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Non Guns
"Non Guns" are prop weapons that are manufactured and rented by International Studio Services (ISS) and frequently used for scenes in movies or television shows in which the use of real weapons firing blanks is deemed unsafe for the actors or stuntmen. They are electronically-operated and discharge small explosive squibs that make a flash and produce smoke, but they do not eject shell casings or have any moving parts besides the trigger. The discharge of the squib can be loud or quiet depending on set noise regulations. This makes Non Guns safer and quieter than real weapons firing blanks; it also means that they can be used in filming locations with strict gun laws where permits to use blank-firing weapons might be prohibitively expensive.
While they have many advantages for film crews, most Non Guns bear only a loose resemblance to their "real steel" counterparts, and thus stand out as fake to audiences who know what to look for. However, some film directors evidently do not take this in mind, and thus, it is plainly obvious in some movies or TV shows when Non Guns are being used. Some directors even film them up-close. Examples of such productions are seen below.
Note to IMFDB editors: If you see a Non Gun in a movie or TV show, you don't necessarily need to make a separate entry for the Non Gun on that page; it can be included under the entry for the gun it replicates. If a Beretta Non Gun appears in a movie along with its real counterpart, for instance, just include it under the Beretta 92F entry for the page.
The following are some of the Non Guns available from ISS, as well as the films and TV shows in which they have appeared.
Colt 1911
A Non Gun replica of a Colt 1911 that can be used to simulate any full-size 1911-type pistol.
Film
- Ed Harris as Parcher in A Beautiful Mind
Glock
A Non Gun replica of a Glock; it can be used to simulate either the full-size or compact Glock models.
Film
- Nate's killer in The Negotiator
- Mark Wahlberg as Danny Wallace and several NYPD officers in The Corruptor
- Seen obviously in the schoolhouse rescue scene when Denzel Washington takes out a terrorist in a room full of children in The Siege
Beretta 92F
Non Gun replicas of the Beretta 92F and Beretta Inox.
Film
- One of Tapia's men in Bad Boys II
- Chow Yun-Fat as Nick Chen and Byron Mann as Bobby Vu in The Corruptor
- John Travolta as Howard Saint in The Punisher (2004)
SIG-Sauer
A Non Gun replica of a SIG-Sauer pistol that can double for the P220, P225, P226, P228, or P229 if necessary.
Film
- Used by the recruits in testing in Men in Black
Ingram machine pistol
A Non Gun replica of an Ingram-type machine pistol that can simulate a MAC-10 or MAC-11, depending on the needs of the scene.
- Used by "Samuel Anders" on Battlestar Galactica
AK
A Non Gun replica of an AK-type assault rifle.
Television
- Sons of Anarchy; appears in Episode 6 of Season 1, "AK-51"
M16A2
A Non Gun replica of an M16A2.
Film
- U.S. Army soldiers in Cloverfield
Non Firing Replicas of the M16 Rifle
Before the advent of inexpensive Airsoft guns there were precious few replica weapons that could be used in productions if they didn't want to have a live firing weapon on set, or for a stunt or if they didn't have the budget to get a real gun (and armorer). Though the U.S. Army had a "rubber duck", i.e. slang for the hard rubber training M16 they used, it was not readily available on demand for the movie prop houses of the 1970s and the 1980s. Thus the metal REPLICA gun was used (those models that were actually available for purchase). Model Gun Corporation of Japan made and built excellent quality metal replica guns between the late 1960s and the early 1980s and the most utilized one was the MGC M16 assault rifle. They were sold in the United States by Collector's Armory, Ltd. (and should not be confused with the inferior quality metal replicas currently coming in from Spain).
If you've seen a movie with M16s in it, chances are you've seen many replicas of the rifle on camera.
In the following, the use of a metal replica M16 was (painfully) obvious:
Film
- Full Metal Jacket : the MGC M16 was visible being held by all soldiers who carried the M16. Only when they were firing on screen, did it switch to a live version of the weapon.
- Uncommon Valor : in any of the armory scenes or flashback scenes of soldiers not firing their M16s, the MGC M16 is evident.
- First Blood : the Army National Guardsmen are seen holding many MGC M16 rifles. Only when an actor fired, did the weapon change to a real weapon.
- Hulk : when the Hulk explodes out of the ground on Powell Street in San Francisco, many of the U.S. Army Soldiers were carrying MGC-16 replica rifles (in addition to real AR15-A2 rifles). One of the soldiers holding the fake rifle has a closeup in one of the 'split screen' shots of their reaction to the Hulk.
- The Final Countdown : used by Marines on the deck of the Nimitz in scenes where there is no firing.