Does anyone know any good places to order gas blowback guns for movie making?

Basically I want the guns that can simulate gas blowback, and then I will have someone add the remaining VFX in post. However, I cannot find a website that has a lot of selection. Replica firearms, doesn't sell gas blowback particularly, and only saws 'replicas', which are different. And a lot of people have recommended Short USA, but every item in their catalog that caught my eye, is 'out of stock', on their site.

Does anyone know any better sites, that have more in stock, by any chance? There is one place I found but the guns are more expensive than Shorty USA, and I was wondering if there any places that more closely match Shorty's prices.
 
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Amazon sells airsoft guns for sure, thanks. However, after doing research it costs a lot of post production money to get the VFX of the casings, muzzleflare, and smoke added in post. I was even told by someone that the digital smoke doesn't even look that real.

I did some more research and there are PFC guns out there you can buy instead, that eject casings and produce smoke, for movie shooting particularly. However, amazon doesn't sell them and out of all the online stores, the items are out of stock, as usual.

Are there any stores where you can buy PFC guns that actually have a good stock of them?

Another option that is easier to buy are blank guns, which eject the casings, and produce the smoke. However, blank guns are much louder and that can cause problems during filming. But on the other hand, you don't have to hire a VFX expert to add the smoke and casings in post.

I am kind of thinking maybe airsoft guns are not the best. I read that film riot used airsoft guns when shooting the short film LOSSES:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BMhXexbDmv8

But in the video, when the guns fire, you can totally tell that the casings and smoke has been superimposed. Especially the smoke. So maybe blank guns or PFCs are more realistic.
 
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At one point in my life I thought I wanted to play guitar. I asked about guitars, and brands, and styles...and used to drag my friend to music and pawn shops, and look at them all, and strum the strings even though I didn't know how to play yet. I spent maybe a year looking at guitars and then bought a Gibson L6-S in a Florida pawn shop and hauled it back to NY. A pickup ring was cracked so I bought new ones, but then I started asking about pickups and was going to get some Tony Iomi p/ups, and then I started even questing this actual guitar, before I even played it. It sat until I sold it on ebay, never to think about guitar again.

I was h44. But I don't think he will get it. If you want to play guitar you pick up any old thing and PLAY! What you lack is passion otherwise you would be shooting and not getting lost in the details. The details keep you busy and are a false affiirmation of your passion. You may enjoy certain aspects of what you are doing, but filmmaking, I am pretty sure, is not the actual passion.

Guitar was not mine but I enjoyed the research and the hunt and I'm afraid you are in the same spot. It's time for a reality check.

If you want to make a film PICK UP ANY OLD CAMERA and shoot! Stop sweating the details. If you can't do that, then it just isn't for you. And that's the harsh truth.

If your next post is about guns...
 
Well I am just on a tight budget and want to spend the money the best way. If I buy the wrong gun, and then have to spend more money in post to attempt to fix it, then the movie might not turn out the best. I just want to be smarter with the budget this time and do the best I can.

I don't want to rush out and by the wrong prop, just to get it over with, and the have the movie turn out to be bad as a result, that's all. If I rush and shoot it as fast as possible with a minimal half-assed effort, than I'll just have to fix things in post anyway, instead of getting it right on set. I don't think the answer is always make all the mistakes just to get it over with, instead of doing a better job.
 
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My post went over your head.

I don't think the answer is always make all the mistakes just to get it over with, instead of doing a better job.

Big picture time. By worrying about making mistakes, you are not progressing, and not learning, and not shooting, and this in itself, is the biggest mistake!

#irony
 
Okay then. So which gun should I buy then the blank or the airsoft? I guess I'll just buy the blank. Basically I have never done the gunshot effect before, and I wanted to do the script so that no shots were fired, and the gun was used to hold someone hostage only.

But after discussing with others, we all agree, that no one would point a gun in this situation without firing it at some point, so I need the gunshots to have the script make sense. So I am just not sure how to achieve it. I have an airsoft gun which I can by in my city now and it looks really real, or I can wait a few weeks and wait for a blank gun to come in. I feel like shooting the movie as quickly as I can now and get it over with, but I want to spend my money the best too, and save on post VFX if possible. So I'll think about what to do.
 
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Any gun you get is the wrong gun, because you will never shoot this movie.
Not in this lifetime.
Not this way.

You are a dreamer full of paralyzing fear for failure.
It stops you from shooting.
You think you can't shoot now, because you are a perfectionist, but you aren't. Real perfectionists try and practise till it's perfect. No real perfectionist ever made something perfect out of the blue.
And to paraphrase William Blake:
"Desire can only be restrained if it's weak enough to be restrained."

"Energy is eternal delight!"

If you were like a very creative person I'd say you need to get out of open mode en get into closed mode to get things done. But, alas, you block yourself from going into open mode in the first place, because you need to rearrange the paperclips first. (And if you don't get this, watch John Cleese afgain.)
 
Anyone use airsoft guns for movie props?

I have a script where I want some shots to be fired from a handgun, a police officer's handgun. I got an airsoft gun for the prop. The only problem is, is that the pistol, is full-auto only it seems. Where as a police officer would carry a semi-automatic gun.

Is there a way to modify the pistol so that it's semi-automatic at all? Basically I want it fire on CO2, so that the bolt will go back and forth in order to simulate the gunshot. But is there a way to modify it, so it will fire semi-auto, in that case?
 
Quickly tapping the trigger once?

If it's just some handguns, then after effects would help out more than expensive practical props (if you're on a no-budget). Simply put, create a layer that just has the slide of the chamber, and for each shot that your talent replicates, make the slide go back (in after effects) just as a handgun does, add a motion blur to it, muzzleflare and/or smoke/dust discharge if you wish, and keep in mind that these effect last only a few frames or less (besides any particle or smoke effects). In the "Action Essentials" pack, there should be bullet casings flying out as well. All combined in the right way can look very convincing, if you are working with basically nothing.
I'm speaking from personal experience here, so take that as you may.

Edit: The slide must be keyframed back into place as well.
 
Anyone use airsoft guns for movie props?
Yep, but they're not exactly legal where I am, so my experience is from a few dodgy action shoots.

To quote that other thread:
Any gun you get is the wrong gun, because you will never shoot this movie.
lol. He bought the wrong gun.

Is there a way to modify the pistol so that it's semi-automatic at all?
There probably is. Maybe it's broken? I've never seen an airsoft gun that is automatic. Every one that I've played with has been semi-automatic.

Take it to an armorer and ask them to modify it for you. It'll probably be cheaper to purchase an airsoft gun that has the requirements you need rather than modifying it.
 
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