|
James Bond also used several other pistols and revolvers both in the novels and in the movies, and this page briefly covers them. I have in many instances spared all the technical specifications on the guns mentioned, such as left or right hand twist of the bore rifling, the trigger pull weight, the energy in ft/lbs of the bullets impact, the sight radius, the bullets trajectory etc. James Bond isn't interested in all that, he takes aim, pulls the trigger, the gun goes bang and the baddie drops dead, and that's it. The first Bond gun we will look at in this section then is the Smith & Wesson .38 Centennial Airweight. This was the gun that was recommended by Major Boothroyd for James to carry alongside his Walther PPK. Nicknamed a 'snub-nose' because its barrel is only 1 ¾ of an inch long for ease of concealment. In the Dr No novel, Bond uses this gun on 'Crab Key' to kill 3 of Dr No's men, until he surrenders to the armored 'dragon' tank and has to discard it.
The revolver is very light at 15oz empty. It is compact and also very reliable, as revolvers are not prone to jam up. This particular model is also of the "hammerless" variety in that the hammer is concealed within the frame of the gun so that it cannot snag on clothing, and is also easier to carry in an ankle holster or loose in the pocket. Furthermore, this revolver can be aimed and fired from inside a jacket pocket if the situation needs be. The .38 special cartridge it fires is also quite powerful and this revolver holds 5 of them, the gun sights up on a close target as easy as pointing your finger. There is no hammer to cock, you just point, pull the trigger and shoot. Colt New Service .45 The Colt .45 Army Special, as mentioned in the novels, was actually the Colt New Service as Colt did not make the Army Special in .45 caliber as stated by Ian Fleming...that was a slight error !
The Colt New Service was the revolver that James Bond kept secreted in his car in the novels, usually under the seat in a special 'trick-box' or in a concealed compartment in the cars dashboard. It had a 7½inch barrel and held 6 bullets. It is a very powerful gun that fires the .45 LC Long Colt cartridge, a cartridge that was favored by cowboys of the old west because of its stopping power and accuracy. James Bond chose a good gun when he decided to have this as a back up. Walther P-38 The World War II German Walther P-38 was used several times by James Bond played by Sean Connery in the movie 'Goldfinger' when he took it from one of Goldfinger's guards. It is a semi-automatic pistol that fires the 9mm parabellum cartridge, it is a good all round caliber that is quite accurate and powerful.  It is quite an antiquated gun first developed in 1938 by Walther for use in the German Army, but either way it is still lethal regardless of its age, and James put it to good use ! Colt .38 Revolver The Colt Police Positive .38 revolver is one that featured in the novels, and was a revolver that Bond actually kept under his pillow as he slept. The gun had been modified as shown below, in that Bond had made a 'snub-nosed' revolver by having the barrel sawn off to make the gun lighter and easier to handle. This was purely a defense gun but was never actually used in either the novels or the movies. Below is an image of what this gun would look like, with the barrel sawn off.
Sawing the barrel off this gun only proves one thing, that secret agents such as James Bond always prefer compact and easily concealable guns. There is no need to saw the barrel off these type of guns nowadays, as all firearms manufacturers present their models in a 'snub-nose' variation, in that they make guns with barrels at an inch long or just over. A prime example is of a gun that I once owned, a Smith & Wesson Model 66 .357 Magnum with a 1½inch barrel, as seen below. The recoil was a bit naughty on full factory .357 magnum cartridges, but with lighter loads was quite controllable. A short barrel also meant that accuracy over 10 to 20 yards is greatly reduced.
Bond always seamed to favor the Colt revolvers in the novels, maybe it was because Ian Fleming knew more about them, or indeed actually carried them himself during his time in Naval Intelligence. Colt Detective .38 Special The Colt Detective .38 Special 'snub-nose' Revolver was carried by Bond on many missions in the novels and was also seen in some of the movies. This venerable old Colt was widely used by undercover agents all over the world. Many undercover agents preferred to use a revolver because as stated earlier, they were less likely to jam up as a semi-auto did. Bond trained with this gun at the Special Intelligence Service shooting range. Its accuracy suffered over 25 yards, but this deficiency never marred the gun as it was seldom used in anything but close quarter combat shootouts. The .38 special was almost on par with the power of a Smith & Wesson .357 Magnum and could put a 'slug' straight through a car door and out the other side, and can stop a 250Lb male dead in his tracks...as long as he isn't wearing body armor. If an assailant is geared up in protective body armor then a much higher velocity round would be required, with a specially selected bullet head such as armor piercing tungsten tipped and Teflon™ coated, to penetrate or rupture it and damage the person wearing it. The .38 special just doesn't offer enough power to penetrate body armor.  The .38 special won't cut it indeed, but at the same time it won't go through a bad guy, exit and carry on to kill the Bond Babe standing close behind, so the question of a high power bullets needs to be considered very carefully. One aspect is that unlike military combat, James Bond shootouts would most likely to be in built up and populated areas, so the power of the round would need to be adequate but not excessive. In 'Live and Let Die' Bond uses this Colt Detective Special to kill two of Mr. Big's men in the car park. They were just wearing t-shirts so the .38 special hit them like a freight train, the power was more than adequate to put them both down. Chambered to fire six .38 special cartridges, the gun is light, easy to carry and conceal, and it is not surprising that James Bond elected to carry this gun as well, it was probably tucked away with his shaving kit ! Walther P5 The Walther P5 was used by Roger Moore in 'Octopussy' and Sean Connery in 'Never Say Never Again', it is the slightly bigger brother of the now famous Walther PPK.  The gun was reputed to be one of the best semi-automatics available, being both reliable and powerful, firing a 9x19mm cartridge from a locked breech. It was quite light and looked the part for James Bond to carry. I think that this gun was a close contender to the one that was going to replace the PPK, but as stated on another page the Walther P99 got that one ! Browning FN10 The Browning FN1910 was used by James Bond in 'Dr No' to kill Professor Dent who after sneaking into Bond's room, fired 6 shots into the bed where Bond had covered a pillow over with the bed sheets.
