The Guns of Lethal Weapon I

I’ve heard enough debate about whether or not “Die Hard” is a Christmas movie. It always made me wonder why “Lethal Weapon” never gets the same argument. There’s a scene on a Christmas tree lot. The main fight at the end is surrounded by Christmas lights. At one point, a car drives through the front of a house and into a lit and decorated Christmas tree. There are traditional Christmas songs that play throughout the movie and everything. Doesn’t that make it a Christmas movie? Okay, okay; enough of my soapbox.

I was originally going to break down the guns used in all four movies, but as I watched the first one again and did a little research, there were a lot more than I thought. Maybe we’ll dive into the other three at another time. But for now, let’s just take a look at the guns of “Lethal Weapon I.”

Martin Riggs: Beretta92F (9mm)

Martin Riggs, famously portrayed by Mel Gibson, is one of the genre’s most haunted and deadly action characters. For the most part, he carries the same gun throughout the series, a Beretta 92FS. Riggs is a real marksman. So much so that he shoots a smiley face into his target in a rapid-fire style in one scene. He mostly carries it in an appendix position with no holster. If you ask me, that’s dangerous for the dude parts, but it sure looks cool! As his new partner describes in their introduction, it has a 15-round magazine and a wide ejection port to prevent “feed jams.”

Martin Riggs, played by Mel Gibson, shoots a smiley face design into his target. [Photo: Warner Brothers]

I suppose it’s worth noting that the Beretta used by Gibson in “Lethal Weapon” is the same exact gun (make, model, and serial number) used by Bruce Willis in the subpar “Die Hard” movie. Riggs pops off some rounds from a couple of HKs, too, but we’ll get to those later. Now, on to Sergeant Murtaugh and his “four-inch Smith.”

Roger Murtaugh: Smith & Wesson Model 19 (.357 Magnum)

An “old fashioned wheel gun” for an old fashioned cop, Murtaugh, played by the great Danny Glover, carries a Smith & Wesson Model 19. He’s quite attached to his trusty sidearm but always seems to pick up some semi-auto lying around for a lot of the big gunfights. Like Riggs, Murtaugh is no slouch in the accuracy department. Where Riggs uses the 15-round capacity of his Beretta in his rapid strings of fire, Murtaugh is more of a one-shot one-kill kind of shooter. And even though he is more reserved than Riggs when it comes to slinging hot lead, he doesn’t hesitate to drop a bad guy at long range near the end of the film.

Murtaugh lines up at the range with his “four-inch Smith.” [Photo: Warner Brothers]

A good number of LAPD uniformed officers in the film also carry the classic Smith & Wesson wheel gun, as was standard for 1987. There’s a notable scene involving the function of a revolver. Without getting into the sensitive nature of the scene, Murtaugh uses the web between his index finger and thumb to stop the hammer from falling and firing a round. This certainly would be possible, but anyone who’s ever felt a slide or hammer bite knows it sure would be painful.

Shotguns

Various characters use a few different shotguns throughout the movie. In the Christmas tree lot scene that I mentioned earlier, an unseen bad guy comes out of a truck firing what appears to be a pistol grip Mossberg 500. Like all the shotguns featured in the film, this one is chambered in 12 gauge. This fight doesn’t last long, though, as Riggs lets off one of his famous strings of fire and dispatches the assailant with extreme prejudice.

Also included are a couple of variants of the Remington 870. One is a more standard “police-style” pump-action shotgun, but the other is the much more interesting “witness protection” model. They were originally designed for the US Marshalls to carry in their witness protection detail. However, in the film, it’s wielded by a drug dealer, who opens fire on Riggs and Murtaugh before catching a couple of rounds for his trouble. The final shotgun we’ll mention is the Ithaca 37, which only makes one minor appearance in the film.

Heckler & Koch HK94A3 (9mm)

The HK94A3 makes several notable appearances throughout the film. In a deleted scene, both officers carry it, as do several of the random henchmen following Mr. Joshua. The best, though, is when Riggs gets his hands on one after being held and tortured.

Running down the middle of the street with that gun slung on him just exemplifies the coolness factor. He chases Mr. Joshua through the streets of LA and rains fire down on him from a bridge. He hits his mark, and the car catches fire. Busey’s character gets away unscathed. There has to be a final fight, after all.

Heckler & Koch PSG1 (7.62 NATO)

There are many more, including rifles, revolvers, semi-auto pistols, and more, but I’ll just give you one more and call it a day: the H&K PSG1 sniper rifle. The movie’s dialogue mentions Riggs’ experience as a sniper just before the gun is introduced.

In one of the more unsuccessful plans in the movie, Riggs hides in the brush on the edge of the desert meet-up. Murtaugh pulls out a grenade that ends up being a “smoker,” creating cover for Riggs to get off a couple of good shots. He takes out some bad guys before it all goes to hell, and they get captured.

The H&K PSG1 is often called the most accurate semi-automatic rifle in the world. You can’t buy them new anymore since they aren’t being imported, but if you can find one, prepare to pay more than $15,000 for it.

Riggs lining up his shot with the Heckler & Koch PSG1. [Photo: Warner Brothers]

Final Thoughts

In the world of action movies, “Lethal Weapon” is at the top of the pile (for me). The story, the action, and in later installments…the Rene Russo. No matter how many years go by or how much both the movies and myself age. I find I never get too old to enjoy it.