Hollywood has been feeding us gun myths for decades! Join WatchMojo as we expose the most ridiculous firearm misconceptions that movies have been selling us, from silent guns to magical bulletproof vests and explosive action sequences.
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00:00And then they slapped this bulletproof vest on me and gave me a gun.
00:06But what if he shot you in the face?
00:08Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the firearm misconceptions
00:14and inaccuracies that showed up in way too many movies.
00:18So you got a .45 revolver and I don't see bullets.
00:21Now I counted at least 20 shots and you never reloaded.
00:25That's right.
00:2715.
00:29Muzzles always flash.
00:31We get it.
00:32Shootouts look more dynamic and exciting when a bright flash of light accompanies every shot.
00:45Movie crews achieve these muzzle flashes using fancy tricks like flammable powders
00:50and fake guns that create an artificial spark.
00:53And of course, with CGI.
00:56There's even a practical purpose to these exaggerated flashes.
00:59They're useful to the sound editor when they're adding the noise of gunshots to the scene.
01:10In real life, most guns have little to no muzzle flash when fired.
01:15In daylight, even those that do flash would barely be visible.
01:19But you have to admit, these scenes look a lot cooler with those powerful blazes of light.
01:2614.
01:27Guns have no recoil.
01:29Even handguns are powerful weapons.
01:31And anything that can launch a bullet with that much force is going to have some kickback.
01:40Of course, prop guns aren't actually firing bullets.
01:44So they typically don't have much recoil, if any.
01:48Using the proper grip when firing a real gun will make the recoil much more manageable.
01:52But most shooters and movies don't bother to do that.
01:56Often, the only time movie guns are shown to have noticeable recoil is when it's used for humor.
02:02In those scenes, it's so exaggerated and over the top
02:05that it's even less realistic than having no recoil at all.
02:1413.
02:16Gun clicks when the magazine is empty.
02:18To be fair, there are some types of guns that do make a clicking sound if you fire them without ammo.
02:29But Hollywood would have you believe that all guns do this.
02:32And that's just not true.
02:34In the vast majority of semi-automatic handguns,
02:37the slide locks back when the magazine is empty.
02:40And pulling the trigger does nothing.
02:42Many experienced shooters can tell by the feel that the slide is locked
02:46and don't bother pulling the trigger at all.
02:48However, in a movie gunfight, the moment when one person runs out of ammo
02:52just wouldn't be as dramatic without that telltale clicking sound.
03:0512.
03:07Getting shot will kill you instantly.
03:09This trope only applies to bad guys, obviously.
03:12We've all seen those action movies where the hero only has to fire a single shot
03:17and his opponent drops like rocks.
03:21Meanwhile, the hero himself can take one bullet after another and keep on fighting.
03:26In reality, less than a third of gunshot wounds are fatal.
03:30And depending on who you ask, that number might even be lower.
03:33Even headshots are only fatal 90% of the time.
03:37When someone does get shot, they almost never die instantly.
03:40Instead, they're more likely to writhe around in pain and bleed out slowly.
03:45But having a bunch of screaming injured bad guys
03:47rolling around on the floor during your movie shootout would be pretty distracting.
03:5611.
03:57If you get shot, you should remove the bullet immediately.
04:00So your hero has been shot, and because he's the hero, he didn't die instantly.
04:05But he's gotta get that bullet out fast, right?
04:12Wrong.
04:13Unless it's lodged someplace important like a blood vessel,
04:16having a bullet in your body isn't that dangerous.
04:19Doctors leave them inside gunshot victims all the time.
04:22Digging around inside an open wound potentially causing more bleeding and
04:25risking infection is way more dangerous than just having the bullet in place.
04:36In a survival situation, it's a really bad idea.
04:40It's much more important to stop the bleeding and get the wound bandaged
04:43than to pry out that tiny piece of metal.
04:5110.
04:52Buying high-powered weapons is easy.
04:54Although it is easier to buy a gun in the US than it is in many other countries,
04:59you still can't walk into a gun store and walk out with an Uzi.
05:10It seems like every movie gun shop has a secret back room where the good stuff is hidden.
05:20Or a shop owner who's willing to ignore the law for a bribe.
05:40In movies, anyone can find an illegal dealer with a trunk full of machine guns.
05:47Or even buy one online if they know which dark website to go to.
06:01Fortunately, it's not that easy to get your hands on high-powered weapons in real life.
06:069.
06:07Guns fire when dropped.
06:09If you're a movie character wielding a gun, whatever you do, don't drop it.
06:14Unless, of course, you're in a standoff and you
06:16want to fake out your opponent by pretending to drop your weapon.
06:20Then you can throw the gun to the ground knowing it will fire and shoot the other person.
06:31In the real world, most states have laws requiring
06:34gun manufacturers to test their weapons for drop safety.
06:37If guns randomly fired any time they were mishandled or dropped,
06:41it would be incredibly unsafe to be around them at all.
06:44The gun industry has a strong incentive to make sure that doesn't happen.
06:558.
06:56Shooting is easy.
06:58Hitting a target is nowhere near as simple as Hollywood makes it seem.
07:08It takes years of practice to become a reliably accurate shooter.
07:12Even for experienced gun handlers, proper grip and stance still matter.
07:16Shooting while running, holding two guns at once, or turning the gun sideways are all
07:21going to make it far more difficult to hit whatever you're aiming for.
07:25And don't even get us started on shooting from the hip.
07:28Yet in movies, characters do all of these things and still hit their targets easily.
07:33Even characters who have never touched a gun before are able to pick one up,
07:37start firing, and make every shot.
