| Sons of Guns | |
|---|---|
| Format | Reality television |
| Starring | Will Hayden Stephanie Hayden Vince Buckles Kristopher Ford Joe Meaux Charlie Watson |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 3 |
| No. of episodes | 28 aired |
| Production | |
| Location(s) | Baton Rouge, Louisiana |
| Running time | 30 minutes with commercials (season 1), 60 minutes with commercials (season 2–3) |
| Production company(s) | Jupiter Entertainment |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | Discovery Channel |
| Original run | January 26, 2011 – present |
| External links | |
| Website | |
Sons of Guns is a reality television series that airs on the Discovery Channel.[1] The series centers on Red Jacket Firearms LLC, a Louisiana-based business that manufactures and sells custom weapons. Will Hayden is the founder and owner of the shop, while his daughter Stephanie manages the office.
As on the Discovery Channel series MythBusters, this show practices a degree of self-censorship and safety-consciousness. Each episode begins with a staff member (usually Will) warning viewers not to try anything demonstrated on the show at home. In addition, during scenes of catastrophic failure, the crew will remind the audience not to try anything at home. The program also makes a noted point to avoid showing specific detail of how weapon modifications or fabrications are performed.
The staff of Red Jacket also made an appearance in the second episode of the second season of American Chopper: Senior vs. Junior, asking Paul Jr. Designs to help them with a dragon-themed machine gun design.
Contents |
During a routine inspection in 2009, Red Jacket could not account for ten registered guns. In a settlement, William Hayden and Stephanie Hayden surrendered their gun-making licenses and were allowed to choose a licensed individual to control Red Jacket. Initially, that person was Vincent Buckles, but Buckles has left the company and now two others individuals control the company.[3]
Episode premiers were watched by an average of 1.79 million people, making the show the third ranked Wednesday night, non-sports, cable network series.[4]
In season one, episode run lengths are 30 minutes.
| Episode # | Title | Airdate |
|---|---|---|
| 101 (1) | "Civil War Cannon/Shotgun Silencer" | January 26, 2011 |
| After seeing a suppressed shotgun in a popular movie, a man comes into the shop and challenges Will to build it. A cannon collector brings in his $250,000 Civil War Confederate cannon, but Will wants it inspected before he and his team shoot it. With the initial design of a shotgun silencer a failure, Will is forced to try again. During the firing of the cannon, Will gives shop apprentice Kris a "six-pack bonus" and lets him fire the first shot the cannon has seen in over 100 years. | ||
| 102 (2) | "Master Key" | January 26, 2011 |
| Will briefly talks about his employees. A local SWAT consultant, Marco, asks Will to design a gun which will cut down on the time needed between breaching a door and switching to a primary firearm. Will sets out accomplishing this with a combination shotgun-assault rifle. The team is worried about meeting deadlines with a malfunctioning mill. Will buys, to daughter Stephanie's displeasure and economic concern, a grenade launcher. Will attends a live fire test of his product, with excellent results. This weapon design is easily purchased from other weapon makers that have sold it for many years but Will still "comes up with the idea". | ||
| 103 (3) | "Flamethrower" | February 2, 2011 |
| After an encounter with a fellow veteran Woody Williams in a war museum, Will agrees to restore the fellow Marine's World War II flamethrower to working condition. It becomes clear to the shop that Will has a mysterious fear of using the weapon, however. Customers of the shop's store include a man looking to modify a purchased AK-47 to accept 30 round magazines, and a man who wanted to resell a fake M1 carbine. A husband comes in with his wife and works with Will to pick out a home defense weapon. After a friendly competition to determine who would use the flamethrower, the shop tests it out with a surprising conclusion. | ||
| 104 (4) | "Browning Machine Gun/Stephanie's Big Bet" | February 2, 2011 |
