For the gun guy or girl, there were a lot of cool firearms featured in the movie Die Hard, the vehicle that turned Bruce Willis from a mediocre TV actor to a funny action movie star. You young folks can look it up.
Die Hard was essentially a two hour long commercial for European gun makers. Hans Gruber held up the Heckler & Koch P7 M13 “squeeze-cocker” for the camera a number of times. The HK MP5A3 was displayed continuously (actually converted HK94’s). Big burly Karl favored the Steyr AUG. Sergeant Al Powell wielded the LAPD-issued and American-made S&W Model 15 and, of course, our hero, John McClane, sported the Italian Beretta 92, initially carried in a Galco shoulder rig.
Sadly, the HK P7 M13 is now a wildly expensive out-of-production piece that will set you back somewhere in the neighborhood of $4,000 to $7,500. If you can find one. A transferable HK MP5 will cost you about as much as a new pickup truck. A semi-automatic SP5 from HK has an MSRP around $3,700.
The Guns of John McClane
As I write this, Christmas is fast approaching. For fun, I thought I’d focus on the two firearms primarily used by Officer John McClane of the NYPD: the Beretta 92 and the HK MP5. If you’d like to defend your estranged wife at your Christmas party and shoot like John McClane, there are options that won’t put you in debt or require a second mortgage.
Beretta 92
Interestingly, even though Al Powell was carrying a S&W revolver, LAPD would soon switch over to the Beretta 92F and life would imitate art.
The mid-1980s was a good time for Beretta. They won the US Army pistol contract and were featured in two blockbuster movies; Die Hard and Lethal Weapon. The Model 92 has been a staple in that company’s lineup for almost fifty years now and is still going strong.
Caliber: 9mm
Action: DA/SA
Capacity: 15 rds (others)
Barrel Length: 4.9 inches
Overall Length: 8.5 inches
Weight (empty) 33.3 ounces
Furniture: Hardwood or Polymer
MSRP $809 (about $720 retail)
Century Arms AP5
For those who would like to own an MP5 lookalike, without dropping several grand, Century Arms has a line of Turkish clones that are actually built to the HK production specifications and are nearly identical. There are several guns in the AP5 line up.
The first one featured here is the standard AP5 9x19mm pistol from Century with an SB Tactical stabilizing brace added by me as well as a Holosun optic for fun. I also installed a Franklin Armory binary trigger as well.
Caliber: 9mm
Capacity: 30+1 rounds
Weight: 5.5 LBS
Barrel Length: 8.9″
Overall Length: 17.9″
Action: Semi-Automatic
MSRP $1359
Century Arms AP5-SD
While the HK MP5SD, the integrally suppressed favorite of the US Navy SEALs wasn’t featured in Die Hard, it’s an MP5 variant and Century Arms has a semi-auto pistol that is a near exact close.
his version is called the AP5-SD and, brothers and sisters, it is so much fun to shoot. The “SD” comes with a faux suppressor, but the barrel is threaded with a standard 1/2×28 TPI so any modern 9mm can will work with it.
Caliber: 9mm
Capacity: 30+1 rounds
Weight: 6.66 Lbs
Barrel Length: 5.75“
Overall Length: 30.0″
Action: Semi-Automatic
MSRP $1699
Parting Shots
On an unusually warm December afternoon up here in the mountains, I loaded up the aforementioned three firearms, a full ammo can of 9mm and headed to the range. With my red Santa hat and custom-made gray sweatshirt along, I spent a couple of hours doing what those who reside in free America do. I fired guns that the majority of those who live here on planet Earth are forbidden to possess.
As Christmas approaches, you might want to take a moment to thank your Creator that you live in a state where such an endeavor doesn’t require special permission. If you don’t find yourself in such a position, it’s up to you to correct that or simply envy those who do.
Merry Christmas to all and yippee ki-yay, mother-lovers!
Paul G. Markel is the founder of Student the Gun University and has been teaching Small Arms & Tactics to military personnel, police officers, and citizens for over three decades. He is the author of numerous books and is a combat decorated United States Marine veteran.