Posted on 10/28/2021 8:31:54 AM PDT by servo1969
It is official. The revolver fired by Baldwin that killed Halyna Hutchins and wounded Joel Souza is a F.lli Pietta 45 Long Colt Revolver.
Take a look at the video of how it operates:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z41jSoKWhZ8
It is a single action revolver. That means you have to cock it manually in order to fire it each time. There is no way to fire it accidentally. You have to cock the hammer and then put your finger on the trigger. (The gun, if loaded, can be fired if you hit the hammer with a club of some sort, but that also is a purposeful act.) If you pick it up and the hammer is de-cocked it will not fire.
Also look carefully at how it is loaded. You have to cock the hammer halfway back and open the loading gate. The cylinder stays in place. You must rotate it to insert a round into each of the chambers.
This is negligence on an enormous scale. To check the revolver to ensure there is no live ammunition you must remove the rounds and inspect each one before re-inserting. It is now quite clear that everyone who handled the revolver did not follow this basic rule of gun safety. Baldwin may have fired the round that killed the cinematographer, but he is the small chain in the large chain of custody. It looks like the Assistant Director bears the greatest legal risk. We’ll see.
I want to clarify an important point many have made in the comments. The last person to hold the gun is responsible for determining whether it is loaded or not. Baldwin is not just an actor. He’s also the producer and as such ultimately responsible for ensuring the rules are followed. But I’m afraid he will argue that he relied on the Assistant Director and that might persuade a lefty prosecutor to cut him some slack. That is what I meant by “small chain in the large chain of custody.”
The idea that Baldwin is “gun ignorant” is absurd. He’s been in too many movies and westerns aren’t the only movies that use guns.
Right after the SUV that ran over somebody.
-PJ
Most folks are right handed. A cross draw allows you to carry two pistols and draw both with the right hand. That’s faster and safer than drawing a pistol with the left hand and passing it to the right.
I used a cross draw rig in cowboy action shooting. It’s no big deal. Main rule was that you executed a pivot so that when the cross-draw left the holster, it was pointed down range.
You’ll also see it other Westerns.
That’s my point…..if he was practicing cross-draw with the hammer down, then he had to have cocked it before it fired - either intentionally or “accidentally”
Either way, it’s his fault.
Yes I thought of this and you make a good point. I have made them up myself for various guns in my vintage collection. They are made using brass without a primer, once fired brass, leaving the spent primer, or removing it and not replacing it, not adding any powder and then inserting a bullet or a fake plastic bullet. The outside of the cartridge is marked with something very obvious or drilling a hole in it to keep them from getting confused with real cartridges. You can tell them from a real cartridge by looking at the marking, the hole, the fake bullet, the already indented primer or the missing primer.
If someone was mixing dummy cartridges in with the real thing then this set was even more messed up than we have been told... which is very likely the case.
Baldwin is the producer and ultimately responsible for the safety of the set and his crew.
He also fired the shot.
So you are right. He’s at fault.
What I have yet to see explained is why the assistant producer even touched the firearm. The gun wrangler had laid out 3 firearms on a table and the assistant is the one that picked up the pistol and handed it to Baldwin. It just doesn’t make sense to have a third person involved. Why were 3 pistols laid out?
IF Arec had been an NRA member he would have known not to point and pull the trigger on fellow cast members.
Friends don't let friends go off full cocked, loaded and fingers on the trigger.
Anger issues? Don't be playing around with guns until you are cool and calm.
Arec, Hollywood has a protocol that would have prevented this. Why did you go out of your way to circumvent it?
Get on YouTube and look up Halle Berry shooting thru an obstacle course training for a movie. These actors and actresses can learn about gun safety and how to shoot.... if they want to.
The gun has been identified and is in custody. For now it is safely behind bars but is refusing to answer questions.
Oh.
It’s just a replica of a Colt’s SAA. The news reports made it sound like something exotic.
They were rehearsing. Maybe other scenes coming up with different actors/weapons?
The irony is that Baldwin has openly boasted about his firearms expertise. Sometimes actors tend to forget that playing something isn’t being something.
I subscribe to Taran Butler's YouTube channel Taran Tactical.
I see plenty of action actors and actresses training with live firearms and, pardon the pun, killing it.
Yes, I know, but it is not realistic to expect all actors to be as dedicated as these action movie specialist actors.
People need to learn to ride a horse for most westerns. That’s a lot more involved than basic gun safety.
Thank you for your service, and for your informative story.
They should’ve arrested the bullet and the box it came in and called it Western justice.
a “cold gun” means “NO blanks” not no LIVE ROUNDS
open the gate and spin the cylinder to look for live primers is all that was required...
That is correct.
There is a hammer related safety incorporated in most single actions that use a hammer mounted firing pin which I notice has not been mentioned.
In the video linked in the original post showing what is believed to be the exact make and model of firearm used, you can hear the reviewer pull back on the hammer to the half cock position to unlock the loading gate. That is the second click that hammer made when operated. That first click is actually a firing pin stand-off safety, intended to be used as a safety when you need to carry six rounds (such as being armed in bear country where every round you can carry may be essential in saving your life).
This safety is not very robust but does serve a purpose by keeping the firing pin from resting directly against a live primer. If the armorer did not set the hammer in this position before handing the gun to AB and was loaded with six rounds, it certainly could have prevented an AD or ND if the hammer being struck is what resulted in the fatal discharge.
It sounds like the actor pulled the hammer back and fired, but the point is this too is a safety mechanism incorporated into these firearms that may have been ignored in the safe handling of this type of gun.
What if the gun had been used in a suicide scene.
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