| Will spends an enormous amount of money to buy an M2 Browning ("Ma Deuce") machine gun kit, but it becomes clear he cannot put it together on his own. Stephanie works hard to sell enough guns through the store to compensate for Will's purchase, with the shop betting whether she can accomplish this feat. Stephanie lowers the price of a store weapon in exchange for a night fishing trip. The test firing of the Ma Deuce does not go without a few hiccups. | ||
| 105 (5) | "Coffee Grinder/Katana" | February 9, 2011 |
| Firearms instructor Tiger McKee commissions Red Jacket with building five copies of his prototype "Shootrite Katana" lightweight assault rifle. Shop gunsmith Vincent is assigned the job of assembly. Glen, Will's friend, finds a rare "coffee grinder" Civil War–era rifle, but its authenticity is questionable. Kris, the shop apprentice, makes a mistake in painting the Katanas. Finally, after a late night of final assembly by Vincent, the gun gets tested by Tiger with great results. | ||
| 106 (6) | "AK-47 Silencer" | February 9, 2011 |
| Will has a swivel gun delivered and has a mount manufactured by another shop. After demonstrating an external silencer for a client (Joe), the client asks Will to produce an integral AK-47 silencer. Will puts the final result through its paces, and the client is pleased with the results. After modifying the swivel gun's mount to suit his preferences, the team gives it a test fire on a lake. | ||
| 107 (7) | "The Bazooka/Kris' Birthday" | February 16, 2011 |
| Will briefly forgets about shop apprentice Kris' birthday, and has to decide on a gift to give him. Glenn, Will's friend, comes into the shop and asks Will to make reproduction World War II bazookas to be used in reenactments. Although Kris makes a minor mistake, fabrication goes smoothly. However, there is a problem with the accuracy of the rockets and gunsmith Joe is tasked with fixing it. The target on which the bazooka is tested is shocking to some, but testing goes smoothly and an immediate demand for the final product surfaces. | ||
| 108 (8) | "Tommy Gun/Machete" | February 16, 2011 |
| Shop employee Charlie works Will to build and sell a "Red Jacket" collectible samurai sword and machete combination blade. The local sheriff asks Will to modify a Thompson ("Tommy") sub-machine gun for use with his SWAT team. The shop sets to work on the sub-machine gun work which suffers from multiple initial firing troubles. Charlie's efforts at sword making become a complete failure, forcing Will to take control. Will demonstrates the final Tommy gun result for the sheriff and a pair of his deputies, leaving the clients happy. | ||
| 109 (9) | "Movie Gun/Leopard Gun" | February 23, 2011 |
| A movie producer visits the store and wants Will to convert a regular sub-machine gun into a gun that will only fire blanks. Although the money is good, time is short for the job. A counterfeit Red Jacket gun comes back in to the store for warranty service. Stephanie asks the guys to surprise her dad with a double-barreled shotgun converted into a "leopard gun". Charlie is set to do the job, but it becomes clear he needs help. Will, Stephanie, and Kris visit the movie set to demo the blank-firing gun, but the result of the trip is more than one surprise, including a visit with actor Jeffrey Dean Morgan. | ||
| 110 (10) | "Remote Controlled Machine Gun" | February 23, 2011 |
| Red Jacket is tasked by an antique gun shop to restore and test a 19th century pistol. DB, a security contracting firm agent, asks Will to build a remote-control machine gun which can be mounted to a vehicle. Will consults with Louisiana State University for the stabilization system, but an argument arises over the remote control for using the gun. Meanwhile, a strange man comes into the store. The remote-controlled machine gun is put through its paces. | ||
| 111 (11) | "ATV Gun/Help Wanted At Red Jacket" | March 2, 2011 |
| A combat disabled Marine comes to Will and asks him to build a gun system which would allow him to hunt from an ATV with a shotgun using his single functional arm. Stephanie and Will work on finding some additional help in the shop, but Kris has a problem with one of the applicants. Will becomes angry with Vince when Vince believes their ATV-shotgun mounting system is flawed. A promising applicant (Glenn Flemming, AKA "Flemm") comes into the shop while the ATV gun is tested in the field by the client and the price is a surprise. | ||
