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Stembridge Gun Rentals

Posted: Wed Apr 21, 2004 1:00 am
by Pyroxene
Our very own Lee Keppler had the opportunity the handle a real, screen used Indy revolver. You can read about it in the IndyGear FAQ.
[b]( http://www.indygear.com/faq/gunsfaq.shtml )[/b] wrote:Two Smith and Wesson revolvers were used in the filming of Raiders of the Lost Ark. The one used at Elstree studios and in Tunisia was rented from Bapty's in London and will be known as the Bapty gun. The S&W used in Hawaii and for the close up in Indy's home was supplied by Stembridge Gun Rentals of Glendale, California.
The show American Shooter ( http://www.americanshooter.com/ ) on OLN paid a visit to Stembridge Gun Rentals.

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According to the show, Syd Stembridge (shown above) is now the 3rd generation owner of the company. They have been supplying guns to movies for a long time. His company has supplied guns to movies like Rambo, Terminator 2, 1941, Dick Tracy and many more.

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Here is taking a gun used in the movie Dick Tracy. The ammo are blanks, naturally. But, packed with powder to produce a larger than life flash so it can be seen well on screen.

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They have a Class 10 FFL which allows them to manufacture or modify full-auto weapons for the movies. The Vulcan gun shown here is the one featured in the movie Armageddon.

Unfortunately, they didn't mention our favorite Smith & Wesson, but they did show a room full of revolvers. :wink: If you have the chance to see the show, by all means, check it out.

Cheers,
Pyro.

Posted: Wed Apr 21, 2004 1:00 pm
by Magnum
Field trip anyone? I'd like to go down to that storage facility and see some of those guns. So where exactly are they located?

Posted: Thu Apr 22, 2004 10:07 am
by Pyroxene
Another interesting tid bit is that Stembridge always takes two identical guns to the set. Just in case the actor drops it or the gun malfunctions.

Posted: Tue May 18, 2004 4:10 am
by Trebor
umnn, Stembridge Gun Rentals closed for good in 1999. They had been in business supplying guns to Hollywood for about a century, but the anti-gun legal climate in California made it harder and harder for them to turn a profit and they finally just closed up shop.

Posted: Fri May 28, 2004 1:19 pm
by JerseyJones
Trebor wrote:umnn, Stembridge Gun Rentals closed for good in 1999. They had been in business supplying guns to Hollywood for about a century, but the anti-gun legal climate in California made it harder and harder for them to turn a profit and they finally just closed up shop.
Bloody nauseating. That just burns me up to no end. Agendas again choke the average man.

Ken

Posted: Sun May 30, 2004 7:15 am
by Trebor
Here's a great Stembridge Gun Rentals story:

When the producers of the Charlie Chaplin bio-pic Chaplin were getting ready to shoot in the mid-90's, they decided to recreate a scene from one of Chaplin's movie's were he played a French solider in WWI. They went to Stembridge to rent an appropriate rifle. After checking their records, Syd Stembridge went into the warehouse and brought back not only an appropriate French rifle, but the ACTUAL rifle that they rented to Chaplin in the 20's for HIS movie. It still had the hang tag on it.

Posted: Mon May 31, 2004 8:17 pm
by Pyroxene
Trebor wrote:umnn, Stembridge Gun Rentals closed for good in 1999. They had been in business supplying guns to Hollywood for about a century, but the anti-gun legal climate in California made it harder and harder for them to turn a profit and they finally just closed up shop.
Thanks for the update. I did not know that.

Pyro