A number of firearms have played iconic roles in movies, film, and tv shows over the years. Clint Eastwood’s .44 Magnum in Dirty Harry or the plethora of P90’s in Stargate (yes, I am totally a nerd). From there, one can point to plenty of other examples. The Beretta 92’s in the Die Hard franchies, Walther PPK’s in Bond films, and the M16 with M203 from Scarface come along.

In many cases, the iconic role of a particular firearm can spawn or spur sales. I know plenty of internet commando’s who do replica builds of their favorite on-screen option.

So how do these firearms get picked up for their various starring roles? Turns out, its as various as the firearms themselves. Options include:

• Sponsorship – According to The Economist, Beretta pitched in $250K for the 92 series to be prominent in Lone Survivor. The 92 is not typically in active SEAL service, with the SOCOM group commonly carrying the Sig P226.
• Armor’s Choices – Directors do not typically specify a particular gun. Often they state their requirements and an armorer will pick up a model that suitably works for the given scenario.
• Propmasters – Like Han Solo’s modified C96, weapons can be chosen for ability to conceal their base model or easy of modification. The ACR in Oblivion also comes to mind.

For the full story, check out The Economist, which has some fun graphics on the inclusion of various popular models in film.

*Note – The story is gun-control friendly. 

Number of guns models used by various actors.Econo