Nice Edgar Allen Poe tat, though.
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From what I see, she’s the daughter of a respected armorer in the industry. If so, seems it would be reasonable to believe she learned the rules at a young age. That said, you always check the weapon.
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Great scene from the "The Pacific" where they're practicing at the gun range. The lieutenant does something very dumb and the Gunnery Sergeant eats his lunch. Enlisted men would never do anything like this to an officer, but the Gunnery Sergeant is 100% correct. You don't fuk around with guns, and you NEVER point your weapon at anyone else unless you intend to shoot.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mu51rszgotI
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The elephant in the room to me is still the fact that there were live rounds on set. That raises so many questions including the possibility that this was somehow a set up. Given the issues with the production and workers can we really rule out that a disgruntled worker put live rounds in there on purpose?
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The articles posted don’t give that impression by her own words. Things like didn’t start learning until she was 16, was nervous working on them on set, and wasn’t comfortable dealing with blanks. I can’t blame her for that if it’s just the facts though. She simply just might not be qualified for the role which is supported also by the previous incidents on this set.
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I've had similar thoughts.

Another thing that occurs to me is that there may be more than one kind of dummy cartridge. Blanks that don't have the typical bullet that are designed to be fired, and duds that look like real cartridges but don't have any powder.

I don't know if this is how things actually work, but the reason I mention this is that in a lot of westerns you can see the bullets inside the chambers of the revolver. This movie was a western, right?
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Wow. Seems like she’d have started learning the basics from a dad like that when she was 5.
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How many years does it take to learn the old "don't load the prop gun with real ammo!" lesson?
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Did anyone notice the weapon may have been a Colt Dragoon, a percussion pistol? That would have been consistent with a grandfather's sidearm in the 1880s since the cartridge was not in use until 1871. I've never shot the Dragoon, but I can't imagine it's a whole lot different from the 1851 Navy Colt I used to have. It's single action, so the hammer has to be at least partially pulled back for the trigger to operate. I can see the thing misfiring (aka chain firing) from not enough grease in the other cylinders. But the fact is If it was a true replica, there would have been no need for any kind of projectile in the cylinder. As to "why didn't he check?", you can't see the ball in the cylinder once you grease it.

You may ask why I don't have that Colt anymore. Frankly, it was a pain in the ass to load and even more so to maintain. Fun, but a pain in the ass.
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They have not named the model just Colt 45.

The Colt Dragoon I believe was a 44 cal. The Colt Walker would have been a 45 and a cartridge gun in that timeframe. It's also the Colt Agustus McCray carried in the tv mini-series, Lonesome Dove.

Colt 45 Walker

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I'm not sure I feel sorry for her. As a young (well, maybe formerly young) guy trying to get in an industry where increasingly networking and relationships are as important as anything other than equity, fuck that.

I do everything in my power to get everything in my business as close to perfect as I can get it. I work a fucking million hours and am probably killing myself, maybe in futility, to get it right.

Ultimately, she did a shit job. She was responsible for the gun that killed the gal. Just like I'm responsible for everything that goes on on my farm, including safety and regulatory protocols.

The other side of me has empathy that sometimes despite your best efforts, sometimes shit goes off the rails. She has to be manager enough to throw the brakes on before someone gets hurt, and it is unfortunate that there was an accident, but like all workplace accidents in the modern era, there is responsibility (and liability) that will be assessed and that this moment, it's looking like she's going to catch the shit headed her way.

But ultimately, the responsibility is what she signed on for. Just like I did. Not sure her motivation, but in the words of Don Draper, That's what the Money is for.


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Yeah it seems like she got the gig ONLY because of who her father is and not because of any knowledge he passed down. Well, she's going to have plenty of time to learn about guns in jail. The fact that she's on record saying she was unsure of what she was doing on the other movie shoot seems like it would be a clear cut case of negligence.
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I don't know what qualifications you have to go through to become an armorer. I suspect you don't just wake up one morning and declare it. I suppose some training certification and licensing occurs alone with updating your training. If not holly molly what kinda crap is going on in that industry.
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Her dad is some famous gunsmith -armorer in Hollywood. I know gunsmithing takes licensure federal and state. So you have to be licensed in the state you work or want to work. That would require federal testing and state-specific testing I assume. Not to mention the required yearly updating training hours to renew that license.
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I think the main qualification is not handing a gun to an actor that has real bullets in it when it isn't supposed to. Might want to risk a gap for this period on the resume.
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