[Arnkell]

Hello crew! New guy here, came here through 'The Gun Zone' after reading some interesting tidbits about movie weapons.

It made me think about something I saw six months back, when viewing "Kill Bill 2" at the cinema; Bill has a strange revolver with a strange, rounded butt (like that of a Derringer, only huge) and a sightless barrel. I think the gun is single action and cromed or nickel-plated.
It almost looks like a trick-shooter showpiece from the 1800's, designed for fast draws and nimble air-shots at game cards.

The design is very distinctive as it lacks front sights, almost looks like a pistol from "Looney Tunes" or "Donald Duck".
I'm pretty sure this gun was used in the first "Kill Bill" movie as well, in Uma Thurman's flashback of the gunshot that sent her into her coma; you can see a slow-motion clip of the cylinder moving, the hammer dropping and the slug racing out through the barrel.
I'm pretty sure this is the same gun, I seem to recall it also lacked a front sight.
I'd post screenshots from my "Kill Bill"-DVD but unfortunately the disc is the wrong region (Thai) for the DVD-player in my computer (Region 2).

Does anyone have a clue, or pics, or a link to some gun buff that has followed the progress of this contemporary hobby movie gun?

I apologize if this has been asked before, or if this is the wrong place to ask.

Any input would be appreciated.

Sincerely,
Arnkell

 

[Richard Jefferies]

I have the Kill Bill 2 DVD right now from Netlfix rentals. The gun in question is either a Colt Bisley, or a Ruger copy of the Colt Bisley. The original Bisley was meant as a target pistol, IIRC. The birdshead grip supposedly was better than the plowhandle grip of the SAA.

It just struck me that it could also be an original Thunderer, the DA Colt in .41 caliber. It wouldn't be the Lightning, the bore's too big (Lightning DA was a .38 caliber.)

Now I'm going to have to go and freeze frame it....

 

[Arnkell]

Yes! Paydirt! Can you screencap?

So if it's a Bisley it's single action, but if it is the latter, it might be double? I don't remember if Bill cocked it before shooting the fruit-tray near Uma.

I always liked the fact that he shot the fruit in the first place.
Everyone in the audience had gotten comfortable and were expecting another serving of friendly banter between enemies, but he showed that she shouldn't have any illusions. He would kill her in a heartbeat if he had to.

 

[Snake45]

Neither Colt's original Bisley nor Ruger's interpretation of the design is "birdsheaded." Though of course either could be on a custom basis. Ruger might in fact have made some up that way. I'm getting old and everybody's coming out with fifteen new designs a month and frankly it's getting hard to keep up anymore.

Guess that's why I'm stuck in the '60s, when all the cars and guns looked different from each other and all the music still had music in it. :lol: (Warren Zevon never "rapped," except maybe in Run Straight Down on Transverse City.)

 

[Arnkell]

Yes, I'm pretty sure the gun lacked a front sight, it was just a smooth tube, and the grip looked like ivory, so I'd say Bill's gun was extremely customized.

 

[Richard Jefferies]

Snake, you are right....I was operating off of memory, (daughter borrowed the DVD just as I was posting, and you know how CRS works) and now that I can see it in my mind's eye more clearly, the grip of Bill's gun is definitely not that of a Bisley.

Dang it, gotta get the flick back and check this out!

 

[Richard Jefferies]

OK, did the pause/zoom/frame-by-frame thing, but there really isn't a good shot of the gun. It clearly has the bird'shead grip (mother-of-pearl or ivory, can't tell for sure,) which, IIRC, was the norm for the DA Thunderer and Lightning, but it also seemed to be an SA (I could hear Bill cock the gun before each shot.) Definitely nickel, definitely sightless, bbl. approx. 5", and it also appeared to not have a holster but rather to ride on some sort of clip-on device on Bill's left hip. (There was at least one swivel-type unit made for SAA's.) It also seems that the bore is too big to even be a .41, but that's purely subjective. Gotta be a custom something or other, maybe even a pure "Hollyweird" gun.

 

[csmkersh]

Cimarron Arms, Fredericksberg, TX, makes what they call a Lightening and a Thunderer. Both are SAA. This might be the gun.

http://www.cimarron-firearms.com/thunde ... htning.htm

 

[Arnkell]

I seem to remember the whole barrel was symmetrical, ie no loading arm to the lower right of the barrel, so I think it was a semi-auto. You can still cock a semi-auto.

Sure you can't make a screengrab off the DVD for us, Richard?
Does your computer have a DVD? If it does, I could mail you some software that would allow you to take screencaps.

 

[Richard Jefferies]

I've got both the hardware and the software for a screen shot, but unfortunately, I've already sent the DVD back to Netflix. It was, however, definitely a revo. After Bill takes his "fruit shot" at Uma, and does a fancy twirl before re-"holstering" his sidearm, you can clearly see the profile. The grip, however, didn't have that extension at the top rear that's shown in the pix of the Cimmaron Thunderer.

 

[csmkersh]

Then how about Ruger's bird-head Vaquero?

http://www.ruger.com/Firearms/FAProdVie ... 7&return=Y

 

[Richard Jefferies]

Sam, that might possibly be the ticket....sans sight and ejector rod/housing.