07:437.
07:44People fly backward when shot.
07:46If you remember high school physics, you know this is nonsense.
07:56Newton's third law of motion says that for every action,
07:59there's an equal and opposite reaction.
08:01That means that if a gun is powerful enough to send someone flying off their feet,
08:05then it's also going to send the shooter flying off their feet.
08:09That doesn't stop movies from showing people getting literally blown away.
08:13Apparently, even a single shot from a handgun is enough to send someone flying.
08:18Meanwhile, the shooter doesn't even feel a kickback.
08:21It's a ridiculous trope that directors can't stop using.
08:256.
08:26Infinite ammo.
08:28It seems like no one ever runs out of bullets in a movie unless it's for dramatic effect.
08:33Handguns, machine guns, and even shotguns apparently have infinite ammo.
08:42No reloading necessary.
08:44We get why directors fall into this trap.
08:47Many action scenes would be a lot less exciting and dynamic
08:51if the characters had to stop and reload every few shots.
08:54It even shows up in movies that are otherwise pretty realistic with their gunplay.
08:59And once you start noticing it, it's hard to stop.
09:01Take our advice, don't start counting shots unless you want to ruin your viewing experience.
09:075.
09:08Bullets can still hit you through water.
09:11We all know that water is a bad place to be in an action movie.
09:15It's cold, it ruins your badass outfit,
09:17and it makes you an easy target for foes trying to fill you with lead.
09:21Seems logical since bullets can punch through wood and some metals, so why not water, right?
09:27Consider this, though.
09:28What hurts more?
09:29Belly flopping off a diving board or off a bridge.
09:33The faster you're moving, the more force you hit the water with.
09:36And the water hits back just as hard.
09:38Slow-moving bullets, such as pistol rounds,
09:41impact with less force and can travel through up to 8 feet of water in the right conditions.
09:47Any rifle round or bigger will lose its energy impacting the water
09:51and will not be able to kill you after a few feet.
09:54So next time you're being chased by a helicopter, go for a swim.
09:584.
09:59Cars are bulletproof.
10:01Who needs water when you've got a car?
10:12If there's one thing Hollywood has taught us about getting shot at,
10:16it's that you can always rely on the ingenuity of the automotive industry for safety.
10:20Trust us, though.
10:21You're better off with diving into a pool.
10:24Cars are built with structural support to keep them safe from other cars hitting them.
10:28But the metal panels on the car's body are kept light to save on weight.
10:32A bullet could easily punch through a car door,
10:35travel through the car's cabin, out the door on the other side,
10:38and still be lethal to the action junkie who thought he was safe.
10:42There is one bulletproof part of a car, and that's the engine.
10:46All that heavy-duty metal is just too much for a little bullet to make it through.
10:50Just don't expect to drive off after the gunfight.
10:583.
10:59Bullets cause things to explode.
11:01So if you throw a couple bullets at a car, it'll cause a flashy explosion, right?
11:06Not the case.
11:07In fact, car manufacturers actually work pretty hard to make sure the gas tank is protected
11:12and won't explode at the slightest rupture.
11:14So the car has to take serious damage for that kind of fireball to happen.
11:19It's true, though, that under certain conditions, many things will explode when shot,
11:24such as pressurized objects like spray cans.
11:27But even then, they usually need an open flame source nearby
11:30to really get that booming explosion you see in the movies.
11:45Directors often use sparks from gunshots to illustrate where the bullets are going on screen.
11:50But in reality, there's only a spark if the bullet hits a specific metal.
11:55And even then, it's not usually enough to ignite anything.
11:59Sorry, Michael Bay.
12:002.
12:02Bulletproof vests will stop anything.
12:04Who hasn't cheered when our favorite character is saved by a bulletproof vest?
12:09Hey, if it works for Doc Brown, it'll work for us.
12:14A bulletproof vest?
12:25How did you know?
12:26Turns out his field was obviously in time travel and not ballistics.
12:31So does body armor stop bullets?
12:33Depends on the armor, but more importantly, it depends on the bullet.
12:38High-end soft body armor, which is typically made of Kevlar,
12:41is rated to stop up to a .44 Magnum, which is great if you're being chased by Dirty Harry.
12:52But rifle bullets, which are smaller and moving a hell of a lot faster,
12:57will shred soft body armor.
12:59Military and tactical police units use armor plates made out of steel or ceramic material,
13:05and will stop some rifle bullets.
13:07However, even if the armor you're wearing stops the bullet,
13:10there's still significant energy transfer.
13:13So it doesn't mean you're safe.
13:311.
13:32Silencers make guns super quiet.
13:35Let's make one thing clear.
13:37Gunshots are really freaking loud.
13:40That rock concert that left your ears ringing was in the neighborhood of 130 decibels.
13:53A jet engine is around 140.
13:56Your average gunshot?
13:57160.
13:58Bruce Willis has permanent hearing damage in one ear from making Die Hard.
14:03So be careful.
14:04That's okay.
14:05Just slap on a silencer.
14:06The problem is, when a gun fires, you're actually hearing three different sounds at the same time.
14:12The action of triggering the gun, the gunpowder exploding,
14:16and the bullet breaking the sound barrier.
14:18A suppressor will help with one of these sounds.
14:21But at best, you're knocking 30 decibels off.
14:24In other words, that's still extremely loud.
14:27Maybe not deafening, but the other henchmen are definitely going to hear it.
14:33Which movie gun myth drives you crazy?
14:36Let us know in the comments.
14:57Thanks for watching.