# Alec Baldwin \[accidentally\] Kills Crew Member with Prop Gun {2021-10-21} **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** breaking-news\ **Created:** [October 22, 2021, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alec-baldwin-accidentally-kills-crew-member-with-prop-gun-2021-10-21/952960 "2021-10-22T02:38:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 82
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2021, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alec-baldwin-accidentally-kills-crew-member-with-prop-gun-2021-10-21/952960/1629 "2021-12-03T03:00:36Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > I don’t think he could accidentally drop the hammer without his finger on the trigger, though. The Colt has two positions for thr hammer - fully cocked or half-cocked, which is used to release the cylinder for loading. If he pulled the hammer back and let go, it would either lock in the firing position or in the half-cocked position. That’s how a single action should work. The armorer should have tested dropping the hammer (with a blank) before bringing it onto the set. I would certainly expect all the weapons are thoroughly tested before they are ever brought to the set. I agree that Baldwin didn’t do anything wrong. He said (in tonight’s interview) the DP gave him directions while they framed the shot. Getting the right camera angle. It was a routine rehearsal. ---
**Author:** ![Retzbu\_Tox](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/retzbu_tox/32/11829_2.png) [@Retzbu\_Tox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Retzbu_Tox)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2021, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alec-baldwin-accidentally-kills-crew-member-with-prop-gun-2021-10-21/952960/1630 "2021-12-03T03:03:29Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > I’ve been told a flash flame could ignite the other rounds in the cylinder. That could ruin your day very quickly. Years ago, my father used to host a monthly black powder rendezvous at which muzzleloading firearm enthusiasts would target-shoot. I have seen a cap and ball revolver chain-fire when an insufficient amount of grease was used to seal off all the chambers in a cylinder. All six bullets fired off near-simultaneously, making a big craka-craka-boom noise, producing a big cloud of smoke, bursting apart the cylinder and trigger assembly of the pistol, and leaving the shooter with a slightly singed hand and a very surprised expression. No one was really injured, luckily. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2021, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alec-baldwin-accidentally-kills-crew-member-with-prop-gun-2021-10-21/952960/1631 "2021-12-03T03:18:32Z")
😱 I’d need to change my underwear afterwards. ---
**Author:** ![Folly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folly/32/3219_2.png) [@Folly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folly)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2021, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alec-baldwin-accidentally-kills-crew-member-with-prop-gun-2021-10-21/952960/1632 "2021-12-03T04:07:08Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > I don’t think he could accidentally drop the hammer without his finger on the trigger, though. The Colt has two positions for thr hammer - fully cocked or half-cocked, which is used to release the cylinder for loading. If he pulled the hammer back and let go, it would either lock in the firing position or in the half-cocked position. Maybe his finger slipped before it quite reached the half-cocked position. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2021, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alec-baldwin-accidentally-kills-crew-member-with-prop-gun-2021-10-21/952960/1633 "2021-12-03T04:10:40Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > I’m watching the Baldwin interview. He appears very sincere and compassionate. He’s an actor. While he could well be sincere and compassionate he could also easily fake it. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2021, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alec-baldwin-accidentally-kills-crew-member-with-prop-gun-2021-10-21/952960/1634 "2021-12-03T05:09:16Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > ‘Assembled from parts’ is just a lousy way to describe reloading, which is a very common practice. You basically take a used cartridge, tap the used primer out, put in a fresh one, fill the cartridge with as much powder as needed, put a new bullet on top and press it all together in a press. I also took it to mean reloading but thought it strange that the armorer didn’t have a supply ready for the rehearsal. Doesn’t sound like the armorer was very organized. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2021, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alec-baldwin-accidentally-kills-crew-member-with-prop-gun-2021-10-21/952960/1635 "2021-12-03T05:13:55Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > think we are focusing way too much on Baldwin - probably because he’s a celebrity and also because people have strong feelings about him. Yes, but if he doesn’t want people to talk about his tweets and interviews there’s a way around that. