Cool video - Japanese sword vs .50 cal!

[Steve St.Laurent]

http://data.millim.com/mybbs/mbbs00200/20041119/mgun.wmv



Check this out!!

 

[JStieger]

That's cool! :--)

 

[nickleinonen]

cool. that was neat...

 

[HoleshotHolset]

Whoa! That's some tough steel...



Matt

 

[NPloysa]

Never bring a knife to a gunfight

 

[bmoeller]

That was cool!

 

[WDaniels]

Don't know about anyone else but I can't access the site that Steve put up.

What's up?

WD

 

[AfterBurner]

Don't know about anyone else but I can't access the site that Steve put up.

What's up?

WD

me niether! :{

 

[JStieger]

me niether! :{

try this:



http://data.millim.com/mybbs/mbbs00200/20041119/mgun.wmv

 

[AfterBurner]

try this:



http://data.millim.com/mybbs/mbbs00200/20041119/mgun.wmv

still no worky.

must be my computer or something, keep getting a DNS error.

 

[KBennett]

Pretty amazing! The bullets looked like they were plain copper jacketed rounds. I wonder what armor piercing bullets would do?

 

[WMonroe]

Cool.

Will

 

[drawson]

FYI this is bogus

My name is Pat Johnson. I live in the great state of Utah. In July of 2004, I got a call from my good friend Alan of Impact Guns www.impactguns.com in Ogden, Utah. He had just received a call from a Japanese TV producer who had found their Internet site, and wanted to arrange a shoot where a . 50 caliber machine gun would attempt to break at Katana sword. This would be for a segment on the very popular Japanese reality TV show “Fountains of Trivia”. Alan told them he knew just the guy who could set it up.



Over the past few years I’ve been fortunate enough (my company’s website and my email address are: www.p-a-t.com, -- email address removed --) to add significantly to my collections, including firearms of historical and military significance. Included are several machine guns, all “transferables”, for those of you who understand BATF Class 3 terminology. One of the gems is a RAMO M2HB . 50 BMG, which forms the basis for the story that follows.



After several emails and phone calls to the producer, we had a 2-day shoot arranged. I supplied all the guns, ammo, shooters, rangemaster, and reserved the range. The director, Swordmaster and 4-man crew flew in from Japan. The producer and additional crew came up from Los Angeles, and a 2-man crew came out of Salt Lake with the high-speed film camera. It was quite an event. The entire shoot took 2 days, 31 Aug – 1 Sep 2004 at the Wahsatch Shooters Association range near Kaysville, Utah. www.wahsatchshooters.com



In the following months, I’ve been looking for promised video footage from the producer, and haven’t had any response to my emails or voice messages. I heard from Gunboy that the segment would be shown in the US on SpikeTV’s show: “Hey! Spring of Trivia”. A few days ago I spoke to him and he told me that 2 segments which have aired in Japan were already posted on the Internet at http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/viewtopic.php?t=33637&highlight=samurai. When I looked at it, I couldn’t believe what I saw!!! This *******ization made me mad at first, and then I had to laugh. It is unfortunate that the facts are not accurately shown, but hey, there’s no reality in reality TV anyway.



I couldn’t let it pass without comment and clarification. The truth really is in here; you just have to know how, where, and when to look for it. Understanding how the story really unfolds and how it was cut and edited to show what the producer wants the audience to see is part of the game.



If you open the militaryphotos.net link with Windows Media Player, you can toggle the play/pause button at the timelines shown below.



Here are my comments with timeline references:

_____________________________________________________________________________

 

[drawson]

Cont

0:10 Prior footage of Gunboy demonstrating a . 45 ACP on the Katana (this has been erroneously labeled as 9mm, but it is in fact . 45 ACP fired from a M1911. The slow-moving lead bullet is cleanly split, with no damage at all to the sword. This is Episode One: --- The noble sword defeats the lowly gun.



Time for the humiliated gun to seek revenge and redemption of his honor by calling in his Big Brother. Get ready for Episode Two.



1:10 What a bogus little cartoon! Any guess what the first . 50 BMG bullet strike on the sword will do? Time place your wagers!!!!!! Too bad I can’t translate Japanese, but you can bet they’re touting their pride in their swords and dissing the . 50.



