas of some stripe, most likely Italian though there were more domestic replicas back in the 80s. As for period accuracy I don't think the film ever states a date so the large number of cartridge conversions isn't completely anachronistic. It would have been nice if they had at least some percussions being carried around (I know they're highly problematic for firing scenes) but 99% of the audience wont notice those details.

[@DougMcDave]

Pay attention, Alec!

[@BrianStorey-j5n]

Love that Colt Army

[@Vorpal_Wit]

The blue and brown patinas on those are excellent. Can you direct me to any tutorials on getting those finishes on a prop? thanks.

[@FilmArmorerJoeyDillon]

I wish I could, sorry I don't know!

[@aussiefarmer8741]

Good to know, I always cringed when they threw a perfectly good gun on the ground.

[@gunfreedomradio4773]

LOVE this!

[@BrianStorey-j5n]

Ooohh the Schofield!

[@dougdukes1039]

Some of us have displays during events and for museums and event. We "have" to use dummy brass cartridges in out belts, either with no primer or spent primers. Is there a place for us mere mortals to purchase rubber bullets to use in gunbelts when we dont want to carry dummy rounds? Thanks

[@FilmArmorerJoeyDillon]

Haha, "mere mortals" made me laugh. We are all in this crazy life together... Not sure where to get rubber cartridges. May have to stick with dummy brass for now. Maybe someone should start making up some rubber ones to sell.

[@wanaraz]

You should not be carrying live rounds.

[@dougdukes1039]

@@wanaraz we dont,

[@wanaraz]

@@dougdukes1039 " Is there a place for us mere mortals to purchase rubber bullets to use in gunbelts when we dont want to carry live rounds?"

[@skullfracture2]

4:40 the nicks and scratches in the butt stock make it look pretty legitimate!

[@bradinch1563]

this was cool, i didnt know anything about rubber guns before.thanks. oh i hope you been practicing with 3 guns.take care brad

[@FilmArmorerJoeyDillon]

Ha! Still only two...

[@edigabrieli7864]

I guess Alec Baldwin don't like rubber guns.

[@allangibson8494]

Rubber guns cost more than real ones.

[@michaelwesterland1853]

Do they ever use rubber horses?

[@FilmArmorerJoeyDillon]

Sort of, for the dead ones on the ground, we have moved some rubbery ones with real hide on them.

[@michaelwesterland1853]

@@FilmArmorerJoeyDillon Thank you for the very good answer. I was only half-kidding when i asked, but then i began wondering, "Well, why not?" Very interesting video, not something one often thinks about, so 👍 and thanks again.

[@rtaborcity]

i want all of them for my wall. lol

[@mikec.3818]

Some of the detail is off the charts, great vid, thanks. What is that picture over your left shoulder, the two gunfighters?

[@FilmArmorerJoeyDillon]

That is a painting by Gabe Leonard. He has some fantastic art. Look him up. Years ago a friend and I posed for him. He painted that with the reference pics. That's me blowing the thumb off of my buddy who also posed. It is the historical shootout between Luke Short and Jim Courtright. Jim got his thumb blown off after he failed to get Luke with his shot, due to his pistol snagging on his watch chain.

[@mikec.3818]

@@FilmArmorerJoeyDillon I checked him out, amazing artist, thanks!!

[@Nobody4rpresident]

The circle on the butt of the Winchester model 1866 is not from where the mold was poured. It is where the trapdoor was located in the original rifle the mold was taken from. It was common for the 1866 and 1873 to have a trapdoor buttplate.

[@FilmArmorerJoeyDillon]

Very true! they do have that circular door on the buttplates sometimes on the real guns, but rubber rifles are still poured through a hole around the spot of the mold, and the rough porous circle is evidence of that. The rubber Henry has it, the shotgun has it, and others I have used, and they don't have trapdoor buttplates. But great thought and idea! Convenient spot.

[@jetcyclezero8907]

Great video, so a bend demo would crack the paint work.

[@FilmArmorerJoeyDillon]

Well yes, and most rubber guns are fairly hard and firm, not bendable, (except maybe the hammer tip or trigger guard. Unless they are made special to be bendy...

[@PicoPistolero]

Nice presentation Joey!

[@FilmArmorerJoeyDillon]

Well thanks man!

[@brianwoodyard9038]

Interesting, are you able to advise where a rubber prop gun can be purchased.

[@FilmArmorerJoeyDillon]

Sometimes they come up on prop auction sites. Also some are out there on sites like westernstageprops.com but are generic and not quite as nice.

[@jeffreyharville1918]

I've a question for your knowledge on stunt guns; have they ever used a 'cast iron' gun in a stunt scene? I have one, (A Colt Peacemaker) that is cast iron, and was told that it was a "Stunt gun" from some movie shot in Savanna GA. It makes a fine paper weight, even if it is not been in the movies.

[@FilmArmorerJoeyDillon]

Well, not for stunts per se... but for just stuffing holsters of BG or maybe in a gun store, or scene full of weaponry perhaps in the background. So using it far enough away not to tell it's not real. Sounds like a neat replica!

[@BeckVMH]

That was cool! Thanks.

[@michaelwesterland1853]

Yeah, good video but i wish the guy would stand still, and also quit looking over my right shoulder!

[@sesfilmsllc]

Can you talk about more about “cap and ball” blank revolvers I.E “Cowboys and Aliens”? Or how to spot converted revolvers when they want to give the illusion of a black powder revolver?

[@FilmArmorerJoeyDillon]

great idea! I will at some point!