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Public Enemies

From Internet Movie Firearms Database - Guns in Movies, TV and Video Games
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The following firearms were used in the film Public Enemies:

(All screencaps are from the HD version of the trailer released March 2009)

Public Enemies (2009).


Colt 1903 Hammerless Pocket

John Dillinger (Johnny Depp) keeps a Colt Model 1903 Pocket Hammerless as a secondary sidearm, most notably as a "pocket pistol" when in hiding in Chicago after the Little Bohemia shootout.

Colt Model 1903 Pocket Hammerless Pistol Blued - .32 ACP

Colt 1903 Pocket Hammer

A Colt 1903 Pocket Hammer was shipped for use in the film, but was either not used or the scene was deleted as it is never seen.

Colt 1903 Pocket Hammer - .38 ACP.

Colt Detective Special

Several FBI agents are seen with Colt Detective Specials, usually seen in their hip holsters. Melvin Purvis (Christian Bale) is notabley seen with one holstered in several scenes.

Pre-War Colt Detective Special used in Public Enemies.

Colt M1911A1

John Dillinger (Johnny Depp) carries two Colt M1911A1 pistols kept in a cross-draw shoulder holster rig through out the film, although he rarely fires them. Melvin Purvis (Christian Bale) also uses one as his sidearm during the Little Bohemia shootout. "Baby Face" Nelson (Stephen Graham) also carries one as his sidearm, and notably uses it to shoot an FBI agent in the back in his apartment building. Charles Winstead (Stephen Lang) fires one during the Biograph Theater scene. While Dillinger was said to prefer .38 Super pistols in real life, there are currently no .38 Super weapons or blanks in the armorer industry, and all of the M1911A1s in the film were chambered in .45 ACP. Several other characters carry them and they are notably used by the prison escapees, including Walter Dietrich (James Russo) during the opening scene.

Pre-War Colt M1911A1 used in Public Enemies - .45 ACP.
File:Publen-1911a.png
Dillinger pulls out two M1911A1s as he robs a bank.

Colt Thompson Hybrids

John Dillinger (Johnny Depp) and some of his gangsters, notably "Baby Face" Nelson (Stephen Graham), and FBI agent Melvin Purvis (Christian Bale) use Thompson Submachine Guns guns throughout the film. One of Dillinger's Thompsons has the stock removed and is attached to a lanyard. John "Red" Hamilton (Jason Clarke) and several other of Dillinger's bank robbers use Thompsons, Hamilton wielding two when Dillinger enters the Chicago mob's betting parlor after breaking out of the Crown Point jail. "Pretty Boy" Floyd (Channing Tatum) is carrying one as he is being pursued by Purvis. The guns used in the film were a mix of Colt M1921's (Some the same used in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull) with 1928 internals, M1928A1's refinished to look like M1921's (by adding a polished blued finish) and there were some Thompson hybrids that were built out of various models. (thanks goes to Steve Karnes for the information on the guns)

Colt M1921AC Thompson with 50-round drum - .45 ACP.
Colt M1921AC Thompson with 20-round magazine - .45 ACP.
File:Publen-tommy1.png
Dillinger fires his Thompson during the Michigan City jailbreak.
Dillinger fires his Thompson while riding on a getaway car.
Dillinger fires his Thompson as Homer Van Meter fires a B.A.R.
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Dillinger leaves the bank carrying a Thompson on his hostage.
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Purvis fires his Thompson at night.
File:YoutubePEM1921Thompson.jpg
Purvis fires his Thompson during the start of the Little Bohemia shootout.
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Dillinger fires his Thompson during the Little Bohemia shootout.
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Nelson fires his Thompson during the Little Bohemia shootout.

Browning Automatic Rifle

One of Dillinger's bank robbers Homer Van Meter (Stephen Dorff) uses a Browning Automatic Rifle during several of the gang's robberies. One of Purvis' (Christian Bale) men is also seen firing a BAR during the Little Bohemia shootout. Van Meter's BAR has a notabley shorter barrel than the standard models released, although it was actually Bonnie & Clyde who favored the sawed down BARs, and not Dillinger's gang. The weapons were modified in the "Bonnie & Clyde" configuration and supplied by Gibbons Ltd. for the film.

Browning Automatic Rifle .30-06
File:Publen-bar1.png
Van Meter fires his BAR over the shoulder of a police officer held hostage. Note the sawed down barrel.
File:YoutubePEBAR-1.jpg
One of Purvis' men fires his BAR.

Mauser Gewehr 1898 Sporter

Melvin Purvis fires a sporterized Mauser Gewehr 1898 when searching for "Pretty Boy" Floyd (Channing Tatum) in Ohio. He ultimately uses it to fatally wound Floyd after taking a well aimed shot at him as he flees, making use of the double set triggers to lighten the trigger pull and make his shot more accurate.

File:Publen-bolt1.png
Purvis fires at the retreating Floyd.
File:YoutubePEMauser98sporter.jpg
A better side shot of the Mauser Sporter as Purvis operates the bolt. Note double set triggers and flat bolt handle.

Remington Model 8

Dillinger grabs a Remington Model 8 autoloading rifle during his breakout from Crown Point jail. These rifles are also seen in the hands of of FBI "G-Men" at the airport.

Remington Model 8 Semiautomatic Rifle - chambered in .25, .30, .32 and .35 Remington
File:Publen-bolt2.png
Dillinger with the Remington Model 8.

Winchester Model 1901

FBI agent Charles Winstead (Stephen Lang) fires a sawed-off Winchester Model 1901 chambered in 10-Gauge during the Little Bohemia shootout. This weapon was converted to blank-fire and supplied by Independent Studio Services, like many of the weapons used in the film.

