True Lies is one of the great underappreciated action comedies of the mid-1990s. I wish we had more action comedies these days — I’m sick of seriousness, superheroes, and gray palettes.
Give me some gunplay, some quips, and over-the-top action! True Lies had all of that, along with a pile of cool guns.
The film stars Arnold Schwarzenegger as a spy with a failing marriage. His wife, Jamie Lee Curtis, craves adventure and is involved with a car salesman posing as a spy, played by a hilarious Bill Paxton.
Arnold scares Paxton away and then decides to try and fix his marriage.
This leads him to try to spice things up, which causes his personal life to cross with his professional life. He and his wife are kidnapped by terrorists with a nuclear plot only they can stop. Hilarity ensues, along with a ton of crazy action scenes.
The MAC Attack
It’s a fun flick for gun guys and gals. However, one scene, in particular, stands out.
Arnold hands Curtis a MAC-10. She’s nervous and has no weapon experience. A full auto MAC-10 is a beast to hold onto, and when she tries to fire it, the gun surprises her, and she drops it.
It bounces down a set of stairs, firing as it hits each one. It even kills some terrorists. It’s one of those scenes that seems believable, and some guns can fire when dropped, but would one ever fire bursts as it falls downstairs?
A real MAC-10 is an open-bolt firearm, meaning the bolt is locked to the rear until the trigger is pulled. When the trigger is pulled, the bolt slams home and fires the gun.
Open-bolt SMGs are fairly common. Guns like the Thompson, the MP40, and the Uzi are open-bolt guns. It is a simple, reliable way to design an SMG, but it’s not without its faults.
It’s less accurate, less reliable, and tends to create more recoil than closed-bolt designs. These guns are also not drop-safe. Meaning if dropped, they can accidentally fire.
But would it bounce due to recoil and continue to fire as it falls downstairs? The answer is no. Even the rough recoil of the MAC-10 isn’t enough to make it bounce around and fire repeated bursts.
But don’t take my word for it. Mythbusters did a whole episode called Hollywood Gunslingers, where they tested this falling MAC idea.
To be fair, this isn’t the only MAC-10 we see in the film. Arnold also dual-wields two MAC 10s with some stylish crossed-arms shooting.
He seemingly has no issues controlling two machine pistols, firing full auto only, and landing all his shots. I’m not sure which portrayal of the MAC-10 is less believable.
Behind The MAC-10
MAC-10 was never the official name of this gun. It just became used with such prevalence that the name stuck. Technically it’s a Military Armament Corporation Model 10, but MAC-10 is so much easier to say.
Gordon Ingram designed the MAC-10 to be a cheap but reliable bullet hose. Coming in over 6 pounds, it rides the line between machine pistol and SMG.
These guns were made from stamped steel, fired from the open bolt, and worked best when paired with a Sionics suppressor. The gun saw some limited adoption by the United States military and even the British SAS in Ireland.
It was never a huge hit commercially, and the 1986 Hughes Amendment killed new production for civilian sales.
Final Thoughts
The MAC-10 stills enjoy a healthy aftermarket and popularity amongst hardcore enthusiasts as they are typically the cheapest transferrable full-auto for civilian purchase.
Despite being relegated to those with the cash to drop on a machine gun, these little bullet hoses still pop up frequently in movies and video games.
It’s got a distinct aggressive shape, and film and media have cemented it as a bad guy gun.
What are your thoughts on the MAC-10? Do you have any experience with one? Let us know in the comments below! Interested in other SMGs? Check out our article, Submachine Guns: History & Notable Models.
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I seem to remember all sorts of big guns in that movie.
Remember the old Cobray M11/9s. Had one for a few years. A fun gun to shoot, but accuracy was nothing to write home about. Sights were rudimentary. That was in Semi Auto, so I can only imagine what firing a full auto version would be like.
Looking at the internals, you could see why it was often converted to full auto by the criminally inclined.
Traded it for a side by side 20ga shotgun a few years later. It was fun to shoot, but not really a practical gun.
I've got a NFA MAC-10 and it's great. Shooting it with the Sionics can allows it to really work well.
It's a beast, but quite controllable in that configuration.