This Is the Massive NYC Gun Depot Where Weapons Are Stored for TV Shows & Movies
- Posted on December 21, 2011 at 11:55am by
Buck Sexton
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So, you want to see where the guns, knives, and other weapons for movies and television shows come from?
Welcome to the Specialists Ltd. in New York City.
Actor Rick Washburn owns the fascinating place, which is hidden away from the street because, as Washburn says, “We don’t want people to know where we are.”
The Specialists holds every kind of weapon you can imagine, and all the guns have been modified, as they were originally were fully functional. Prop masters show up to pick out whatever they need for a production. And if they can’t find something, the specialists will make it for them. They even have training sessions for actors who want to wield weapons like a pro.
Specialists has a showroom and shop studio in SoHo, a warehouse in Brooklyn, and locations in Pennsylvania and New Orleans.
Currently largest prop supplier outside of Hollywood, the Specialists hope to one day be the biggest supplier in the U.S.
Now for the fun part — check out some of the amazing slides of the company’s weapons, courtesy of Robert Johnson at Business Insider:
Washburn poses in front of his wares.
Here is part of the rifles section, with a number of M-16 and AK-47 variants mounted.
You can’t have an action movie without some sidearms, and the Specialists have plenty. Check out this wall of pistols and other concealable firearms. Can you find the micro uzi?
When you think New York television shows, crime procedurals like “Law and Order” probably come to mind. Well, the specialists have plenty of “wheel guns,” as the veteran members of the NYPD refer to their snub-nose revolvers.
Shotguns, rifles, anti-tank missiles, machin guns, RPGs — the specialists could probably outfit a battalion with enough left over for a remake of “Apocalypse Now.”
When they want to let their creative juices flow, Washburn and his team will come up with completely new designs to light up the silver screen. Below is a special “Gatling” gun, which is really a hybrid of two AK-47′s welded together.
The Kriss Vector uses a new technology that greatly reduces recoil even though it fires a powerful .45 caliber round.
You can’t make a Seal Team 6 movie without access to the latest and greatest in military sniper rifles. Extra points if you know just by looking which one of the rifles below is the XM-2010, the U.S. military’s newest and most advanced sniper rifle.
The space-age looking FN 2000 is a compact, bullpup design that really packs a punch. It can fire 850 rounds a minute on fully automatic, but of course this model can now only fire blanks.
If you are going to equip a third-world dictator or drug baron, you can’t do much better than this faux-pearl, nickel plated AK-47. Saddam Hussein would be proud.
When rifle rounds just aren’t enough, the Specialists can hook you up with an AT-4 anti-tank missile. This falls into that old adage — ‘you can never have too much firepower.’
But what if you need something more Richard the Lionheart than Rambo? Don’t worry, you’re covered. The specialists are also history buffs of sort, and they have a slew of crossbows, lances, and other medieval implements of death and mayhem for your period film.
And of course, below are the battle axes, so you can unleash your inner Viking on set.
Believe it or not, you can see even more walls of the weapons at Business Insider by clicking here.
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Comments (70)
ronin_6
Posted on December 21, 2011 at 3:55pmIts not an M2/ma deuce. Its an M240C in 7.62X51 NATO,with butterfly hand grips. Used from a pintal mount on a vehicle or as a door gun in a helicopter.
Report Post »SgtB
Posted on December 21, 2011 at 5:20pmARGH! I stopped reading the descriptions after this dunce of a writer goofed up that one. Then I rush down to bash him for it and you beat me. It’s pretty obvious that that is not an M2 but an M240G.
It makes me sick that they took all of those perfectly good guns and turned them into props for TV. That’s like when I see them wreck up an old muscle car in the movies. Instead of looking at a the cool pictures I cringe at the though to losing another classic.
Report Post »omglol
Posted on December 21, 2011 at 6:23pmIts hard to tell without checking out the buffer on it. One is obviously a M240D “helo variant”, the other I’m pretty sure is a 240B.
Quick military lesson. MK19 “MARK 19”, made for Navy. M2 “MOD 2” made for Army. MK = Made for Navy. MOD= Made for Army.
Report Post »Larry E
Posted on December 21, 2011 at 7:14pmYup!!!
Report Post »Dadushka
Posted on December 21, 2011 at 3:33pmNice collection of weapons, but the alleged “M2” has a belt of .30 caliber ammo on it. “Ma Deuce” is a .50 caliber. It really irks me when people that are supposed to be professionals in their field get things wrong. Those hollywood gun pros (not gunsmiths) on “Sons of Guns” are a perfect example.
