Roland's Searcy double rifle rests against a tree. His neglect to keep it close leads to Nick Owen pulling the bullets, leaving empty, useless shells.
Roland inspecting his rifle before going to collect his "fee".
Roland aims for the Tyrannosaur Doe. When Roland pulls the triggers, a click sound effect is heard. In reality, even though Nick pulled the bullets, the primers would still make a snap when fired, as opposed to empty clicks.
The Nitro Express Double Barrel Rifle is a large-caliber rifle carried by Roland Tembo in The Lost World: Jurassic Park, It is a large caliber rifle popularized in the early 1900's by ivory hunters. These rifles are often referred to simply as a "double," referencing the two barrels per single rifle. Double rifles are the favored rifle for African professional hunters as the two barrels allow for a quick follow-up shot on animals without having to reload. Two rifles were made for the production of this movie by B. Searcy & Co. of Boron, CA. Steven Spielberg is said to own one of them himself. The location of the other is unknown. Both rifles made for the movie are real and fully functional. As with all double rifles, the intense amount of time and labor to make them dictates a price tag of several tens-of-thousands of dollars. A plastic model was made as well for stand-ins when the real rifle, which is heavy, was not necessary.
Trivia[]
- The shooting script for The Lost World: Jurassic Park clarifies that Roland's Nitro Express is a family heirloom and was previously owned by his father, previously used by legendary marksmen Karimojo Bell. Despite the power of the rifle's cartridges, 8700 foot pounds of striking force, Roland is adamant he'd have to get close and score a brain shot to be confident he could down a Tyrannosaurus.
- It is worth noting however, that Karamojo Bell preferred using rifles of a smaller caliber than the Nitro, so Tembo's father supposedly having been gifted the Searchy is likely a factual error on the screenwriter's part.
