by David Malki !

Not every movie needs a gun. In that case, not every movie needs a car, or a helicopter, or the Statue of Liberty. Everything has its place in a well-told story, whether it's a '69 Camaro or a .357 Magnum. But while as filmmakers we might not know or care whether that Camaro has an automatic or manual transmission, there might be someone out there that does know, or worse yet, does care - and catches you when you show it wrong.

Similarly, there are people who enjoy catching the mistakes movies make with guns. (In my reading, I've come to the conclusion that the people who complain most about firearm inaccuracies on film and television are the people who most like having something over on us glamorous Hollywood types. Sometimes they forget that you and I are just working stiffs trying to make the most out of our chosen professions. And we could lecture them on the difference between negative and reversal, and glare at them when they hold up their camcorders and say "I'm filming", but, you know, I digress.)

The point is, accuracy counts for a lot, especially if you're telling a story that will hopefully be reaching a wide audience. While the necessities of your story take first priority, it's not a bad idea to try and be as specific as possible with the details because when someone notices, and you've done it right, you've gained a fan. There's one more person out there that knows that you care enough to take the time and learn and that, in their eyes, will set you apart from "all the rest of those guys."

Your story should decide when you can deviate from reality for dramatic purposes - and that's what fictional storytelling is about, absolutely - and when it's more important to stick to reality, because it's just sloppy to get it wrong. With that in mind, allow me to present some things I learned recently.

I was contacted by Michael Bane, who works with the National Sport Shooting Federation, as well as being a television producer putting together a season's worth of episodes on handgunning for The Outdoor Network. Michael invited me to their media education seminar, which they hold all around the country and which happened to be in L.A. at the moment.

The seminar was an opportunity for media types to come and learn about real guns from real pros - present were several world champion shooters, as well as company representatives from Glock and Smith & Wesson and law enforcement professionals. Anyone who's ever read gun-fan message boards or mentioned to a gun nut that they're in film I'm sure has heard the rants about how inaccurate movies are and so on. (See sidebar for some excerpts.) The idea was to educate us - by us I mean stuntpersons, screenwriters, and anyone with any interest in the subject - so that we knew how real guns were treated, and how to translate that into accurate gun handling on screen.

One of the stuntwomen I spoke with mentioned that she'd been handed an Uzi on several occasions with no instruction on how to use it, how to hold it, or any information at all. Others mentioned how on sets, the propmaster would only hand the actor the gun at the last second before cameras rolled - a safety consideration, but the result is an actor who is wholly unfamiliar with the gun and handles it awkwardly. (The solution to this is to have the actor handle and become comfortable with a non-firing replica while cameras are off.)

I talked with some of the gun professionals about their pet peeves from seeing guns in the movies, and got some tips and firsthand knowledge about gun handling. Below, I've spelled out informally some of what I learned, and I hope that it's of interest to you as well.

without further ado ... What I Learned

This is the stuff they wish we knew.

> When shooting an Uzi, the stock should be extended. It's only folded for transport. When shooting an Uzi or any other submachine gun or automatic rifle, the stock should be pressed into a hollow between shoulder and chest created by rolling the shoulders forward. The typical magazine holds about twenty to thirty rounds, enough for only a few seconds of continuous automatic fire. When advancing with a submachine gun or rifle, one should step slowly on the balls of the feet, moving the back foot to meet the front, not crossing. The step should be very even, as if balancing a cup of coffee on the gun. The elbows should be tucked down to allow passage through doorways.

> Bullets travel in one particular direction very quickly. When they hit a solid object they typically do not ricochet backwards like a beam of light hitting a mirror - their flight path is merely deflected to a path of least resistance. So a bullet hitting a wall at an angle may very well continue to travel parallel to the wall. For this reason it is a bad idea to hug a wall in a firefight. (It also restricts one's visibility around corners. Stepping out a few feet gives one a much better view, plus one is out of range of possible debris chipped off from a bullet hitting the wall.)

