Talk:The Bounty

Based on the long tang that extends upwards along the grip from the pommel and the fact that there is a tailpipe for the ramrod, the pistols look more like British heavy dragoon pistols to me:

British Heavy Dragoon Pistol - .62 caliber

--commando552 (talk) 19:54, 7 February 2014 (EST)

This gun I also found at Google some time ago, and the question arose, how it differs from Tower Sea. Logically is Tower Sea in The Bounty, but this gun could be used in the film Plunkett & Macleane.--Pandolfini (talk) 04:49, 8 February 2014 (EST)

You should never base a weapon ID on what you think they should be using, but rather on what they are using in the film. Particularly in the case of period things like this they will not necessarily adhere that closely to what would be correct, due to the fat that not only would it be noticeable to only a very small percentage of the audience, but it would also be the case of them being dependent on what weapons they could acquire replicas of in sufficient quantities at a reasonable price (there is no way they would ever use genuine period weapons in a film or series). Case in point, it should be that the muskets used would be Sea Service pattern but they are not (from the current caps it is most apparent from the rounded shape of the butt plate, the presence of a nose cap on the front of the stock and it seeming to use the more ornate "trumpet" type of pipe at the front of the ramrod as opposed to the Sea Service which had simpler, tubular pipes all the way along). The caps do not show them well enough for me to 100%, but I think they are most likely India pattern as they look relatively short to me, and in the shot of the guy hunting dolphin the front sling swivel looks pretty close to the nose cap. Also, I just noticed that the pistols in the film seem to have a rounded side swan-neck cock, whereas I believe the Sea Service always used the simpler and stronger flat sided ring-necked one, so another reason that it appears these are actually Heavy Dragoon pattern pistols.

As to how this gun differs from the Sea Service, they are both pretty similar in form and function, however there are a number of differences, mostly due to the fact that the Sea Service weapons were made to be simple and robust, and tended to have not as fine a finish. This was due to the fact that Land pattern pistols would only be used by officers and cavalry troopers, whereas Sea Service pattern ones were more mass produced and used by all ranks. The main differences of the Heavy Dragoon pattern from the Sea Service that I know of are, as listed above, mainly the long tang on the butt pommel, having a tail pipe where the ramrod enters the stock, and tending to use the less robust (but judged as more attractive) rounded swan-neck cock. It should be noted that this pistol was originally just called the Dragoon pistol, but when a Light Dragoon pattern was introduced in the 1760s it was only used by heavies from that point on, so it is best to refer to it as this to avoid confusion. --commando552 (talk) 05:32, 8 February 2014 (EST) Yes, now I see it. It's really a hodgepodge. We will not to specify.--Pandolfini (talk) 10:27, 8 February 2014 (EST)

I have to admit that it never occurred to me to specify as Tower Sea, but it inspired me the article here - http://www.imfdb.org/wiki/Pirates_of_the_Caribbean:_On_Stranger_Tides#Tower_Sea_Service_Pistol There's gun on screen in hand of rider obviously is not recognize and is a rough estimate. And this gun on detailed screen is similar to Dragoon pistol. And despite the author of the article automatically described the gun as Tower Sea.:) --Pandolfini (talk) 11:02, 8 February 2014 (EST)