| 112 (12) | "Machine Gun Mania/The New Guy" | March 2, 2011 |
| A police officer comes into the shop with a M1919 Browning machine gun and asks Will to convert it into a shoulder-fired weapon for a competition—in a few days. The crew sets about replacing and adding parts to make the 1919 shoulder mounted and lighter. The aftermarket parts they install have multiple issues requiring Vince to work through the night to meet the client's deadline. The demo becomes, according to Will, "a hoot". Flemm gets hired on with Red Jacket. | ||
| 113 (13) | "The Rocket Launcher" | March 9, 2011 |
| Security contractor Marco returns to Red Jacket and requests Will to design a non-lethal weapons system to deter sea-based pirate attacks. Based on a Katyusha rocket launcher design, Joe takes the lead designing the rockets and launching system. A customer comes into the shop with a 1910 Maxim machine gun, but the costs of repair are immense. Kris shows his brother around the shop. Testing of the rocket array goes off with a bang. | ||
| 114 (14) | "Alligator Kill Stick" | March 16, 2011 |
| A friend of Vince asks him to build a weapon which can kill an alligator humanely without damaging the valuable hide. Will tries to ease the workload on the shop by hiring mechanic Christopher/"Mikey" as well as asking Vince and Kris to help out on the phones. Flemm assists Charlie with testing some vintage weapons. Vince and Will go out to the field to test the alligator kill stick. | ||
| 115 (15) | "Double M16" | March 23, 2011 |
| An active duty navy gunner asks Will to tie two M16's together for better fire support ability. However, Will tasks Joe with designing a water cooling system when the gas tube/barrel turns bright red under sustained fire, causing premature primer detonation. Stephanie and a customer test out some shotguns. Kris gets in trouble when he abandons the front store to give a "booty tour" of the shop. | ||
| 116 (16) | "Flashlight Gun" | March 30, 2011 |
| Will is inspired by Charlie's cool folding pellet gun to get the Red Jacket team to create a combination flashlight and survival kit that unfolds to become a semi-automatic M11 SBR rifle. Then, new guy Flem is tested when Will tasks him to build an MG 42 machine gun—aka "Hitler's Buzzsaw"—from a parts kit. As the build gets underway, Charlie's excitement causes him to prematurely advertise the product, much to Will and Stephanie's dismay; meanwhile, Vince is not too thrilled at having to build "MacGyver's Lunchbox". | ||
Beginning with season two, episode run lengths are 60 minutes.
| Episode # | Title | Airdate |
|---|---|---|
| 201 (17) | "Anniversary Bash" | July 13, 2011 |
| With the 10 year anniversary of Red Jacket approaching, Will looks back on how far Red Jacket has come. To celebrate, Will decides to build a 3-in-1 M16 machine gun "triamese" as his Anniversary present; meanwhile Stephanie secretly organizes a surprise party; however, an error made by Kris is going to make it more difficult than expected as people begin showing up by the numbers before the celebration. An unexpected object falls out of an antique gun repair, which turns out to be a tooth. Will's surprise party goes off with a bang. | ||
| 202 (18) | "AK Sniper Rifle" | July 20, 2011 |
| Will decides to build a gun with the accuracy of a sniper rifle and the semi-automatic dependability of an AK-47 despite the doubts of Vince. World Champion archer, Chris Brackett, asks Will to make an arrow gun and exploding arrows. A customer has Red Jacket bring a WWII Arisaka rifle back to firing condition, at the same time Charlie is given the assignment to search for its ammo. The popularity of "Sons of Guns" takes its toll on Stephanie. | ||
| 203 (19) | "American Chopper Gun" | July 27, 2011 |
