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What is a "Prop" gun? Are they safe?

12/08/2022

What is a “Prop” Gun? Are they safe?

There is a lot of buzz in the media concerning a recent incident on a movie set of a “prop” gun firing and killing a crew member and injuring another. Which begs to question exactly what is a “prop” gun? Dictionary.com defines a prop as “…a usually movable item, other than costumes or scenery, used on the set of a theater production, motion picture, etc.; any object handled or used by an actor in a performance.” Theater property is anything not considered a “set piece” or an actor/actress.

Whether it is a replica (rubber, plastic, wood, metal), a simulated firing non-lethal projectile (plastic pellets a.k.a “airsoft”) or actual working firearms (unloaded, loaded with blanks, or loaded with live ammunition) these would all be considered “props” on a movie or theater set. The property masters are responsible for the care and accountability of these items, and if it is an actual firearm, the armorer is responsible for the handling, training, safety of these items on a movie set. Many movies (the John Wick series comes to mind) use actual firearms for the realism in the film.

The incident currently in the news cycle is a case of negligent discharge of a firearm by an actor on a movie set in New Mexico that resulted in the death of the film’s cinematographer and the injuring of the film’s director.This article is not meant in any way to distract from the horrible tragedy that this incident is. It is merely to discuss, and further understand, firearm safety and how it relates to “prop” guns and “blank” ammunition used in the making of a media production.

The initial reports from the scene were that it was a “blank” round (see further discussion below) that was used. The ongoing investigation has now revealed it was, in fact, a live round that discharged. While this event is horrific for all involved and tragic, it was entirely preventable. Through diligent safe handling of firearms (real or fake) and methods available to shield film crews from any projectile’s that may exit the barrel in the course of the filming (i.e. Lexan or steel shields) this tragic event could have been prevented.

Let’s first differentiate the difference between a “negligent” discharge and an “accidental” discharge.

A “negligent” discharge is where a failure of policy or procedures results in the discharge of a firearm. For example, where the trigger was actually pulled resulting in the firing of the firearm not in accordance with predetermined firearm safety policy, protocols, or procedures. While it may not have been the intention of the firearm handler to discharge the firearm, it had not been made safe for handling, the handler did not verify that the firearm was made safe for them to handle, nor did they point the firearm in a safe direction. Whether or not the firearm did any injury or damage is not relevant to the term.

An “accidental” (or unintentional) discharge is where a firearm or ammunition malfunction resulted in the discharging of the firearm. The malfunction can be mechanical issues with the firearm or chemical issues with a cartridge. For example, in a mechanical malfunction, if a semi-automatic firearm is dirty to a point where the firing pin or striker gets stuck in the hole where it protrudes into the chamber of the firearm. The resulting recoil action of the firearm from the previous round firing can bring that firing pin/striker back into contact with the primer of the bullet with enough force to cause the firearm to discharge again, but accidentally. The difference mainly being that one action intentionally performed the act of engaging the trigger of the firearm or possibly mishandling the hammer of a single action firearm. The action of a negligent discharge was a conscious effort where the accidental discharge was not an intentional act. One can argue that letting your firearm get too dirty is negligent but for the sake of this discussion let us assume otherwise.

What is a Blank round versus a Live Round?

To understand the difference between blank and live rounds, it's important to know that, generally speaking, ammunition for firearms is comprised of many parts: a bullet, a casing, a primer and powder and is commonly referred to as a cartridge, a round, or ammunition. It is common to refer to a cartridge or round as a ”bullet” but most know what is being implied. The “bullet” part of the cartridge is the "projectile expelled from a gun," according to the National Rifle Association's glossary. We often receive orders on our website for bullets because in our current market they are available and appear to be a great price for ammunition when in fact they are only the projectile portion of the cartridge and not what the customer was intending to order.

What is a “blank” round? At its simplest definition, blanks lack a bullet. The NRA defines a blank cartridge as "a round loaded with blackpowder or a special smokeless powder but lacking a projectile."

Blanks can still use paper or plastic wadding to seal gunpowder into the cartridge, however, making them less dangerous than live rounds but still potentially harmful as the wadding will exit the barrel at a high velocity and can still injure or kill.

If discharged close enough to someone a blank can result in injury, or worse. See examples below: There is another kind of non-firing cartridge commonly referred to as “dummy rounds” or “snap caps” which contain no powder or projectile. They are inert and do not contain the proper materials to fire. They are used in firearms training for loading, unloading, dry firing practice in place of cartridges to test the action and functionality of the firearm and the user.

Education and sound firearm storage practices are also extremely important in this discussion. Too many negligent firearm discharges are from children handling firearms without the consent or supervision of a qualified adult. Training our kids about firearm safety and proper handling is the number one measure we can do to prevent tragic results from a negligent discharge. This and the proper securing /storage of your firearms so they cannot be accessed or fired by children cannot be stressed enough.

Firearm safety is universal. This means practicing firearm safety no matter the material or assumed condition of a firearm you are handling. If you always handle safe then you are obeying the two most important rules of firearm safety which is to always assume a firearm is loaded and never point it at “anything you do not intend to destroy” (Sign outside US Marine Cadre firing range, Mare Island CA circa. 1991).

In conclusion, the safety of the gun lies squarely in the hand of the user.

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