Report Post »Gatekeeper
Posted on December 21, 2011 at 3:41pmits bad reporting is what it is
Report Post »Gatekeeper
Posted on December 21, 2011 at 3:44pmand they are 240s the bottom one is for a mount of a helo, ship, small boat, etc
Report Post »hvy_gunner_0331
Posted on December 21, 2011 at 3:51pmNot only does it have a belt of .30 caliber, but it has the barrel of an M-60 or M-240, with the gas tube underneath. The “Ma Deuce” or, M2 HB .50 caliber Heavy Machine Gun uses a short recoil operating system, not a gas system like the M-60 series. That “Ma Deuce” is another Hollywood slap together…
Report Post »Gatekeeper
Posted on December 21, 2011 at 4:07pmIT IS A 240. NO M60 BARREL, MEANING 240 BARREL. 240s SHOOTS 7.62 NATO, OR .30.
S***
Report Post »planeboy
Posted on December 21, 2011 at 5:17pmLooks like the wife’s closet…
Report Post »pennsy.357
Posted on December 21, 2011 at 2:21pmCOPS – Term came from when the police use to wear copper badges, didn’t know that! Very neat cache of weapons :)
Report Post »Valerie Summer
Posted on December 21, 2011 at 2:41pmI read years ago that it came from the badges reading Chicago Order of Police. I do, however, remember the phrase “you dirty coppers” from an old movie (Jimmy Cagney, perhaps?) spoken with the mobster accent.
Report Post »palerider54
Posted on December 21, 2011 at 2:58pmNot true, It meant Constable
Report Post »On
Patrol.
C.O.P.
MangoT21
Posted on December 21, 2011 at 2:13pmA shame all those beautiful weapons have been deactivated :(
Report Post »lukerw
Posted on December 21, 2011 at 3:13pmYes… tragic!
Report Post »shagstar
Posted on December 21, 2011 at 1:32pmi worked at movie studio in peoria,az that had a prop shop like this. we used to run blank ammo thru them before we shipped them to the movie set! cool stuff
Report Post »blackstone22
Posted on December 21, 2011 at 1:05pmGreat story, had no idea this was located in NYC
Report Post »80mesh
Posted on December 21, 2011 at 12:56pmthis has never happened before … honest sweety … premature eject_ulation
Report Post »bluesguitar777
Posted on December 21, 2011 at 12:49pmWow, who’s their interior decorator!? This is beautiful. I want one just like it! :)
Report Post »Eliasim
Posted on December 21, 2011 at 12:58pmMeanwhile, while you’re reading stories like this the police across the nation are buying up war equipment to battle Americans when the bottom falls out. Of course the police won’t be motivated for long because the bottom will fall out for their own families also.
Report Post »Eliasim
Posted on December 21, 2011 at 12:58pmAnd God is going to take away their whole reason for fighting against Americans to begin with.
Report Post »Eliasim
Posted on December 21, 2011 at 1:02pmAnd then the police will be divided against themselves.
Report Post »Eliasim
Posted on December 21, 2011 at 1:03pmGod’s going to split the mountains and divide this country 1000 different ways.
Report Post »Eliasim
Posted on December 21, 2011 at 1:05pmAnd just think for a moment. It’s all because you killed a man, and a young man to my grief.
Report Post »lukerw
Posted on December 21, 2011 at 3:11pm@BLUE…
Report Post »Me too :)
bluesguitar777
Posted on December 21, 2011 at 3:51pmEliasim – What???…. Lay off the crack, dude.
Report Post »AmericanHitmen
Posted on December 21, 2011 at 12:43pmI guess I will be “that guy” but that is not a .50 Cal Ma Duece. That is a M240…my ugly but fun date in Fallujah!
Report Post »lonesouth
Posted on December 21, 2011 at 12:47pmI thought it was something else. Also, the editor should be fired…
Report Post »BlackAce41
Posted on December 21, 2011 at 12:48pmYou know you can make your own weapons they are called Cross bows….Cheaper than a gun…
Report Post »RichNGadsden
Posted on December 21, 2011 at 12:54pmEven though I retired about 14 years ago right before the Army replaced the M60 with the M240B I laughingly spotted that mistake too. Guess some just see the spade grips and look no further.
Report Post »Dave
Posted on December 21, 2011 at 12:57pmto be fair, at first glance i thought it was a M-2 as well. it wasn’t until i read your comment that i really looked at it, and your right it appears to be a M240, but has been modified to not have a pistol grip and instead have the same type of grip/trigger the M-2 uses.