| This episode coincides with the second episode of the second season of American Chopper: Senior vs. Junior titled Big Guns. Kris sketches up a crazy idea to create a chrome dipped 1919 into a chopper war machine. Will then talks to Paul Teutul Jr. from Paul Jr. Designs and invites him (as well as Mikey) to come to the shop to test fire the new 1919 dragon gun. Stephanie is upset at the fact that she was not put in the loop in regards to the Teutuls visiting the shop. Vince requests help from Deep South Choppers and his tattoo artist to design aspects for the Dragon Gun. Once the painters complete the design, the team overlooks one minor detail which has Flem and the team scrambling to call back the painters. Meanwhile, world's fastest shooter, Jerry Miculek, stops into the shop and bets that he can shoot the Semi-Automatic, Silenced AK-47 faster than the factory full-auto version. Kris finally gets to use his "guitar gun" as a reward. Will and Vince head up to New York to see the PJD Team and give Mikey's birthday present from Paulie. | ||
| 204 (20) | "The Meat Chopper" | August 10, 2011 |
| Will tackles the ultimate challenge: taking four MG 42 machine guns and combining them into a German version of the classic WWII "Meat Chopper" anti-aircraft weapon, but the question is will the team succeed or has the team finally bitten off more than they can chew. Then, a customer brings in a rare antique French palm pistol that sparks a father-daughter debate about how to run the Red Jacket business. Joe and Charlie create some flying targets on the side for the "Meat Chopper", but Joe's flying skills are something to be desired. (Taken from Discovery.com) | ||
| 205 (21) | "Grenade Launcher Silencer" | August 17, 2011 |
| The Red Jacket crew tackles the nearly impossible - taking a fully automatic Mk 19 Grenade Launcher, and converting it into a silenced, single shot select fire weapon. Meanwhile, Kris takes it upon himself to make a hunting rifle float for a customer much to everyone's chagrin. Will, Joe, and Charlie play with the concept of a gun powder version of a Soviet Ballistic Knife. Flem and Steph begin to go at it in regards to a paycheck and Will has to step in the middle. Later, Flem gets tagged by one of the shop machines, which causes him to black out. Steph starts stressing out as paperwork piles up in the office. With the Mk19 close to completion, the team overlooks one minor detail, which could prevent the team from making the deadline and Will prepares to lose it. (Taken from Discovery.com) | ||
| 206 (22) | "Flying Guns And Uzis" | August 24, 2011 |
| Will and the Red Jacket crew are now building death guns for helicopters! Red Jacket is building a complete operating Mag 58 weapons system with a unique twist -- a swivel arm. Will takes a stock Uzi and makes it competition ready in record time. Then, Stephanie goes on a wild ride. (Taken from Discovery.com) | ||
| 207 (23) | "Taser Shotgun" | August 31, 2011 |
| Will brainstorms combining a shotgun and a Taser for the police, but someone in the shop will need to be tased for the demonstration. The Red Jacket team revives a demilitarized WWII-era Lahti L-39 anti-tank gun to honor a veteran, while Will lays down the law for Kris who needs to back off on the front office flirting. (Taken from Discovery.com) | ||
| 208 (24) | "The Gatling Gun/Dueling Pistols" | September 7, 2011 |
| Will's motto "If you dream it, we can build it" is put to the test when a local scrap yard owner challenges him to build a modernized Gatling shotgun. The Red Jacket team repairs a set of antique dueling pistols, and Will is challenged to a duel. (Taken from Discovery.com) | ||
| 209 (25) | "Oh My God, A Cannon!" | September 14, 2011 |
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Things get crazy when Will tackles a WWII-era 57 mm Gun M1, a variant of the British Ordnance QF 6 pounder anti-tank gun. Meanwhile, Vince gives an AR-15 the Red Jacket treatment for Super Bowl champion and New Orleans Saints kicker Garrett Hartley. Then, things between Kris and Stephanie take an unexpected turn. (Taken from Discovery.com) |
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| 210 (26) | "Guns Of Glory" | November 24, 2011 |