File:PE-1901-screenused.JPG
The actual screen-used Winchester Model 1901 from Public Enemies. This weapon was actually handled and fired by actor Stephen Lang. (This picture was sent to IMFDB by an armorer from Independent Studio Services, the company which supplied some of the weapons for Public Enemies.)
File:YoutubePEWin1887.jpg
Winstead aims his sawed off Winchester 1901 shotgun.
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Winstead fires his Winchester 1901.
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Winstead rolls with his Winchester 1901.

Winchester Model 1907

One of Dillinger's men is seen firing a Winchester Model 1907 fitted with a 10-round magazine and a Thompson foregrip during the Little Bohemia shootout. This is historically accurate since this weapon was found among the weaponry in Dillinger's crew and is seen in the famous picture. Melvin Purvis (Christian Bale) also comments to his fellow FBI agents how they will be issued "Winchester .351 semi-automatic rifles", which are Model 1907s. Some FBI agents are seen carrying unmodified versions in the film.

The Winchester Model 1907 used in the film was modified and blank-converted by Independent Studio Services, one of the largest rental armories in Hollywood. The weapon was built to the same specifications as the rifle used by the real-life Dillinger's gang, with an aluminum foreend and a Thompson SMG grip.

File:PE-Rem1907-screenused.JPG
The actual screen-used Winchester Model 1907 from Public Enemies. (This picture was sent to IMFDB by an armorer from Independent Studio Services, the company which supplied some of the weapons for Public Enemies.)
For comparison purposes - the Winchester Model 1907 fitted with 10-round magazine and front mounting bracket to fit a Thompson foregrip, as used by a member of the real-life John Dillinger's gang.
File:YoutubePEWin1907.jpg
One of Dillinger's men fires a Winchester Model 1907 during the Little Bohemia shootout.

Winchester Model 1897

FBI agents and police in the film are seen carrying Winchester Model 1897 shotguns. When Billie Frachette (Marion Cotillard) is apprehended by the FBI, one of the agents is seen carrying "Trench" model with a heat shield and a bayonet lug.

Winchester Model 1897 "Riot" - 12 Gauge.
Winchester Model 1897 "Trench" - 12 Gauge.

Remington Model 11

Some FBI agents and one of Dillinger's gang members carry Remington Model 11 shotguns, most of which have sawed down stock and barrels. The weapon used in the film was indeed a genuine Remington Model 11 and not a Browning A5 as stated previously. The weapon used in the film was supplied by Independent Studio Services and converted to blank fire (a rather difficult process). Note-The Remington shotgun in this configuration was frequently called the Whippet gun by gangsters of the era, because of how you could "Whip-it" out from under your coat or shoulder to fire.

File:PE-RemM11-screenused.JPG
The actual screen-used Remington Model 11 (with sawed-off barrel and stock and sling added) from Public Enemies. (This picture was sent to IMFDB by an armorer from Independent Studio Services, the company which supplied some of the weapons for Public Enemies.)
The Remington Model 11s recovered from the real-life John Dillinger's gang, for comparison purposes to the movie guns. Note how one has been sawed down.

Dillinger's M1911A1 .38 Super "Machine Pistol"

John Dillinger (Johnny Depp) carried a rather unique firearm at one point, an M1911A1 chambered in .38 Super (which would pierce the police officer's body armor when the .45 ACP round wouldn't) which was specially modified to fire full auto, loaded with an extended magazine, was fitted with a Thompson's foregrip and a Thompson's Cutts compensator to turn it into a miniaturized "machine pistol". In the film Dillinger is sadly never seen using it, and it is only wielded in the hands of "Baby Face" Nelson (Stephen Graham), who uses it during the Little Bohemia shootout to fire out the windows and later to gun down an FBI agent before stealing his vehicle.

In the movie, the prop pistol used by Stephen Graham was built and supplied by Independent Studio Services, one of the largest rental armories in Hollywood. The gun started out as a Colt 38 Super, but it was re-chambered to fire 9mm blanks, since .38 Super blanks are practically non-existent and almost never used by film armorers. As with the real-life equivalent used by Dillinger's gang, the weapon was converted to fire automatic and given a Thompson foregrip and Cutts compensator. The 20-round magazine used in the pistol was built by welding together a pair of standard 9mm magazines. (This information was provided to IMFDB by an armorer from ISS, who also sent along the picture of the screen-used weapon seen below.)

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The actual screen-used Colt .38 Super (converted to 9mm) machine pistol from Public Enemies. (This picture was sent to IMFDB by an armorer from Independent Studio Services, the company which supplied some of the weapons for Public Enemies.)
The real-life Dillinger's .38 Super M1911A1 Machine Pistol, for comparison purposes.
"Baby Face" Nelson fires off Dillinger's machine pistol during the Little Bohemia shootout before switching to a Thompson.

Colt Model 1922 Machine Gun

Army soldiers guarding the streets after Dillinger's prison break are seen maning a Colt Model 1922 Machine Gun.

Browning M1917 - .30-06. Similar to Colt Model 1922.

Remington M1903A3

Remington M1903A3 rifles are carried by the soldiers guarding the streets after Dillinger's prison break. They are also used by the prison guards at the Michigan City prison. They are noted by their rear apperature "Bunny-Ear" sights.

Remington M1903A3 - .30-06.

Winchester Model 1892

Winchester Model 1892 rifles are used by prison guards at the Michigan City prison. One is also used by a vigilante to graze Dillinger in the shoulder during the Sioux Falls bank robbery botched by "Baby Face" Nelson.

Winchester Model 1892 - .38-40 WCF.

Link of Interest

Link to the Auto-Ordnance site which has a photo of Dillinger Gang weapons confiscated by the FBI:

http://www.auto-ordnance.com/AO-3F3.html


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