Report Post »plumbadrumma
Posted on December 21, 2011 at 2:34pmHate the Location, love the hardware!
Report Post »It is a crime that these firearms had to be destroyed by modification. I had the opportunity to play with that new .45 cal Kriss Bullpup on the firing line but I was not impressed enough to want one. I love the fact that it launches .45 cal “bowling balls” down field but my Mac 10 can do the same in a smaller package at a fraction of the price tag, that is if precision is not a factor.
I love the smell of gunpowder in the morning…..especially the Russian brands!
lonesouth
Posted on December 21, 2011 at 12:39pmLooks more like a Browning 1919 than an M2.
Report Post »OniKaze
Posted on December 21, 2011 at 12:31pmBlasphemy….. Taking functional weapons and turning them into toys should be a crime…. Nice collection to look at, but if you can’t fire a projectile out of it, its no longer a gun… just a toy..
Shame…. Cool, but a shame…
Report Post »The Bushmaster
Posted on December 21, 2011 at 12:47pmI agree! I hate seeing butchered weapons. Especially military rifles.
Report Post »Kaoscontrol
Posted on December 21, 2011 at 12:31pmNot the place you want to try to rob at knife point.
Report Post »Eleutheria
Posted on December 21, 2011 at 2:56pmAll these guns can do is damage your hearing.
Report Post »Avigdor
Posted on December 21, 2011 at 12:30pmNah, companies like this are very well politically connected. The leftwingers may talk a good show for the masses and yuppies but in private will make any deal you want.
Report Post »Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}
Posted on December 21, 2011 at 12:29pmBy chance do they have a imitation Abrams Battle Tank? I have always wanted to do a modern day “drive the enemy into the sea” in one of those things.
Report Post »cemerius
Posted on December 21, 2011 at 12:27pmNice! A warehouse full of fake weapons!!! The horror of modifying a fully functional weapon so Ben Affleck doesn’t have to feel the full kick is pathetic to me!!!
Report Post »GUNNSUP
Posted on December 21, 2011 at 12:29pmagreed Cemerius…Gunns out
Report Post »OniKaze
Posted on December 21, 2011 at 12:32pmAgreed, makes me want to cry….
Report Post »GUNNSUP
Posted on December 21, 2011 at 12:23pmWhat good are they if they don’t sling live lead downrange, are we supposed to be impressed? I am surprised anti-gunner Bloomburger allows them to have an armory like this in NYC…As much as I like Beck, lame strory Blaze….
Report Post »lukerw
Posted on December 21, 2011 at 1:15pmIt’s… a Toy Story.
Report Post »schroeder123
Posted on December 21, 2011 at 12:20pmEvery Home should be equipped.
Report Post »Rich HOffman
Posted on December 21, 2011 at 12:20pmThat’s great! I didn’t know these guys were even in business. Interesting story!
Report Post »schroeder123
Posted on December 21, 2011 at 12:19pmYep.
Report Post »KickinBack
Posted on December 21, 2011 at 12:19pmIt’s like cap guns..for adults! I’d still like to spend a few hours –with a few hundred thousand rounds of blanks– in there.
Report Post »ozchambers
Posted on December 21, 2011 at 12:16pmHey, Santa Claus…….
Report Post »lukerw
Posted on December 21, 2011 at 12:07pmGreat… toy collection!
Report Post »Steelhead
Posted on December 21, 2011 at 12:05pmwho really gives a palin
LIBSALWAYSLIE
Posted on December 21, 2011 at 12:12pmSTEELHEAD, you’re worthless
Report Post »booger71
Posted on December 21, 2011 at 2:36pmHow bought a Nobama
Report Post »JLGunner
Posted on December 21, 2011 at 12:05pmSo when the Hollywood elitest swing by to manufacture fantasy they have access to all this? What happens to the average joe in the city? They are unarmed peasants.
Report Post »SnakeDoctor24
Posted on December 21, 2011 at 12:28pmNot that I disagree with your conclusion … but these are prop replicas. They fire blanks, not live ammunition. Hollywood moguls leaving this place will be armed with very noisy, scary-looking bludgeons … not actual working firearms.
SnakeDoc
Report Post »plumbadrumma
Posted on December 21, 2011 at 2:40pmWrist Rockets (sling shots) with 3/8″ dia. ball bearings will be silent in a real pinch!
Report Post »SmallGovBigGuns
Posted on December 21, 2011 at 12:03pmi was drooling a bit…… ok a lot
Report Post »