> When an armed assault team, such as a SWAT team, moves as a group all weapons are pointed at the ground at an angle. At no time, ever, is the muzzle of a weapon swept across other members of the team.

> Similarly, when handling a weapon - even an unloaded one - the muzzle is always pointed 'downrange' or in the direction the shooting will occur. This seems like a no-brainer but is often ignored. This may include handling the weapon by its side in order to avoid pointing it at or sweeping it across people.

> When handing a firearm to another person it is considered good procedure to first eject the magazine and also lock the action in the open position, so that the person receiving the weapon can easily tell that it is unloaded.

> A shooter, when handling a firearm, will normally rest his or her finger outside the trigger guard or along the side of the weapon, only allowing their finger to enter the trigger guard after they have sighted their target, and then retreating his or her finger immediately after firing.

> When firing at a target, the sights are lined up and the shooter should focus on the front sight of the gun - allowing the target to go out of focus. The trigger should be gradually squeezed with a constant pressure, not 'pulled' or jerked. Anticipating the shot too much, or jerking the trigger, will result in the gun moving and the shooter's aim being inaccurate. Instead, squeeze gradually and allow the gun to surprise you when it goes off. This tip improved my aim drastically.

> In daylight, muzzle flame is invisible.

> Police officers and those that carry semiautomatic handguns will typically load the gun, chamber the first round and then engage the safety. This way they can unholster the gun and be ready to fire at a moment's notice. Waiting to rack the slide until one is entering a dangerous situation may be too late.

> Guns will not go off if dropped. This was not true of Old West revolvers, in which the hammer rested on the chamber and a blow to the hammer would set off the gun. (For this reason, cowboys would leave one chamber empty and rest the hammer on the empty chamber.) Modern firearms, and even replicas of Old West revolvers, are engineered so that they cannot go off if dropped. It would take massive mechanical failure to produce such a misfire.

> If a pistol fails to fire, the shooter should have a procedure in mind and ready to perform automatically to avoid being caught in a dangerous situation. One such procedure is this: when the trigger is pulled and the gun does not fire, slap the magazine to ensure it's seated properly. Roll the hand across the top of the gun and rack the slide. Attempt to fire again. (This is performed in one motion, twisting the body if necessary to keep the gun pointed downrange.) If the gun still does not fire, drop the clip out, rack the slide several times to clear any jams and load a new clip. Rack the slide and continue firing. The concern in a firefight is getting the gun to work, not necessarily solving the problem right away. This should all be done ideally without ever taking one's eyes from the target.

> Firearms can be taken aboard commercial aircraft provided that they are unloaded and in checked baggage. An affadavit must be signed acknowledging their presence and that they are unloaded. Peace officers on official business may retain their firearms on flight, although airline officials or the pilot may think they can insist otherwise.

> When aiming a rifle, it sometimes helps to put the index finger of the support hand along the bottom of the barrel, pointing down the barrel. It may make it easier to aim when one can simply "point and shoot".

> Probably the biggest pet peeve I heard was not paying attention to how many shots can fit in one gun without reloading. Another was airplane decompression - apparently, one 9mm hole in a plane won't make the whole thing implode. Flying bullets are not hot enough to ignite a car's gas tank. And 'just' a shoulder wound can be horrifically dangerous. There are arteries going through the shoulder, as well as bones that a bullet can easily ricochet off of and cause tremendous internal injury.

> Anyone anywhere near the barrel of a gun when it goes off is susceptible to severe powder burns.

It was a fantastic, whirlwind day of shooting. I had the fun time of shooting a variety of handguns, including a .357 Magnum, a .44 Magnum (the Dirty Harry gun) and the most powerful handgun in the world, a .500 Magnum. (The gentleman who had this gun had just returned from a hunting safari in Africa, and the .500 was his primary hunting gun.) I also shot skeet with Kim Rhode, two-time Olympian and personal friend of Steven Spielberg.

"Everyone shoots," she said. "People you don't think would shoot, they all shoot. Congressmen, actors, everyone." She'd just gotten back from shooting with some well-known young actors and Mr. Spielberg. And not shooting film, either.