Welcome to a new series here on Pew Pew Tactical dedicated to the gun news you need to know.
Brought to you by our Managing Editor Jacki — a gun journalist and devoted newshound — each Saturday, the Weekly Wrap will bring you a round-up of news buzzing around the gun industry.
So, keep reading for this week’s notable news headlines…
Table of Contents
Loading…
Prop Gun on Set of Alec Baldwin Movie Kills 1, Injures Another
One person died, and another was injured Thursday on the set of a movie starring Alec Baldwin after the actor fired a prop gun.
Director of photography Halyna Hutchins, 42, and film director, Joel Souza, 48, were taken to the hospital, where Hutchins later died. Souza sustained serious injuries.
The accident happened during the filming of Rust, an American western feature film. Allegedly, Baldwin fired a prop gun at Bonanza Creek Ranch, resulting in the injuries.
The local sheriff’s office was called on scene and is handling the investigation.
“We’re treating this as we would any other investigation,” sheriff’s office spokesman Juan Ríos told The Santa Fe New Mexican.
At this time, there’s no indication as to whether live ammunition was somehow placed in the gun or whether blanks were used.
“Detectives are investigating how and what type of projectile was discharged,” a police statement said.
The film’s production company issued a statement to Deadline saying, “Production has been halted for the time being” and that “the safety of our cast and crew remains our top priority.”
Baldwin broke his silence midday Friday and issued a statement on Twitter saying, “There are no words to convey my shock and sadness regarding the tragic accident that took the life of Halyna Hutchins, a wife, mother and deeply admired colleague of ours.”
“I’m fully cooperating with the police investigation to address how this tragedy occurred and I am in touch with her husband, offering my support to him and his family. My heart is broken for her husband, their son, and all who knew and loved Halyna.”
Hutchins was the graduate of the American Film Institute Conservatory and most recently worked on Archenemy, Blindfire, and Darlin’.
Souza is a director based in California. He, alongside, Baldwin are credited as writers for Rust.
Henry Expands Manufacturing
Henry Repeating Arms will add a third location to its operations, announcing an 84,000 square foot building in Ladysmith, Wisconsin.
The new building will house over 100 employees within three years, machining parts for more than 200 rifles and shotguns in Henry’s lineup.
Sitting on 13.5 acres, the company also hinted that the acreage would allow for future expansions if needed.
“Staking our flag at a new facility is the beginning of another exciting chapter in our company’s history, and we are wasting no time prepping the building for our machines,” Andy Wickstrom, President of Henry Repeating Arms, said in a press release.
“We thank the state of Wisconsin and Rusk County officials for keeping the door open for us, and we look forward to adding members of another great Wisconsin community to our family.”
The new facility sits less than an hour away from Henry’s headquarters in Rice Lake, Wisconsin.
Ruger Ships First Marlin
The first Marlin to be produced in Ruger’s Mayodan, North Carolina factory made its debut this week.
A Marlin Model 1895 was the first Marlin firearm made by the Marlin team now under Ruger’s banner.
Ruger bought the Marlin brand in 2020 after the previous parent company, Remington, filed under Chapter 11.
“The value of Marlin and its 150-year legacy was too great of an opportunity for us to pass up,” said Ruger President and CEO Chris Killoy in a press release after the sale. “The brand aligns perfectly with ours, and the Marlin product portfolio will help us widen our already diverse product offerings.”
Prices accurate at time of writing
Prices accurate at time of writing
-
25% off all OAKLEY products - OAKLEY25
Copied! Visit Merchant
Ruger boxed up Marlin’s physical assets, moving them to their North Carolina facility in December.
And this week marks the first Marlin out of Ruger’s facility.
To read more about the acquisition of Marlin, check out our article here.
Maxim Defense Releases MD-1505
Maxim Defense’s MD-1505 is here and blends its popular PDX design with an AR-15 package.
The MD-1505 brings Mil-Spec forged receivers and Maxim Slimline handguard to shoppers, with additional options like the SCW stock, SCW brace, or SCW pistol system.