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2021, 9:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alec-baldwin-accidentally-kills-crew-member-with-prop-gun-2021-10-21/952960/1636 "2021-12-03T09:55:16Z")
If Baldwin talks and tweets people will talk about him and make judgements. If Baldwin doesn’t talk or tweet people will talk about him and make judgements. It’s part of being a celebrity. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2021, 10:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alec-baldwin-accidentally-kills-crew-member-with-prop-gun-2021-10-21/952960/1637 "2021-12-03T10:31:21Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > > [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > > > ‘Assembled from parts’ is just a lousy way to describe reloading, which is a very common practice. You basically take a used cartridge, tap the used primer out, put in a fresh one, fill the cartridge with as much powder as needed, put a new bullet on top and press it all together in a press. > > I also took it to mean reloading but thought it strange that the armorer didn’t have a supply ready for the rehearsal. Doesn’t sound like the armorer was very organized. I don’t see where it says she was making blanks or dummies on set. I see it says she was reloading the gun on set, and I see talk of bullets being “assembled from parts” in general, but not on set. ---
**Author:** ![Folly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folly/32/3219_2.png) [@Folly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folly)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2021, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alec-baldwin-accidentally-kills-crew-member-with-prop-gun-2021-10-21/952960/1638 "2021-12-03T16:34:15Z")
> [@Folly](#): > > Maybe his finger slipped before it quite reached the half-cocked position Ok. Maybe not slipping, but this appears to be what happened according to transcripts of Baldwin’s interview. “[I pulled] the hammer as far back as I could without cocking the actual gun,” “I’m just showing. I go, ‘How ‘bout that? Does that work? You see that? Do you see that?’ and then she goes, ’ Yeah, that’s good.’ I let go of the hammer, bang! The gun goes off.” ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2021, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alec-baldwin-accidentally-kills-crew-member-with-prop-gun-2021-10-21/952960/1639 "2021-12-03T18:39:30Z")
> [@Richard\_Pearse](#): > > I don’t see where it says she was making blanks or dummies on set. I see it says she was reloading the gun on set, and I see talk of bullets being “assembled from parts” in general, but not on set. If you assume the news media doesn’t understand what they’re reporting on then it’s about reloading the blanks. the assumption is based on the idea that she wouldn’t have a problem loading a round into the gun but might have problems with the cartridge reloading process which she previously professed concern over in the last movie she worked on. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2021, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alec-baldwin-accidentally-kills-crew-member-with-prop-gun-2021-10-21/952960/1640 "2021-12-03T18:41:14Z")
> [@Folly](#): > > “[I pulled] the hammer as far back as I could without cocking the actual gun,” > “I’m just showing. I go, ‘How ‘bout that? Does that work? You see that? Do you see that?’ and then she goes, ’ Yeah, that’s good.’ I let go of the hammer, bang! The gun goes off.” If they were videoing the shot for later reference then it will show where Baldwin’s finger was. If it was on the trigger then it’s likely it was depressed enough to allow the trigger to snap forward and fire the gun. ---
**Author:** ![Folly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folly/32/3219_2.png) [@Folly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folly)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2021, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alec-baldwin-accidentally-kills-crew-member-with-prop-gun-2021-10-21/952960/1641 "2021-12-03T18:47:59Z")
They weren’t filming yet. No trigger needed for this old style of gun. There is nothing preventing the hammer from hitting the primer even without a trigger pull. [This guy](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i9NTVTWl5x8&ab_channel=CiskoMasterGunfighter) (youtube) has to hold the trigger down while he slaps the hammer, but that’s just so the cylinder will advance ETA: That’s not to say this takes away all liability from Baldwin. By his own words, he admits to letting the hammer drop on a freakin’ gun while it was pointed towards someone. Sure, a more modern firearm requires a trigger pull and he can claim ignorance regarding this old style single action revolver, but still… ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2021, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alec-baldwin-accidentally-kills-crew-member-with-prop-gun-2021-10-21/952960/1642 "2021-12-03T20:09:04Z")