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This was presented as a Thanksgiving Special Presentation following Pumpkin Chunkin 2011. This filming of this episode took place prior to the Season 2 Finale. The Red Jacket Staff counts down their Top 10 Guns thus far, as well as reveal moments that occurred off camera: 10. GE Minigun - The team discusses the history of the weapon, as well as the Hollywood concept of a minigun backpack seen in various action films, specifically the scenes from Predator. 9. Tommy Gun - The team discusses Vince's opposition to modernizing an "American Classic", Will's ""They will die!!!" quote during testing and how it has became a staple in promoting safety; as well as Kris' terrible James Cagney impersonation. 8. Mag 58 - Will and Steph discuss their experience from shooting from the helicopter. 7. Master Key - Vince discusses his shyness toward camera and his firsthand experience in Reality TV, as well as the overall construction of the build including moments that happened off camera and during testing. 6. Meat Chopper - Flemm discusses about almost losing his finger, as well as Charlie and Joe's issues with the remote control planes. 5. .50 Caliber Machine Gun M2 "Ma Deuce" (and .50 Caliber Barrett) - Will discuss the difference between the two weapons, while Kris and Steph debate which of the two guns are better. 4. Lahti - The team discuss the size and power of the weapon, while Vince mentions about the Smurf obsession during the build. 3. Integrally Suppressed AK - The team discusses the impact of the weapon had in the business, as well as Kris' legendary water scene in the end credits of the episode...and the problems that occurred after filming. 2. 1919 Machine Gun - The team recalls Mike Johnson, a police officer who wanted a shoulder fired 1919, as well as the visit from Paul Jr. Designs telling them to come back and visit. 1. AK-47 - Will discusses about the first firearm he built in his life, then leaves a final message to the fans that Red Jacket is just getting started. |
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| Episode # | Title | Airdate |
|---|---|---|
| 301 (27) | "Will's Floating Fortress" | December 7, 2011 |
| The Red Jacket crew creates a dual mounted M-240 Bravo machine gun and Mk 19 grenade launcher for the local sheriff's Gulf Patrol Boat. Will restores a WWII German Luger P08 after he's inspired by the gun's great battlefield capture story. And Kris finally steels himself to respond to Will's ultimatum - does he choose Steph or Red Jacket? | ||
| 302 (28) | "Honey I Blew Up the USS Kidd" | December 14, 2011 |
| Will and the Red Jacket crew restore a 20 mm Oerlikon cannon and twin 40 mm Bofors anti-aircraft guns aboard the World War II destroyer USS Kidd (DD-661) for an explosive Fourth of July air show. Meanwhile, Steph and Charlie designs a line of ladies Saiga 5.45 rifles — with fashionable custom paint jobs — much to Will's chagrin, as well as becoming a distraction to the team. The question is then brought up...what is the origin of the Red Jacket name? | ||
| 303 (29) | "Flamethrower Cannon" | December 21, 2011 |
| Will and the RJ crew are challenged to build a double-barreled, napalm spewing, flamethrower cannon, much to Will's chagrin again after having to deal with Woody William's flamethrower restoration in the past. Meanwhile, against Will's wishes, Steph enlists Kris to help her design Derringer holsters for women. Also, Vince and Charlie rebuilds a German Mauser K98 rifle that has original capture papers provided by their resident gun historian Glenn Harrison. Problems occur during reveal day, but Will once again has to face his fears in front of his team and his clientele. | ||
| 304 (30) | "Boys and Their Maxim Toys" | December 28, 2011 |
| After a previous disappointment, Will and the RJ crew finally get the chance to restore a WWI Maxim machine gun, mount it to a plane engine and create an interrupter system allowing the gun to fire cleanly between moving propeller blades. Also, Vince and Steph team up to modify a Glock with special charging handles to help a customer with multiple sclerosis safely fire again. Vince ends up having to deal with too many things at home that it is hindering his work load; it further becomes a pain with the team looking over his back. Meanwhile, the team tries to deal with the propeller engine ending with some unexpected results. Flem once again tries to find out the meaning behind the Red Jacket name, without success - until Will decides to tell everyone the story. | ||
| 305 (31) | "Hogzilla Gun" | January 4th, 2012 |
| Will and the RJ crew create a muscled up, silenced, night stalking AR to take down the wild hogs that are tearing up Louisiana farm land. Also, Charlie scores big when he finds rare, pinfire ammo for a 150-year-old, $7500, 20-round Lefaucheux Pistol. | ||