Worth mentioning the MD-1505 also boasts an ambi mag release and selector.
Offered in three chamberings – 5.56 NATO, .300 BLK, 7.62x39mm – the MD-1505’s barrel measures 5.5-inches in length, with overall length of the platform coming in at 18.75-inches.
“The MD-1505 is Maxim Defense PDX ingenuity in a standard AR-15 package. It was engineered to bring our top-tier PDX package to an even more affordable price point,” the company said in a news release.
“The quality of the MD-1505 and its predecessors speaks for itself. This is why we say, ‘Maxim Defense: Not built for safe queens.’”
Current delivery times average 6 to 8 weeks, according to Maxim. Prices start at $1,895.
Pew Pew Tactical Is Hiring!
We mentioned it last week, but the hunt continues…
Pew Pew Tactical is looking to add on to our YouTube team. (Don’t worry, John isn’t going anywhere…)
If you’ve got a dynamic on-camera personality, love guns as much as we do, and reside in Texas and can commute to the Austin area, then make sure you apply!
To do so, please send us a short video introducing yourself and why you’d be a great fit via email at jobs@pewpewtactical.com with the subject line “YEEHAW.”
What do you think of the headlines above? Let us know in the comments. Got a hot news tip for us? Drop a comment below or shoot us an email at contact@pewpewtactical.com. Catch up on other Weekly Wraps or news in our News Category.
12 Leave a Reply
It was clearly an accident. That word doesn't have anything to do with being avoidable, it has everything to do with intention. No one is arguing he actually intended to shoot anyone.
But it was also involuntary manslaughter, defined in most jurisdictions as a homicide caused by negligence. Here, at least three people handled the gun immediately before the shooting: armorer Hannah Reed, assistant director Dave Halls, and Alec Baldwin. Negligence is the breach of a legal duty. This case involves both criminal and civil liability for such negligence. All of them had a duty to ensure that the gun wasn't loaded, and all of them failed to perform that duty, resulting in the shooting. My guess is that only Alec Baldwin would be considered for a criminal charge of involuntary manslaughter, but all three (and perhaps the production company) would have some liability in civil court and/or workers' compensation, depending on local laws.
24-year-old Hannah Reed had only worked on one film, and when she was interviewed working on the Rust set she said in so many words she was not comfortable handling firearms with blanks. Whoever hired her may also be liable; they had a duty to hire a competent safety person to keep firearms safe and secure on set. Clearly this is below the standard of care, hiring such an unqualified person to handle the guns here.
Dave Halls had previously been fired from another production for firearms safety violation, and had a reputation in the industry for poor safety on set. Again, whoever hired him failed in their duty to provide a safe workplace and is also responsible.
Given that Baldwin was the Executive Producer for the film, it's sort of a circle of responsibility.
Gee whiz. Now its been discovered the cast and crew on the "Rust" Baldwin movie set used the same gun that Baldwin fired, killing Halyna Hutchins, for target practice off-set while the crew wasn’t working on the film.
They knew it was a real gun and had live ammo present. What a bunch of idiots.
Greetings!
I have been enjoying your informative offerings for a couple of months now. Thank you. Keep it coming.
May I humbly nominate Jacki Billings for that position you are advertising?
Per her bio above this box, it sez she is passionate about guns, her writing shows a definite depth of knowledge on the subject, her picture above indicates to my old 65 year-old eyes she has the looks that should go well on camera. Where she resides, I dunno, you know her better than I. If you have not asked her outright, what's keepin' ya! Git with it! Asking can't hurt....
Alan H.
Hey Alan, I appreciate the kind words but my duties as Managing Editor keep me pretty busy and I'm in Tennessee. But I'm confident we will find someone who is awesome and the right fit. Again, thank you for reading and supporting me and PPT.
I wish they would stop calling it a "prop gun".
Real "prop guns" are modified so they can not chamber a live round or fire a projectile down the barrel.