You were replying to a quote about “assembly from parts”, this phrase has nothing to do with what happened on set that day, it was a quote from a supplier of firearms and ammunition to the film. > [@nelliebly](#): > > > The search took place after a provider of firearms and ammunition to the ill fated movie production for “Rust” told investigators that he “may know” where live rounds came from, describing ammunition he received from a friend in the past that had been “reloaded” by assembly from parts. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2021, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alec-baldwin-accidentally-kills-crew-member-with-prop-gun-2021-10-21/952960/1643 "2021-12-03T20:48:07Z")
I think they are investigating if the ammo got mixed at the supplier. Seems very unlikely but he did say there was a left over box from a different film. I’d expect that Kenney stores prop ammo completely away from live rounds. I wouldn’t allow them in the same warehouse. Who knows what Seth Kenny did. He seems focused on safety. > **[‘Rust’ Ammo Supplier Claims He Didn’t Provide Live Rounds To Gun That Took DP...](https://deadline.com/2021/12/rust-ammo-supplier-claims-he-didnt-provide-live-rounds-to-gun-that-took-dp-halyna-hutchins-life-1234883613/)** > > Seth Kenney of PDQ Arm & Prop, the ammunition supplier to Rust, told ABC’s Good Morning America today that he didn’t supply the live rounds to the film production, one of which was … ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2021, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alec-baldwin-accidentally-kills-crew-member-with-prop-gun-2021-10-21/952960/1644 "2021-12-03T21:18:24Z")
For those of you who don’t understand how that gun works: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/r8W-vy78pyc/maxresdefault.jpg "How Alec Baldwin's single action army revolver fired") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8W-vy78pyc) ---
**Author:** ![Folly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folly/32/3219_2.png) [@Folly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folly)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2021, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alec-baldwin-accidentally-kills-crew-member-with-prop-gun-2021-10-21/952960/1645 "2021-12-03T21:36:09Z")
I don’t think that guy likes Alec Baldwin very much. Baldwin says he pulled it back as far as he could without cocking the gun. As in, he didn’t get to the half-cock position. The guy in the video didn’t address what would happen if you pull back the hammer a little bit without reaching the half-cock position and then let go which is what Alec Baldwin is describing. (Spoiler: that kind of gun can fire) ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2021, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alec-baldwin-accidentally-kills-crew-member-with-prop-gun-2021-10-21/952960/1646 "2021-12-03T21:44:25Z")
But would that produce enough energy to ignite the bullet? ---
**Author:** ![Folly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folly/32/3219_2.png) [@Folly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folly)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2021, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alec-baldwin-accidentally-kills-crew-member-with-prop-gun-2021-10-21/952960/1647 "2021-12-03T21:50:10Z")
Well, I know people routinely kept the chamber underneath the firing pin empty so the gun wouldn’t go off unexpectedly while being dropped or even just handled. So, maybe not 100% of the time, but a lot of unlikely things had to happen for this tragedy to occur. I’m not convinced it changes Baldwin’s culpability much if his finger was outside the trigger guard the whole time or whether it was holding the trigger down the whole time so he could manipulate the hammer while checking camera angles. ---
**Author:** ![Fair\_Rarity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fair_rarity/32/153_2.png) [@Fair\_Rarity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fair_Rarity)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2021, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alec-baldwin-accidentally-kills-crew-member-with-prop-gun-2021-10-21/952960/1648 "2021-12-04T01:14:27Z")
Jim Beaver, who’s been in everything, had this to say: > > I know nothing about the Rust shooting and what blame is to be placed, as I was not there and do not have access to evidence. But as to the mocking of Alec Baldwin’s claim that the gun went off without his pulling the trigger, I offer this: > > I shot myself in the leg with a blank on a show due to a worn sear in the hammer mechanism. I cocked it as I drew it from my holster and it went off in the holster before my finger got anywhere near the trigger. It’s not at all uncommon with old single-action revolvers. > > I won’t judge @AlecBaldwln\_\_\_\_ for this statement. I still carry the scar from it happening to me. > > I also won’t further argue the shooting with people who weren’t there or who don’t have access to the evidence. Nor should anyone, in my humble opinion. Beaver’s been in everything and I believe he also served in the Marines. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alec-baldwin-accidentally-kills-crew-member-with-prop-gun-2021-10-21/952960.md?page=81) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alec-baldwin-accidentally-kills-crew-member-with-prop-gun-2021-10-21/952960.md?page=83)