What choice would Indy make?

Need help finding an Indy Gun, want to discuss film used guns...

Moderator: Cajunkraut

Post Reply
User avatar
Indiana Bond
Dig Leader
Dig Leader
Posts: 653
Joined: Sat Jul 01, 2006 4:16 am
Location: Pacific Ocean: 19 29.84 N - 155 54.62 W Occupation: Archaeologist "Licensed to Kill"
Contact:

What choice would Indy make?

Post by Indiana Bond »

Image

Found this great article in the American Rifleman:

https://www.americanrifleman.org/articl ... -sw-m1917/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I'm sure Indy must have been in this situation and had to make this decision many times! :-k

I personally would love to see these both in Indy V. :)

Image
User avatar
Charybdis
Museum Curator
Museum Curator
Posts: 1655
Joined: Thu Sep 20, 2012 3:36 pm
Location: Palmetto State (SC)

Re: What choice would Indy make?

Post by Charybdis »

Indy I guess would choose the 1917 but for some reason I love the 1911...
User avatar
bearbeast
Legendary Adventurer
Legendary Adventurer
Posts: 2547
Joined: Wed Jun 21, 2017 11:31 am
Location: Lost in the search for gear...

Re: What choice would Indy make?

Post by bearbeast »

I love the 1911, such an elegant piece. From Indy's guns I have always loved the Webley, the other revolvers not so much.

But Indy seems to have a thing for revolvers, so that's what he'd prolly choose...

Cheers,
Bear
User avatar
Nosirrah
Professor of Archaeology
Professor of Archaeology
Posts: 916
Joined: Thu Dec 07, 2017 8:55 pm
Location: On, in or under the Great Lakes.
Contact:

Re: What choice would Indy make?

Post by Nosirrah »

bearbeast wrote:But Indy seems to have a thing for revolvers, so that's what he'd prolly choose...
Understandable, what with all that jungle muck and desert sand. ;)
MohaskaDan
Dig Worker
Dig Worker
Posts: 10
Joined: Sun Sep 30, 2018 11:12 am

Re: What choice would Indy make?

Post by MohaskaDan »

Naturally, it depends. Both are good. The revolver is more dependable in most cases, the automatic is not.
User avatar
bearbeast
Legendary Adventurer
Legendary Adventurer
Posts: 2547
Joined: Wed Jun 21, 2017 11:31 am
Location: Lost in the search for gear...

Re: What choice would Indy make?

Post by bearbeast »

Nosirrah wrote:
bearbeast wrote:But Indy seems to have a thing for revolvers, so that's what he'd prolly choose...
Understandable, what with all that jungle muck and desert sand. ;)
You're right, I never did consider that part... Maybe in a big city setting he would carry a 1911, but I think Indy wouldn't feel right in the concrete jungle... :TOH:
User avatar
WetDigger
Laboratory Technician
Laboratory Technician
Posts: 137
Joined: Sat Jul 21, 2018 5:08 pm
Location: Follow the red line across the map.

Re: What choice would Indy make?

Post by WetDigger »

I would think Indy would go for the revolver, every time. If he was sourcing ammunition from locales around the globe there would be no telling if he had hot or sub par loads. This wouldn't be an issue with the revolver, but could play havoc with a semi-auto that relies on consistency in back pressure from what you feed it to get it to operate correctly and reliably.
Metallicuda
Archaeology Student
Archaeology Student
Posts: 31
Joined: Sat Mar 24, 2018 10:44 am
Location: Oklahoma

Re: What choice would Indy make?

Post by Metallicuda »

I think Indy would stick with the revolver, but he wouldn’t go for the 45 ACP moon clips. He’d stick with .455 Webley. Given the amount of time he spends over seas .455 Webley would be much easier for him to obtain that 45 ACP would be. Don’t get me wrong I’m a 1911 man all the way through but 45 ACP just wasn’t as readily available overseas in the 1930s. Given the prior British imperialism 455 Webley was. :TOH:
Elk Grover
Archaeology Student
Archaeology Student
Posts: 25
Joined: Fri Feb 19, 2010 5:40 pm

Re: What choice would Indy make?

Post by Elk Grover »

Since (apparently) Han Solo is history, I was thinking it was time Indy might carry a Broomhandle Mauser. Previous posts mention that Indy would probably carry a revolver as more reliable- which makes a lot of sense, but although the illusion of reality is important, hey, this is Indy. Han Solo in his last outing wore a nice leather jacket. Maybe Indy could reciprocate and carry the Mauser. I know it is in the final analysis it is a bit cool looking, but is also a big ugly gun- you know, kind of like the Webley.

Somewhat off topic, I am a bit worried about Indy 5. We have always waited for "The Big Three" to get together for a new film. Well, now the Big Three is just the Big Ford. A new "creator" and new director have a very good chance of mucking things up- like giving Indy a Broomhandle Mauser.

Obviously I am not sold on this idea, but in some ways it would be an homage to, uh himself (?) :Plymouth:
chitoryu12
Grail Recovery Volunteer
Grail Recovery Volunteer
Posts: 1
Joined: Sat Mar 27, 2021 9:05 pm

Re: What choice would Indy make?

Post by chitoryu12 »

Indy carries a lot of different guns, and he likely would choose what he carries based on where he's going. Reliability differences between automatics and revolvers are mostly overblown unless you're dealing with inconsistent ammunition (the 1911 in particular is highly resistant to the mud and grit he faces on adventures), so it would be more appropriate to equip himself for local supply. .455 Webley ammunition is very common in the 1930s in any location near British colonization or warfare; British troops had been present in Egypt for years by 1936 and returned in WW2. Shanghai was a highly international city and .38 Special was in use among police and private individuals. If he was going to be close to the United States or in an area that had been using American-style guns, .45 ACP would be more appropriate. The M1911 was widely sold, licensed, and copied around Central and South America so .45 ACP ammunition would likely be more available than .455 in Peru.
User avatar
backstagejack
Legendary Adventurer
Legendary Adventurer
Posts: 3465
Joined: Fri Sep 22, 2006 3:01 am
Location: Lost in the Jungle

Re: What choice would Indy make?

