I just ran across a preview of News of the World with Hanks loading a brass shell with dimes. I really wish that would die. I saw some tv thing where they tried it--worked like you would expect, short range, blown pattern, not to mention the cost.

Worst fugging movie I’ve ever seen. Save your time and money.

There was a scene in the Sam Peckinpah Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid where Kris Kristofferson killed the guy outside the jailhouse with that. I know it's bogus. But I liked the follow-up line: "Keep the change."

Emilio Estevez did the same in “Young Guns”.

Those dimes were silver, so heavier than modern dimes. Might make a small difference. If that's all you have, it would be a lot better than nothing.

I wasn't impressed with the trailer I watched. Should be free on Prime within a year.

Movies are most often FOS when it comes to firearms realism.

"Best dollar eighty I ever spent, Bob"

Emilio giggled too. Nice touch.

Are you telling me Deathwish isn't realistic.Bad guys get shot with .32 s&w, and they fly back 5ft.

One of the worst movies I've ever seen was Pekinpah's Billy the Kid. Now, Young Guns, was well done and entertaining. Estevez nailed it as Billy. The "actors" in Pekinpah's were terrible all the way around.

It would take at least a 38 Special for that.

I thought it was an excellent movie. Earlier I read the book. The author is an expert in Texas history but doesn't know a lot about firearms.

Hanks had some shotgun ammo with birdshot and the little girl ran and got the coins. They dumped out the birdshot and loaded the dimes. In the book, IIRC, the shotgun was 20 gauge and they were trying to kill the bad guys at 200 yards with the dimes. Dimes probably won't fit in 20 gauge. That was the only unrealistic part, except for Hanks briefly extracting spent cases from an 1860 Army.

It was actual buckshot. The sheriff was just telling him how much those shells cost.

Okay, my memory sucks. I’m wrong.

I agree. I just liked that one line. Bring me the Head of Alfredo Garcia, the Wild Bunch, and The Getaway were all good though.

A video from Paul....

Today, loading up a shell with dimes would probably be cheaper than some of the boutique non-toxic factory loads. What was supposed to be the point of loading up a shell with dimes?

Most writers, directors, actors, and producers know virtually nothing about firearms, other than they go "Bang!," and in real life, should be confiscated from the unwashed worker peasants. There are a few who are knowledgeable but damned few. That's the way it is in Hollywood.

L.W.

Wayne was said to be a real shooter.

Lee Marvin and Steve McQueen both were decorated Marine war vets, and Marvin was a big hunter. But they don't make actors like that any more.

I thought Steve was in the Navy. Got mesothelioma from working with asbestos on a ship.

Peckinpah's movies were not about plot or anything like that; the violence and cruelty were the focus.

I thought that dimes existed to determine the choke of a 12 gauge barrel.

Check this out https://youtu.be/6RuFUy_7CmM

Wait, there’s a worse one out. ... “The Marksman”

Is that the one where they throw their arm to shoot around corners? I'm not kidding. It was hilarious.

I thought it was a 44 Auto-Mag?

Hell I'd bet dimes work fine but then I'd prolly stick a dab of super glue between them. Mb

No it just came out, Liam Neeson as a Vietnam Veteran/Arizona rancher saving a Mexican kid from a Cartel, turns out he can beat up Cartel guys and Cops and everything.

Dont be dissin Aslan, buddy

Steve McQueen was in the Marines but was never in combat. Lee Marvin certainly was.

From McQueen's bio on imdb.com

" ... McQueen joined the Marine Corps at age 17 and worked as a tank driver and mechanic. He earned a commendation for rescuing five Marines during a training accident. According to military records released by the Pentagon in 2005, Marine Pfc. Steve McQueen was confined to base for 41 days and fined $90 for being absent without leave (AWOL) from Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. (Some sources indicate he was AWOL for as long as 21 days [3 weeks] but the exact amount of time he was AWOL is unconfirmed.) He avoided a dishonorable discharge and later took advantage of the GI Bill's education benefits to study at the Actors Studio in New York. ..."

EDIT: TRH, yes, John Wayne was a shooter and hunter. When I lived in L.A., I had a friend who used to hunt ducks and geese with him in northern Calif., in the Tulelake area. There was at that time, great duck and goose hunting there. I don't know how the hunting is there now. I think Wayne owned a lodge there.

L.W.

Thank you, Leanwolf. I had always thought that McQueen was in the Navy. I thought he caught mesothelioma working with asbestos aboard ship. Here is a little info from a Mesothelioma web site:

"It’s highly likely that McQueen’s first exposure to asbestos, however, was during his time in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1947–1950. Through his service, McQueen spent time working onboard naval ships and in the shipyards.

Service aboard military ships posed some of the greatest threat for asbestos exposure. Marines, sailors, and airmen made contact with the deadly material in nearly every area of these ships, from the boiler and engine rooms to the deck and sleeping quarters. Living and working in tight quarters with poor ventilation meant any disturbed asbestos fibers would be even more concentrated in the air."

One dollar (in dimes) would be equivalent to $25 to $40 these days. I doubt anybody was loading up shells at $40 a shot back then.....

McQueen was a Marine, of that I’m certain, pretty sure only Marvin saw combat though, was wounded on Saipan.

Possibly you've watched The Sand Pebbles too many times.

Wait, what? Are you saying that wasn't actual footage of a real event?

I didn't think Hanks' movie was THAT bad. Helped fill a covid evening.

He travels around and charges folks a dime apiece to hear him read newspapers. He finds an orphaned girl in the woods. She goes with him. The end.

he was shot in the butt

Dimes are sure to work better if you hold the shotgun sideways or upside down.

Probably happens a lot more in today's Marines than it did back then.

slow, but not bad at all.

just a movie