Popular Guns of Detective Movies from the 1970s

By Scott Gara

The 1970s brought us big hair, disco music and some of the finest detective movies to ever grace the big screen. We look back at some of our favorites from Chinatown to Shaft and the guns that made these movies instant classics.
*Word of warning: spoilers ahead*
Colt Detective Special
This one seems rather obvious to have on the list and it’s found in many crime thrillers from the 1970s. The Colt Detective Special is a six-shot snub-nosed revolver. It’s most commonly chambered in .38 Special.
The Detective Special was first introduced in 1927 and made its way into many law enforcement agencies across the country. You won’t find many in service anymore but these were among the most common service handguns in America. It’s reflected in detective thrillers of the 70s.
You can find these little revolvers in many movies from this era but the one who gave it the most flair, the most panache, the most 1970s cool to the gun was probably the man with the baddest leather duster of all-time, John Shaft.
In the clip below you can see Shaft making a heroic rescue by crashing through a window. He even sports his nickel-plated Colt Detective Special on the movie poster.

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Source: Guns.com