Post by backstagejack »

Metallicuda wrote:I think Indy would stick with the revolver, but he wouldn’t go for the 45 ACP moon clips. He’d stick with .455 Webley. Given the amount of time he spends over seas .455 Webley would be much easier for him to obtain that 45 ACP would be. Don’t get me wrong I’m a 1911 man all the way through but 45 ACP just wasn’t as readily available overseas in the 1930s. Given the prior British imperialism 455 Webley was. :TOH:

Considering he used the Webley in LC and in CS... 1938-1958. I'd say he's made his choice. I'd find it weird for Indy to use anything else at this point.

I mean he had two kinds of guns in Raiders but he primarily used the S&W revolver. His gun in TOD was a .38 revolver but lost it. LC was the Webley revolver, CS was the Webley revolver... so far, he definitely goes for revolvers... and of those.... Webley's the winner.

This is the same man that wears the same style hat, jacket, shirt, pants and boots for decades. Seems like once he's made his choice, he sticks with it.
User avatar
Michaelson
Knower of Things
Posts: 44483
Joined: Tue Jun 25, 2002 12:55 pm
Location: Out here knowing stuff and things and wishing I were with the family at Universal Studios Orlando

Re: What choice would Indy make?

Post by Michaelson »

Clothes are one thing. Tools of the trade change with the times.

Ask any working archaeologist. They fall back on trowel and brush when time and job demand, but offer them Lydar and and laptop that’s and what they’ll use to explore a site first.

The Webley seems a favorite, but with the change of times and available ammo in his travels, he’s going to use what he can supply ammo for, and .455 wasn’t a common round in the 60’s where he’ll find himself in Indy 5.

JMO.

Regards! Michaelson
User avatar
backstagejack
Legendary Adventurer
Legendary Adventurer
Posts: 3465
Joined: Fri Sep 22, 2006 3:01 am
Location: Lost in the Jungle

Re: What choice would Indy make?

Post by backstagejack »

Michaelson wrote:
The Webley seems a favorite, but with the change of times and available ammo in his travels, he’s going to use what he can supply ammo for, and .455 wasn’t a common round in the 60’s where he’ll find himself in Indy 5.

JMO.

Regards! Michaelson
True points though James Bond tends to keep using the PPK when I'm sure other kinds of ammo are probably more common in his travels. It made sense to me when they switch him to a gun that used 9mm but now they're back to PPK.

There's also the problem that just riding into a random country with firearms wasn't near as easy in the 60s as it was in say the 30s. :-k with his lack of gun usage in CS I wonder if they even bother with a weapon change...... maybe make him lose it similar to TOD
User avatar
Indiana Bond
Dig Leader
Dig Leader
Posts: 653
Joined: Sat Jul 01, 2006 4:16 am
Location: Pacific Ocean: 19 29.84 N - 155 54.62 W Occupation: Archaeologist "Licensed to Kill"
Contact:

Re: What choice would Indy make?

Post by Indiana Bond »

With Disney owning the franchise I wouldn't be surprised if we never see him ever carrying or using any sort of firearm!!
Iandiana Jones
Field Surveyor
Field Surveyor
Posts: 86
Joined: Tue Dec 19, 2023 2:00 pm

Re: What choice would Indy make?

Post by Iandiana Jones »

Metallicuda wrote: Fri Nov 30, 2018 9:33 pm I think Indy would stick with the revolver, but he wouldn’t go for the 45 ACP moon clips.
There is such a thing as .45 Auto Rim.

It's a .45 ACP cartridge, with no taper at the primer end, and a suggestion of a rim, so it fits in the cylinder without moons.

Image

But apparently it will not run through an automatic, which I initially thought.
Illinois_Jones
Dig Leader
Dig Leader
Posts: 470
Joined: Mon May 04, 2020 9:35 pm

Re: What choice would Indy make?

Post by Illinois_Jones »

Yeah the extractor would not grab on to it properly; I could see it not even properly clearing the round under it during feeding and possibly not letting the barrel tip correctly in addition to jamming during extraction. The only way I could see it even chambering is a single load directly thru the ejection port and a direct hammer cock and even then I'd be terrified of headspacing issues.

But no matter what, Indy carrying a .45 anything wouldn't have been the best idea because of ammo availability. A British .455 or 9mm or even .32 would have been more prudent. The Hi-Power in Raiders was actually the correct pistol for the situation.
Iandiana Jones
Field Surveyor
Field Surveyor
Posts: 86
Joined: Tue Dec 19, 2023 2:00 pm

Re: What choice would Indy make?

Post by Iandiana Jones »

Well, it seems .455 is correct, as research points to Indy's Raiders revolver being chambered in .455.

So he seems to have a favorite caliber.
Iandiana Jones
Field Surveyor
Field Surveyor
Posts: 86
Joined: Tue Dec 19, 2023 2:00 pm

Re: What choice would Indy make?

Post by Iandiana Jones »

To add another layer of gun history, there does exist a handful of British Government Contract 1911's that they had Colt chamber in .455 Webley. These were used predominantly in WWI.

I think if Indy uses a 1911 in wartime, a British Army friend gifts him one, knowing his appreciation for the caliber.
Post Reply