Did law enforcement use a lever action shotgun?

[Bushman]

I went and saw the movie Public Enemies last night and in the Little Bohemia escape scene I saw a shoot out using what would probably have been a Winchester M1887 lever action shotgun. Do you think that was accurate or was the director taking some license with some extra creativity? A M97 riot pump gun I would believe and did see in other parts of the film. All the other scenes I thought showed period accurate firearms like the 1911, 1918 BAR, Thompson 1921, Colt 1908, S&W M10, Springfield 1903 and the Winchester Self Loading .351 M1907. Do you think that law enforcement used that lever action M1887 or was that just a good prop left over from Arnold's Terminator 2 movie?

[Bill Gunn]

Suprisingly (to me) ... Check out the right side of this page...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winchester_Model_1887/1901

[Bayrat]

I think it would be a question of ammo.

Would the gun have held up to using smokeless powder, or was there a big cloud of smoke ?

Bayrat

[Bushman]

I'll be darned, Bill you are just a wealth of information, thanks. According to another site, they were made in both damascus and modern steel barrels. Dillinger days date into 1933-1934 so I'm sure that they would have been using smokeless powder in 1934. From a collector standpoint, those lever action M1887's go for over three times what a M97 riot pump gun goes for. It is a pretty novel shotgun and being a John Browning design, I'm sure that it worked as intended.

[Badger]

Bushman,

Some local police departments or Sheriff may have used a lever action shotgun, but I think double barrel shotguns ruled until reliable pump shotguns emerged.

Badger

[Bushman]

I think that you are correct about those early double barreled shotguns. Those dependable pumps from Winchester showed up pretty early with the M97 Riot Gun in 1897 and the M12 in 1912. Given the choice between either one of those and a double barrel, I think that I'd take the pump for a shoot out. There would have been a 10 year period from 1887 to 1897 where the lever action might have ruled or even up to 1901 when it was discontinued, but in 1934 that lever action had to be bordering on being a museum piece. That's why I was so surprised to see it as a period piece in the movie.

[Bill Gunn]

Can you imagine staring down the barrel of a 10 gauge lever action shotgun :eek:

I can't even imagine carrying it :p

[Bushman]

Or any shotgun, Bill. Not being a bad guy, I'm not sure how ones mind works when confronted with a shotgun, or any gun for that matter. Being a gun guy however, 100% compliance I would think would be prudent in that situation. I don't think that I'd like the alternative. That is something that I've often wondered about. Does the perceived lethality of a firearm have any bearing on the mindset of a bad guy? That is would he be more willing to take direction if he was looking at a shotgun instead of a mouse gun pistol?

[Dennis Keith]

I was watching "GUNSMOKE" with my Dad and the Marshall was on the front porch at the jail standing off the mob with a 12 gauge and his Colt single action. I asked Daddy why they didn't rush him because he "only has two shots?" Dad just said, "Son, NOBODY wants to FIRST when it's a 12 Gauge that you're rushing."

If it's available, don't get out of the car after dark without the 12 gauge, especially when investigating a break in.

[MOGC]

Most cops today are afraid of the shotgun and ignore it even when it is available. I love my Benelli M1S90 Tactical and it is my "go to" gun when working.