Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Cast Member of Alec Baldwin’s Movie Killed by Prop Gun “Misfire”

No matter what happened, or who was responsible....why was "live" ammo with in 5 miles of the set, that's the real question.

I'm not defending Baldwin, I don't like him nor his antics/politics...but somebody else was responsible for the mishap, unless he blatantly broke protocol and was horsing around.

I'm getting the feeling the 'armorer' was incompetent for the job.

Sounds like no positive control of the firearms, someone shooting real ammo off set, having fun with the firearms, then placing them back on the armorer's cart. Nothing cleared, nothing checked, gun handed to Baldwin with no safety checks.

Seems like gross incompetence/negligence.

We will soon be the Minority with all the Fuggin Wetbacks Hiden Biden is letting cross the Southern Border every day 😡

Texas is nearly there already. Couple of years at this rate and the TX majority will be Brown.

It is the ultimate responsibility of the person with the gun in their hand. This incident is proof of that. There is plenty of blame to go around, but the actor doesn’t get a free pass by blaming someone else. If Baldwin practiced the most basic of gun safety the woman would be alive. Saying that he doesn’t have the ultimate responsibility is irresponsible on its face.

A movie set is the exception.

The armourer is responsible.

Visualize a class of kindergarten kids.... That's what the actors are. The armourer is the teacher, and responsible for all of them.
You cannot expect actors to know the first thing about gun safety. Just as you can't expect kindergartners to cross a busy highway by themselves.

LOL

I'm not trying to argue the point, but logic dictates the use of "blank" guns used in TV/Movies.

Do you really believe that Al Pacino checked every round in 15 magazines, before firing them off in Scarface ? Do you really believe that Clint Eastwood checked his pistol before any shooting, in all of his movies including spaghetti westerns ? How many rounds do you think Matt Damon shot off in Greenzone, do you think he emptied every mag and reloaded them himself to ensure safety ?

Or do they rely on the Professional being paid a handsome some to purely control the weapons and "ammo" ? Do you think the actor questions the Pro's ability at doing his job ?, do you think the Pro dictates to the actor what he's doing wrong in his character portrayal ?

In any profession, you allow the Pro/expert to do his job and trust his skill and knowledge in his individual skill set. Unless you see obvious mistakes, or alcohol/drug consumption, you let the Pro do his job. All of the previous statement is BS if Baldwin was screwing around, and just shooting off round like a moron.

Here’s a short article showing Hannah Reed, the so called Set “Armorer”

It’s from the NY Post. Not exactly the most reliable News source, so take it for what it’s worth.

https://nypost.com/2021/10/23/woman-who-handled-weapons-on-baldwin-set-nervous-about-ability/

Thank you, from a man that has actually worked on film sets as the armourer....unlike 99% of us here.

Pretty good explanation and analogy, Barry.

I do know that actors take classes learning how to handle firearms. That have to act competent when shooting. Why wouldn’t they know anything about safety and firearm handling. It’s quite apparent that Baldwin is a cluck but he is a veteran actor and should be expected to know quite a lot about firearms. At least that’s the way I see it.
Again I can’t say what exactly happened on the set except he shot an innocent bystander and wounded another. That’s a fact.

I gave a class to everyone while working as an armourer on movie sets. So, they "may" have been given something similar.

I coached actors on how to handle firearms as well.

Alec Baldwin messed up once before on a movie set I was on with him. (Not as an armourer, BTW)

He played Col. Travis in "13 Days the Glory"... He had a saber and took it out and was dicking around with it, waving it around and such. It was just a cheap sword, and the blade came out of the handle, and when the blade came falling down, it cut the living schidt out of his hand. They had to take him Del Rio to the ER to get his hand sewn back up...

It's not without possibility that Baldwin was dicking around this time as well. I doubt you'll hear the full truth from a movie crew, or Santa Fe law enforcement for that matter.

The armourer is responsible as is Baldwin. I am not buying it that he isn't even with your kindergarten class analogy. These aren't kindergarten coloring classes and these are adults with guns. I realize you were an armourer on a set as you stated, but my opinion is also shared by a current armourer for these films.

https://nypost.com/2021/10/23/baldwin-ignored-no-1-rule-of-gun-safety-hollywood-weapons-expert/

I do know that Keanu Reeves and Hallie Berry both trained extensively with live rounds for months before the filming of "John Wick". Someone here posted the videos, and they were quite long in length. They did police training on steel targets with pistol and AR style guns, with multiple trainers on site during the live ammo practice. Both seemed to really enjoy the sport and shooting, both gave interviews in the importance of looking realistic and understanding firearms.

With that said, I'll bet a ton of cash that neither would even consider disagreeing with the armourer's directions or instructions...he's the PRO.

It is always the person's responsibility that is holding any gun. Transferring responsibility to someone else is how people get killed. Maybe you are comfortable with that, but I am not. I cannot answer for any of the actors you mentioned and how they verified or didn't the safety of their weapons. You are speculating just as I would be. Somehow none of them had an incident where someone was killed by their gun. What are the circumstances behind that neither you nor I know.

While I agree that he may have been acting a fool... It's the armourer's job to shut that behavior down, and make the set safe.

I have no issue with this statement and agree. It appears that the armourer wasn't up to snuff well before this tragic incident. But as you stated in your own experience that you wouldn't have been successful in shutting down someone like Baldwin. So now what happens?

I would surmise that the Armourer would walk off the set due to safety protocol, as listed extensively in the Union firearms manual...and the filming would be shut down, because there is no Armourer on location. If chiit hit the fan against the Armourer, his union would support his decision based on safety and rules.