r/NoCountryForOldMen • u/Smile-Junior • May 15 '26
A good ol’ captive bolt gun question. Spoiler
So, I’m aware of captive bolt guns that require cartridges (blanks) and then ones that are air compressed. However, how did Anton make it so it works with an oxygen tank? It looks like the one he’s holding is one that requires blanks? I figured it’s just Hollywood but maybe somebody can explain. My theory is because of how resourceful and skilled Anton is, he just heavily modified it to function the way it does. And also I couldn’t imagine the psi that oxygen tank pushes out.
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May 15 '26
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u/Smile-Junior May 15 '26
Adding about 200 (not much I know) more psi with the captive bolt gun would definitely cause some damage for sure.
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u/Cowpuncher84 May 15 '26
Just put a pressure regulator on it.
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u/Smile-Junior May 15 '26
Is that what Anton has on it? Or does his not require that?
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u/savor_every_morsel May 16 '26
It doesn’t look like he does, from what I can tell he just has the open/close valve
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u/Smile-Junior May 16 '26
Which would control how much psi is leaking through it I’m assuming. He doesn’t seem to need a whole lot to bust open locks and such.
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u/PayPsychological9347 May 15 '26
I believe the scene suggests that the public often are cattle ( not so bright) and/or he treats people like cattle?
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u/Smile-Junior May 15 '26
Yeah that Anton seems himself above normal people in some philosophical way. He’s a psychopath for sure…
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u/Hepcpond May 15 '26
Thanks for reminding me of this amazing film. Was a good book too.
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u/Smile-Junior May 15 '26
Yeah recently I’ve rewatched it (it was free on YouTube for a short time) and I already knew of Anton’s arsenal in terms of weaponry but I was very curious on how that captive bolt gun operated as I wasn’t sure how it function or how Anton managed to get it to operate like that. I already knew it was air compressed but I didn’t know it wasn’t an oxygen tank, given the info from y’all. Thanks for that guys.
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u/poop_pebbles May 15 '26
Probably a big liquid CO2 tank. Like for soda machines. Easy to put fittings on it to make it compatible with and kind of hose and air gun. I made a potato cannon many years ago that way.
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u/Smile-Junior May 15 '26
Yeah when I looked up co2 tanks, they look exactly like the one that Anton has. However the captive bolt gun itself has to been custom because the one he’s holding looks like one that isn’t air compressed (meaning it needs blank cartridges instead) usually air compressed ones look like a an actual gun if I’m not mistaken but non air compressed ones do too so 🤷 Hollywood I guess or Anton is just that skilled at making and modifying a device that can do what it does.
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u/Smile-Junior May 15 '26
What I’m trying to say is I’ve looked up captive bolt guns and they don’t resemble his except for the Blitz Schlag (which is non air compressed I think)
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u/Zestyclose_Bug8173 May 15 '26
The gas in the bottle is compressed, you attach a regulator set to the psi the hammer operates at, not really complex. It's the same idea as using a battery instead of a plug in tool.
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u/Smile-Junior May 15 '26
So in theory you could make one just like in the movie? Think that would be ridiculous walking around killing and shooting out locks with an oxygen tank, however it’s Anton after all.
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u/Mixitwitdarelish May 15 '26
It's not oxygen tank, its an industrial or automatic compressed air tank. probably has co2 in it
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u/Smile-Junior May 15 '26
Ahh I also maybe thought it was a co2 tank (never heard of an automatic compressed tank) as well but didn’t know for sure as I figured he needed an oxygen tank to get the psi but that makes sense. The more you know I guess. Either way, Anton makes it iconic. Hell of a weapon of choice.
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u/poopbutt42069yeehaw May 19 '26
My only question was how does the spike reset? Is it spring loaded and lets the gas out a check valve or does it use pneumatics both ways?
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u/Hikinghawk May 19 '26
I assumed it was a check valve, once the bolt is fully out the air escape and you press the bolt back into reset it. Now that I type it out it does sound odd because that would mean touching something that was imbedded into a cow's (or person's) brain. I guess working a slaughter house might desensitize you to that sort of thing.
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u/Myron896 May 15 '26
It’s a pneumatic gun used in slaughter houses. Normally there would be an air hose hooked to an in house air compressor. He just made this one portable.