The Dirty Harry movies featured a lot of shootouts and gunfire, but they also popularized particular weapons with a lot of stopping power.
Dirty Harry was a franchise that tackled the crime epidemic of the 1970s, putting Harry Callahan at the forefront as the eyes and ears of the audience. His job was a series of never-ending shootouts with the worst criminals in society, and his lethal brand of justice usually put him at odds with an increasingly liberalized justice department.
When the bullets began to fly, a number of iconic weapons were used, which have since gone down as the most popular of the series. Some weapons are renowned for their stopping power, and others for the manner in which they added something to the story. All of them were quite deadly in the right hands.
Harpoon Gun (The Dead Pool)
One of the most iconic weapons in the Dirty Harry franchise was not a firearm at all, but a large harpoon gun he acquires at the docks. He uses it to kill Harlan Rook, right after uttering one of his most famous quotes from the Dirty Harry films.
There's nothing particularly special about the harpoon gun, except for how it sticks Harlan to the wall like a giant tuna fish. It is also ironic in the fact that it was the last weapon Harry Callahan ever used to take out a criminal before the franchise came to an end.
Colt Detective Special (Sudden Impact)
The Colt Detective Special bears significance for its role in the film Sudden Impact. It's the gun used by Jennifer Spencer in her various revenge killings against those who assaulted both her and her sister a few years prior. She uses the weapon in a brutal fashion, making it a character almost unto itself.
The version in the film is a nickel-plated variant of the 1927 snub-nosed original. It fired .38 Special and .32 New Police rounds, weighed a paltry 1.3 lbs, and was just 6.75" inches in length, making it the perfect conceal and carry a weapon for Jennifer to stalk her assailants.
AMP Auto Mag Model 180 (Sudden Impact)
Harry rarely used other guns besides his .44 Magnum, but Sudden Impact decided to switch things up a bit. He acquires the AMP Auto Mag Model 180 when his trusty sidearm is kicked off of a dock, earlier in the film. He then keeps it at his side for the remainder of the film.
The most obvious trait of the weapon is its accentuated 8.5" barrel. The gun itself fired .44 AMP rounds in the film, but could also fire a number of other calibers, from .357 to .50 AE. It had a 7-round magazine, which was one more than Harry was typically used to.
Colt Diamondback (The Enforcer)
The Colt Diamondback is an iconic weapon in the Dirty Harry movies, due to the character who wields it - Kate Moore. As Callahan's first female partner, she benefitted from a weapon that was better attuned to her size and physicality, with a hefty amount of stopping power retained.
The Diamondback came out in 1966 and sold for twenty years. It came in two versions, including the 2.5" inch barrel version wielded by Kate in the film. It fired either a .22 caliber round in the LR version, or a .38 special, with a typical 6-round revolver cylinder.
M72A1 LAW (The Enforcer)
As the Dirty Harry movies progressed, so too did the demand for bigger shootouts and action scenes. It was inevitable then, that a rocket launcher would make an appearance, this time in the form of the M72A1 LAW, which is used by Callahan to obliterate a guard tower on Alcatraz.
The LAW was designed as an anti-light armor weapon during the Vietnam War, but it needed to be lightweight and easy to carry. It fired a single encased 66mm rocket that weighed approximately 4 lbs, which is slightly heavier than the average laptop.
Colt Python (Magnum Force)
One of the most famous handguns in the world, the Colt Python is also one of the most powerful. It is used by a number of police officers in Magnum Force and is also featured prominently in a scene where Harry Callahan swaps his .44 Magnum for one during a shooting competition, one of the most iconic moments of the Dirty Harry franchise.
This .357 Magnum revolver debuted in 1955, and ended its production run in 1999. They were designed with law enforcement in mind, which meant they were of higher quality than many peer revolvers on the market. They were also extremely reliable and known to fire 12,000 rounds without any failures.
Walther P38 (Dirty Harry)
The Walther P38 was introduced halfway through the film when Scorpio robs a liquor store owner by lowering his guard with some friendly banter. He carries it to the final act of the film, when he uses it in a gunfight against Harry Callahan.
This pistol replaced the popular German-made Luger P08, beginning in 1938. It fired 9x19mm Parabellum rounds from an 8-round magazine and saw action during WWII. It has been featured in dozens upon dozens of movies, TV shows, and video games.
Arisaka Type 2 Paratrooper Takedown Rifle (Dirty Harry)
Scorpio was one of the most evil action movie villains of all time, and he inflicted terror on the citizens of the city with this rifle, which was a relic of WWII. It was used primarily by the Japanese Armed Forces from 1897, right up to 1945, making the non-modified version a rare and valuable collectible among enthusiasts.
The model used in Dirty Harry fired 7.7x58mm rounds with a 5-round capacity. It sported a Hiram Maxim suppressor with a sporting style stock, which wouldn't have fetched very much on the collector market, as it is too much of a departure from the genuine article.
Smith & Wesson Model 29 (Dirty Harry)
Harry Callahan wielded this trusty firearm throughout the entirety of the Dirty Harry film franchise, primarily because of its stopping power and reliability. It became one of the most iconic weapons in movie history, thanks in large part to Clint Eastwood's dynamite career performance as the titular character.
The Model 29 was a .44 Magnum six-shooter revolver that was, at the time, the most powerful commercially sold handgun in existence. Whether it would blow a man's head "clean off" is another matter, though it's doubtful anyone wanted to volunteer and find out.
Smith & Wesson M76 (Magnum Force)
This submachine gun was iconic, given that it was such a marked departure from the types of firearms seen in Dirty Harry films. In Magnum Force, it is used by Officer Astrachan during the scene where he assassinates mobsters having a pool party, in broad daylight.
The M76 was designed primarily as a fallback weapon for the U.S. Navy S.E.A.L.S., due to the fact that Sweden triggered an arms embargo which denied them the Carl Gustaf M/45 SMG. It was designed to be inexpensive, controllable, and very reliable, which served it well during the Vietnam war.