A gun that can fire a live round and expel a projectile is not a "prop gun", it is a real gun.
Several other news sources say that court records say that the gun was loaded with live rounds and was one of three on a table that was handed to Baldwin and the person then declared "cold gun" meaning it was not loaded.
It is not a prop gun. It was a real gun loaded with live ammo and not blanks.
The gun did not "mis-fire" either. As part of the scene in which the gun was used Baldwin drew the gun and pulled the trigger. The result of a gun loaded with live ammo that fires a projectile when the trigger is pulled is not a "mis-fire", its the gun functioning exactly as intended.
Interestingly, the tragedy on the set of Rust happened while IATSE is holding a strike. Baldwin is not just an actor in this film, but a producer as well. He hired a scab to be the prop master here.
Furthermore, there were complaints from people involved in the production about Baldwin et al demonstrating atrocious gun safety. The fact that this sort of thing happened should not surprise anyone.
It doesn’t surprise me because Baldwin is a leftist anti-American. He preaches anti-2A gun control but makes violent pro-gun movies. What a hypocrite.
Henry could, and should, have done better by opening up in a more 2A-friendly state. When they have to move again, in the near future, they will only have themselves to blame.
As for the Baldwin fiasco, any conservative, firearms-trained individual could have properly handled that “prop” weapon. It’s instructive that a leftist/snowflake/know-it-all is the one responsible foe someone’s death.
Card-carrying Socialist Rifle Assn. member here. The most flagrant demonstrations of poor gun safety I've seen in my years have been committed by conservatives. I've lost count of how many times I've seen MAGA-hat-wearing boomers flagging gun shop workers, RSOs, and the like, and then whining for ten whole minutes about how "all this safety crap is pussifying the American male" and dumb stuff like that. Don't even get me started on the whole "pointing loaded guns at your crotch" trend from Facebook last year, we'll be here for hours.
Every fellow leftist I've seen handling a gun has done so with perfect adherence to Jeff Cooper's four cardinal rules, even if we could care less for his general attitudes about a lot of things non-firearm-related.
Most liberals (yes, there is a difference!) won't even touch a gun, but the few that I have seen do are also excellent at safety.
TL;DR - Don't blame personal politics for this, but, as I said elsewhere, shoddy adherence to safety protocols by scabs.
The Alec Baldwin incident was NOT an accident, accident implying that it was unavoidable. It most certainly was not. Both the prop guy and Alec himself are both ultimately responsible. The prop guy for obviously handing Baldwin a "hot" gun, but Baldwin should have checked the weapon himself before proceeding with the shot. Manslaughter, minimum, for both. There is no room for error or shirked responsibilities when it comes to firearms
No, it was clearly an accident. That word doesn't have anything to do with being avoidable, it has everything to do with intention. No one is arguing he actually intended to shoot anyone.
But it was also involuntary manslaughter, defined in most jurisdictions as a homicide caused by negligence. Here, at least three people handled the gun immediately before the shooting: armorer Hannah Reed, assistant director Dave Halls, and Alec Baldwin. Negligence is the breach of a legal duty. This case involves both criminal and civil liability for such negligence. All of them had a duty to ensure that the gun wasn't loaded, and all of them failed to perform that duty, resulting in the shooting. My guess is that only Alec Baldwin would be considered for a criminal charge of involuntary manslaughter, but all three (and perhaps the production company) would have some liability in civil court and/or workers' compensation, depending on local laws.
24-year-old Hannah Reed had only worked on one film, and when she was interviewed working on the Rust set she said in so many words she was not comfortable handling firearms with blanks. Whoever hired her may also be liable; they had a duty to hire a competent safety person to keep firearms safe and secure on set. Clearly this is below the standard of care, hiring such an unqualified person to handle the guns here.
Dave Halls had previously been fired from another production for firearms safety violation, and had a reputation in the industry for poor safety on set. Again, whoever hired him failed in their duty to provide a safe workplace and is also responsible.