Some drum corps and marching band have members who spin fake rifles during performances. What are the fake rifles called and who makes 'em?
They are called “rifles”. Here are some examples of them. These are sold by McCormick’s, a well-known dealer in the industry
Drum corps veteran here.
Yes, they’re rifles. They’re also called “guns”, but that’s more of a slang term. “Rifle” is the preferred, correct term. (Please… no “this is my rifle, this is my gun” jokes.)
Proper usage in a sentence: “I march rifle.” “I’m a rifle.” “We’re practicing the rifle routine today.” “Dang! Those guns are clean and tight!” (Translation: “The rifles are performing their drill in a uniform manner, and their timing is impeccable.”)
Drum corps originated as military units. The color guard was just that, they “guarded” the “colors” (national flag, branch of service flag, unit flag, etc.). The guards carried rifles. What can you do with a rifle that looks impressive? Spin it.
I heard tell that at one time the U.S. Marine Corps Drum & Bugle Corps (http://www.drumcorps.mbw.usmc.mil/) carried, used, and spun real working M-1’s (unloaded, of course). Try flipping one of those suckers around. (No cite, personal anecdote).
Rifles are actually one of the most dangerous (yes, dangerous) pieces of guard equipment. They weigh several pounds each, some as much as 7 pounds or so, and are typically made of wood (or something else solid). Drill frequently includes spins, tosses, and exchanges (a toss from one person to another). Imagine taking 3 feet of 2x4 and flipping it around, tossing it 10 feet in the air (while it’s still spinning), or two people standing 10 yards apart and tossing two of those back and forth (at the same time). Now imagine being just a leeeetle bit off in your timing. I’ve personally seen a nose broken, a front tooth knocked out, and several gashes on head and hand (several requiring stitches).
Bonus: do you know what those sword-like thingies are called? “Sabre.” Really. And no, they’re not sharp.
Good lord, what sacrilege. My drill team used real rifles: M-1903s, disabled (of course, that was an ROTC drill team, not a marching band). Heavy suckers.
Nametag, I respect you. I do not envy you, but I do respect you. (I was a bari and then drum major in several DCI corps.)
Ever witness any injuries?
Heh, I could have sworn that they had a specialized name, but no matter. Anybody have or know of ones made with a metal butt plate?
I’m asking because I remember seeing some type of gun with a chromed metal butt plate, and I’m thinking that it must have been of the kind of rifle that drumcorps use. I can’t imagine a military firearm with a chromed butt plate. Anyway, we make butt plates for real weapons at work (60% + of our contracts are military) and we’re having problems with cleaning up the castings. (Well, not really, as I’m the only one who can do them properly.)
The chromed butt plate I remember seeing had a small, half moon raised shape at the bottom, that was about 1/32 of an inch high. Whomever made them obviously machined them to that point, and it’s well-nigh impossible to do by the means we have available at work (thus I have to do it by hand, and I’m really getting tired of doing them), so I’d like to find out how they did it. Googling “butt plates” isn’t much of a help (doesn’t bring up any porn, surprisingly).
Ditto, Sacramento Freelancers 87-89
To disagree slightly with JJM In my experience many rifle teams are only part time rifles, only using them for about a third of the show and using normal colorguard hardware the rest of the show.
Music Bowl, San Jose, Ca 1984 IIRC, a member of Clovis HS’s (Clovis, CA) rifle line knocked herself unconscious mid show after losing her rifle in the sun during a toss and missing the catch. Using these things is no joke, and is usually reserved for an elite handful of well trained colorguard members.
For a real sweet bit of effect, many rifle routines will even go so far as to arrange for a high toss to be caught when the rest of the corps has a quarter rest or some other tiny gap in the music allowing you to hear an often clearly audible “crack” of 8-10 rifles being caught at exactly the same instant (Example: Santa Clara Vanguard 87 opener).