Bond had stayed up expecting him to call. After a brief exchange of words Bond shot him...and then remarked " ...and besides...you've had your six ! "
James Bond's FN1910 was probably chambered for the .380ACP caliber rather than the smaller .32ACP, and was equipped with a silencer in the Movie, which can affect power and accuracy, but when you are eliminating an enemy that is only a few yards away as Bond did, then this is not a concern.
Armalite AR7 Explorer Because James Bond is a spy, my web pages have only focused on handguns, I have not included any rifles or carbines in these pages as Bond would not carry them around with him. Rifles are a bit conspicuous and are not really very easy to conceal under that dinner jacket ! A super spy like Bond relies on stealth, camouflage and the ability to blend in, especially at the Casino. Toting anything around larger than a pistol is not in the line of work for a secret agent.
However, Bond was actually issued with a rifle in the movie 'From Russia With Love'. Q Branch gave him an Armalite AR7 Explorer survival rifle which was included in his attaché case, along with the magnetic tin of exploding talc (naturally), throwing knives, 40 rounds of ammo, Walther PPK and 20 gold sovereigns. What businessman from Universal Exports wouldn't be without this !
The AR7 Explorer suited Bond quite admirably, as it's a 'take-down' rifle. It can be very easily dismantled down into its basic parts, these being the stock, (that houses all the parts) the barrel and the receiver. The magazine that holds 8 rounds is also secreted in the stock. A unique feature of this gun is that if the shoulder stock is accidentally dropped in the sea or a lake etc, with all the parts inside...it will float.
All Armalite AR7 Explorer rifles are manufactured in .22LR caliber...except for the one that was issued to James Bonds by Q-Branch. This particular AR7 was specially modified to chamber the larger .25ACP (quarter of an inch diameter) caliber cartridge. The rifle is pin point accurate up to and beyond 50 yards. Below is a target that was used by an AR7 at 20 yards.
The .25ACP round is more powerful when emitting from a rifle than that of a handgun. The extra power of a rifle is due to its longer barrel that helps retain the expanding gases longer to accelerate the bullet along faster. Generally speaking, rifles are always more deadly and powerful than handguns, because of their larger cartridges as well as their longer barrels, but Bond is hindered by his very occupation to using a rifle, and alas, hones his skills more for handgun shooting. But this is not to say that James Bond cannot shoot a rifle, and accurately too.
In the movie From Russia With Love, Bond utilizes the AR7 Explorer, equipped with a silencer and an infra red telescopic sight, to successfully assassinate a Soviet Agent who was over 100 yards away, and who climbs out through a window in the side of a building that is painted with a huge advertisement.
" Hey stop the jibber jabber, I'm trying to take on a shot here ! " Later on Bond uses the AR7 again, this time to shoot at a helicopter, he manages to shoot one of the crew who is about to drop a hand grenade, the guy subsequently drops the grenade inside the helicopter which then explodes. The AR7 Explorer might only be a small rifle, but it did the trick and Bond survived. The AR7 Explorer also appeared in the movie Goldfinger when 'Bond Babe' Tilly Masterson, unsuccessfully stalks around in the the woods with intention of assassinating Auric Goldfinger. Goldfinger's tough Korean manservant OddJob, ends up breaking Tilly's neck by skimming his steel rimmed bowler hat, frizzbie style at her...its not just James Bond who has the gadgets ! More recently, the AR7 Explorer is available to all and any budding secret agents in three exciting flavors: Black Teflon - Silver Blur and Hi-Definition Cammo Woodlands. It must be noted that all AR7 rifles are chambered for the .22LR rimfire cartridge and not the James Bond .25ACP
These last three pages have illustrated the majority of guns that have featured in the great and exciting James Bond movies and novels. Mr Bond may have used one or two more other guns but these have been the most notable. I hope that you have enjoyed these pages on 'The Guns of James Bond' and with the new movie ' Quantum of Solace ' starring Daniel Craig now showing in cinemas, let us hope that James Bond will continue to thrill us all with his adventures and in many more movies to come. And if I can just leave you with one of my favorite and somewhat poignant lines from the Bond movies. James Bond " Do you expect me to talk ? " Goldfinger " Nooo Mr Bond...I expect you to die. "
Please
|
Page 3
