A funny thing happened at the gun shop today...

[WatchManUSA]

A funny thing at the gun shop while I was working today.  For those of you who don’t know me I work part-time at a local gun shop. 

Today a guy came in and asked me if we had a gun that would shoot blanks like a starter pistol.  He said he ran a Vaudeville Burlesque show and wanted the pistol for an act.

I told him he had really piqued my curiosity so I had to ask about the act.  He told me that it was like the Penn and Teller trick where they shoot a gun and catch the bullet in their teeth.  In this case my customer is shooting a bullet at a ventriloquist dummy and the dummy catches the bullet.

We discussed some of the alternatives he might have but explained that we didn’t really carry what he needed.

I was wrapping up our discussion and thanked him for coming in and making my day with this request.  I noted that it isn’t every day a Vaudevillian comes through the door.

He then added that he had another act with the dummy.  In this stunt the ventriloquist dummy is a fire eater.  However, the act is that the stunt goes very wrong and the dummy catches on fire.  I’m talking real flames here.  The guy takes out his iPhone and shows me pictures the dummy engulfed in flames.

TODAY WAS A GOOD DAY AT THE SHOP!

[SwoopSJ]

Sounds like he had a really warped sense of humor.  We'd have gotten along just fine.   

Swoop

[Hazcat]

Watchman, I have an old .32 (I think that's the caliber) starter pistol.  Solid barrel and short cylinder so no 'mishaps' can occur.

[ratcatcher55]

I lent my blank gun for training dogs to the local drama club as a prop. They were doing a murder mystery and had been using some old POS toy that went bang every third time the trigger was pulled.  I did give them a brief safety lecture because the 22 blanks still vent  and it's fairly loud indoors.

I got a couple of free tickets out of it.

[alfsauve]

Most theatrical supply places carry blank firing prop guns and the blanks to go with them.   I'm not talking high end Hollywood, but local theatre stuff.

http://www.norcostco.com/weapons.aspx

[Sponsor]

[fightingquaker13]

For anyone who wants one, just look at any good quality supplier of bird dog training supplies. They look pretty realistic (a VERY bad idea to my mind, but there you go).
FQ13

[Timothy]

Most theatrical supply places carry blank firing prop guns and the blanks to go with them.   I'm not talking high end Hollywood, but local theatre stuff.

http://www.norcostco.com/weapons.aspx

Who doesn't want a Blunderbuss for $15.95....