Thanks to the miracle of Blu-ray, we know a lot about vampires. They kill with good looks, are notoriously hard to make re-dead, and they never seem to know when to stop making sequels. With vrykolakas outbreaks on the rise, how does one prepare to defend self and family? The Robert E. Peterson Gallery of the NRA’s National Firearms Museum just might have the perfect solution.
The Vampire Hunter’s Colt Detective Special includes everything you need to make the undead more dead. Image: National Firearms Museum
The Vampire Hunter’s Colt Detective Special would make Buffy proud. It’s hard to argue with the .38 Special six-shot revolver choice when supernatural reliability is required. Used by law enforcement and enthusiasts since its introduction in 1927, the classic wheel gun has a proven track record that’s hard to match—against humans that is. When it comes to fighting the undead, certain upgrades are required, unless the user wants to obtain a thirst for blood and unwanted immortality. Let’s take a look at what the Vampire Hunter’s Colt ensemble includes. We’ll evaluate and score each feature for real-world vampire stopping effectiveness, so you an make an informed evaluation. You’re not just betting your life on this gun, but your afterlife as well.
Do you really need hand-carved silver bullets to kill a vampire? Well, yes. Image: National Firearms Museum
Since all the really bad vampires were killed off in the last Twilight saga movie, we weren’t able to complete field trials for this article. You’ll just have to settle for our expert opinion. No worries though, our qualifications are beyond reproach—we watched Twilight, New Moon, and The Lost Boys in preparation for this project.
The entire gun is plated with silver. All of it. Even the inside of the chambers. I like this design decision as the revolver can be used as a club for last-ditch defense. While that won’t re-kill a dedicated vampire, the silver-coated beating will provide a level of aggravation. Nine out of 10.
Since a silver-lined barrel won’t stay silver-lined for very many shots, sterling silver bullets are included. But these are nothing so tame as the Lone Ranger, round-nose variety. Each one is carved with a vampire head. You’ll notice the jaws are open, so when your slug impacts that really good-looking bloodsucker, the bullet will compress, close the jaws, and bite him back! We’re giving the bullets high marks for creativity, even though they cost their weight in…silver. Another nine out of 10.
The Halloween Special, eh?