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theatrical weapons: rental and sales
Weapons of Mass Instruction ™ Rent sword pistol halberd knife spear rifle gun crossbow broadsword saber foil whip dueling rapier shield revolver holster bow mace hook courtsword shotgun stiletto claymore axe falchion stage
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Assassins[Some of the information below has been extracted from our not-yet-released book - "The Textbook of Stage Violence". All rights reserved]
I am using the caliber descriptions on the guns only for identification purposes, but the fact that we happen to know what the caliber was for a specific weapon shouldn’t dissuade you from using a similar looking gun with a different number. Below I have described in regular type the historical piece and then in italics what we have that might work for you. Other styles might have to serve depending on your performance space and what we have in stock. These are suggestions only. And folks, it finally happened. Being in California, our supply of blank firing "modern" pistols has dried up. We have a (very few) styles that we make, that might work for some of the characters, but we certainly no longer can provide a firing gun for each character in this show, especially for those in the last half of the 20th century. You may need to rent real guns from a company such as Centre Firearms in New York (212 / 244-4040) or Gibbons Limited (818 / 566-4253) in California. The rental prices shown below are for our items, are for the first 30 days, and the cost per shot is also provided. With the exception of the Derringer, all of the firing versions are 22 caliber. But for your show, remember that not all guns need to fire, even in the final tableau. If your theatre is small, for instance, you do NOT want nine guns going off at the same time. Most of the guns below are also available in non-firing versions at a substantial savings. And of course those non-firing models can usually match the look of the show better than the firing ones shown here. For other possibilities and substitutes, take a look at our modern pistols page. What follows is not a "package"; it is just a starting point for discussion. * * * John Wilkes Booth 1865 What he used: A Philadelphia single-shot Derringer was actually used to shoot Lincoln, so in the final tableau, and in the opening scene, this should be the gun he holds. He also used a Bowie knife to slash at Major Henry Rathbone before leaping from the box. [Many people forget that Booth dropped the Derringer in the theatre when he jumped onto the stage, and he used a Colt 1851 six-shooter for the shoot-out and suicide in barn. Even less known is that Booth actually had two revolvers with him, but used the Colt]
* * * Guiteau 1881 What he used: British Bulldog .44 cal, "silver handled". Big problem with trying to find what the script has described, for there really is no such thing as a silver handle for a pistol, and the script describes it even more interestingly as “silver mounted”, an interesting phrase that defies easy explanation, for the term is used for sword hilts but not gun grips. Many theatres try to go with a nickel-plated gun, but that's really not the same thing. Be that as it may, the script has it wrong on several counts. During his period in custody after the murder, Guiteau told reporters that his original intention had been that the gun should have had an ivory grip, feeling that such a gun would look better when it would be seen and admired by millions in a museum someday, but he actually ended up purchasing a plain black version of the gun with a rough wooden grip. [The gun itself no longer exists, but a clear photograph of it is in the Smithsonian archives.]
* * * Czolgosz 1901 What he used: Iver-Johnson .32 cal, 5-shot revolver, owls on the side, black grip. The owl was the logo of Iver-Johnson Firearms Company, and is set into the pattern of the grip mold. Even when holding the gun in your hand, it is awfully difficult to see the logo. Certainly the audience can never see it. Don’t sweat over this minutiae which is completely insignificant. [I hate details like this that are thrown into scripts but provide no benefit to the production.]
* * * Zangara 1933 What he used: cheap 5-shot .32 cal revolver, does not fire until final scene. The gun was very similar to the Iver-Johnson, but with a longer barrel, made by U.S. Revolver Co., nickel-plated with black rubber grips.
* * * Ozwald 1963 What he used: Mannlicher-Carcano bolt-action rifle with scope and .38 cal revolver. Just as with Booth, one gun, the rifle, was used for the assassination and another, the revolver, was with him when arrested/cornered
* * * Sarah Jane Moore 1975 What she used: nickel-plate .38 cal Smith & Wesson revolver; 4” barrel length. no firing pistol recommendation * * * Lynette Squeaky Fromme 1975 What she used: Colt semiautomatic .45 cal pistol. (She wore this in a holster on her ankle? - I have no idea how she was able to suspend that much weight there. More likely is that it was worn just below the knee at the calf.)
or:
* * * Byck What he used: .22 cal revolver no firing pistol recommendation * * * Hinckley What he used: 22 caliber short-barreled revolver, specifically a Rohm RG-14 no firing pistol recommendation * * * For other possibilities, take a look at our modern pistols page.
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G20 - COLT PEACEMAKER - re-painted here
to look a little bit like the Colt Navy 1851, for a blank-firing version of the
earlier Civil War pistol, but don’t want to deal with blackpowder and percussion
caps.] 22 cal blank-fire – [$35.00] 25 cents per shot
what we have:
K23 - ENFIELD No 4 Mark 1 - work/prop non-fire only – [$ 72.00]
no firing rifle recommendation
G49 - SPECIAL OPS PISTOL - This is the nearest thing we have for a
blank-fire gun with the profile of a semi-auto. 22 cal
blank-fire – [$49.63] 25 cents per shot