1:48 This . 50 is identical to mine, but isn’t, and the pic is at another range. Just goes to show that you can’t believe anything you see on TV.



The cast of characters:

Blake – the . 50 triggerman

Ben – the loader and rifle marksman

Gunboy – the on-camera narrator

Swordmaster – as himself



1:57 Blake on target – Tannerite is a blast (literally) in a preliminary demo. For more info go to www.tannerite.com.



2:01 Ben and the . 50 versus a 55-gallon barrel completely filled with water. 460 lbs is shocked off the ground about 2 feet. This slow motion footage is real – no editing here. See the subsequent rounds impacting the airborne barrel. Anyone want to withdraw his bet after seeing this power????



2:46 The Japanese film crew in route to Salt Lake City. Or at least a shot of an airliner on approach.



2:50 The Swordmaster taking a walk on the berm on the west side of the range. He’s thinking if he really wants to sacrifice a couple of his masterpieces. Kaysville, Utah is in the background. The Swordmaster brought a total of 3 swords to the shoot. #1 was shot on the first day, #2 on the second day. #3 was held in reserve and never used.



2:57 Ben’s truck, my . 50 mounted on my trailer at the range.



3:00 The #1 sword in its mount. The cinderblock backstop is for illustration of bullet impact. This was rebuilt several times over the 2-day shoot. Keep any eye on the wall throughout the sequences.



3:10 The . 50 set up at 5 meters from the sword.



3:15. Blake fine-tuning the sight picture. The . 50 is sandbagged and strapped down hard in the trailer. Ben has loaded a fresh fifty round belt of Yugoslavian 700 grain ball ammo, headstamp IK 98. Even with the awesome power of the . 50, I know that the point of the bullet has to hit head on the blade for maximum effect.



3:27 Sword #1 in place. Note no impacts on the cinderblock wall



3:32 The Cordin high-speed camera. This model runs 12,000 frames/second. For more info, go to www.cordin.com. They have some cool video images. The film crew brought about a half-dozen Sony (of course) high-end video cameras placed strategically around the shoot, from which other images were obtained. I also had a couple of video and digital cameras going.



3:55 The Swordmaster polishing up his baby. I will say the swords were exquisite in workmanship and sharp beyond any blade I have ever seen. He is an acknowledged master.



4:06 The Swordmaster and Gunboy covered up and ready for the first shot. Last chance for wagers. I’m giving odds at this point. Do they look nervous?



4:08 A rear view of the setup. Note that there are already impacts on the cinderblock wall. Before any shot has been made??? Could it be that something is already out of sequence? Ben is at the trigger in this “preliminary” take, but he never did shoot at sword #1. This is actually sword #2. Are you confused yet?



4:10 Blake on the trigger for the first shot at sword #1. Ben is feeding the belt. During the countdown, his “fire” is another voice dubbed in. Blake mashes the trigger and runs the entire 50rd belt in a long, loud burst. The footage cuts to Ben at the trigger. The boys are pretty quick to switch places without letting up on the trigger, don’t you think?



4:19 The Swordmaster’s reaction when he sees what has happened to his precious sword. This is his real, emotional response. Gunboy takes a couple of steps backward.



----- Sword #1 was cleanly severed with Blake’s first shot. I have this confirmed on my own video, as well as replays of other video cameras. All eyewitnesses will attest to the same. The game should be over at this point, don’t you think? Wait a minute!!!!! The show can’t be over this soon!!! Let’s get the film to the editing room and get out the scissors.



The following footage continues the deceptive “doctoring” of the images and sequences to give the impression that the sword withstood several impacts before breaking.



4:34 Note the bullet impacts in the cinderblock wall, and the sword is still intact. The BIG LIE starts. This is cleverly spliced footage of over a dozen individual shots from my Browning 1885 . 45-70 with a 5X Browning scope shooting lead Buffalo Bore bullets at Sword #2. This single shot rifle and the images play an important but deceiving role in the finished footage.



At 4:35 The footage quickly and almost imperceptibly jumps from sword #2 back to the first rounds fired from the . 50 at sword #1. If you are quick of eye and replay the footage several times, you can see the cinderblock wall “clean up” just before the first . 50 round hits and snaps sword #1.



