MovieChat Forums > The Snows of Kilimanjaro (1952) Discussion > Type of gun used by Peck to kill chargin...

Type of gun used by Peck to kill charging rhino

posted 10 years ago by mlraymond
2 replies | jump to latest

There exists an Internet Firearms Movie Database that lists many types of guns from many movies. I have not been able to find any information on the sort of weapon used by Gregory Peck in a hunting scene from Snows of Kilimanjaro.

It appears to be a double barrelled shotgun, yet it seems like Peck manages to fire four shots before having to stop and reload.

Was this an oversight on the part of the filmmakers, or does such a weapon exist? Any information will be appreciated.

Thanks.

And when he crossed the bridge, the phantoms came to meet him

[–] tisfortomi 9 years ago

Double rifle -- very common in African big game hunting once upon a time. (A shotgun would be less than ideal against a rhino, even with slugs, due to its inaccuracy relative to a rifle.) Double-barrels can fire the first two shots faster than a bolt-action rifle, but then, of course, need to be reloaded.

A common technique is to hold two more cartridges between the fingers of the non-trigger hand, just below the first knuckle. To reload, the shooter just has to break open the gun, dump the spent shells (unless the gun has ejectors, in which case the empties will go flying as soon as the gun is broken open), jam the new cartridges in, and close the gun. It is now ready to fire two more shots. It sounds like a lot, but an experienced shooter can do it very fast.

Check the scene again. If he's holding two cartridges in his support hand, then kudos for technical accuracy. If not, then it's just more Hollywwod hoo-hah.

[–] yourfns 9 years ago

Don't know what gun it is but yes he is holding 2 cartridges in his fingers.