4:43 The BIG LIE continues. You’re looking at successive shots from the . 45-70 at sword #2, cleverly spliced to make them look like machine gun fire. You’ll notice the bullets “chunking” fragments from the frontal edge of the blade. There were over a dozen . 45-70 impacts on the blade, each taking out a small chunk. After a dozen hits, the . 45-70 couldn’t do any more damage to sword #2, and was retired in favor of another weapon. More on this later



4:44 A quick jump back to sword #1 and the . 50. You can see the turbulence created by the muzzle blast of fifty continuous shots. Replay this a couple of times. See anything? An interesting and important fact revealed below.



4:51 This is real footage from the Cordin monitor of the breaking of sword #1. Notice NO impacts on the cinderblock wall AND the cleverly fabricated “hit marks” on the blade. Is there something wrong with this picture?? This blade was clean and pristine before the first . 50 shot. This would have you believe it is the same sword shown at 4:43.



Note the . 50 bullet streaking in from the left and its effect when it strikes the blade. The crew called the hit with the first shot and the broken blade spinning in view of the camera a “million dollar shot”. Look at the splatter impacting on the cinderblocks. Good shootin’ Blake.



5:15 More of the BIG LIE. The sequence would lead you to believe these are images of the . 50 striking the sword, but shots 1 – 6 are in fact images from the Cordin camera of the . 45-70 impacting sword #2. The sword does deflect, shatter, and split the heavy slow lead bullets. The images are pretty fun and fascinating to watch. You didn’t really believe these were bullets from a . 50 Browning Machine Gun, did you?????



6:36 Obviously, we’re not getting anywhere with the . 45-70. What else does Pat have in the rack? Why look, there’s an M1 Garand with ball ammo. Let’s give Ben one shot, which turns out to be #7 on this sequence. Any guess what happens??



----- For validation, replay and concentrate on the speed and shape of the incoming bullet #7 and contrast it with #1 – 6. See any difference? Then go back and look at the . 50 incoming at 4:52. Are these really the same type of bullet – size, speed?? Inquiring minds want to know. Those dupes who believe anything they see – well, they’ll believe anything.



6:56 Rusty the rangemaster checking out the wall, and the Swordmaster inspecting the damage.



7:00 Closeups of the remnants of Sword #2. The . 45-70 made an ugly mess out of it before the . 30-06 did the job. If you look closely at the back of the stump, you can see a split down the center of the laminated blade clear into the block, courtesy of the Garand.



7:15 Gunboy’s commentary. Obviously any projectile moving at 2700 fps and spinning at more than 129,000 RPM, and packing 13,000 foot-pounds of energy - even FMJ steel core ball - is not going to remain completely intact after striking any stationary object. I’ll acknowledge the Katana is strong enough to withstand a pure lead bullet of nearly any weight and speed. Any modern high-velocity bullet, especially steel core military – well you’ve seen the REAL results yourself.



7:23 The Swordmaster can’t figure out why there is 3” of the length missing from sword #1. For the answer, go back and look at 4:44. Blake’s fifty round burst snaps the sword with the first shot, then hits the stump 4 more times, shortening and distorting it with each successive impact.

 

[drawson]

Cont 2

This, boys and girls, is the truth.



The producers certainly know what their Japanese audience wants to see, and of course their immense pride in one of their best known crafts can’t be completely trampled on, so the result as edited is understandable, and is certainly entertaining. I’ll give them pretty good marks for their clever editing. If I hadn’t been there and witnessed the whole 2-day event, I could have been fooled myself. It was great fun, entertaining in its own right, the Japanese crew and their American affiliates were great, and we all had a good time.



If I could choose what I would take into a fight, it would be my . 50 BMG, no question. But I wouldn’t mind having a Katana strapped on my belt as well. The Swordmaster told me he’s going back to his shop and forge new handles on the 2 (now) shortened blades and turn them into shorter swords. At over $10,000 each for his new masterpieces, maybe he’ll make me a deal on one of these. He also went downrange and collected quite a few of the steel cores from the spent . 50 rounds to melt them and their spirits into a new sword. Maybe someday we’ll see Episode 3.







Katana narration. doc

9 January 2005