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Old May 13, 2013, 08:51 PM   #1
rmocarsky
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Les Bauer TV star!

Gunners,

Anybody see the most recent Law & Order SVU?

Wow, did Les Bauer (not sure of spelling) ever get a stellar endorsement for those who may believe this TV show leans on fact and accuracy.

In their latest episode, a sniper is shooting people from roof-tops, 100 yds with a Les Bauer .45 ACP.

The show PRAISES the ability of the sniper's firearm and name it several times:
"Les Bauer.''

Show several pictures of it, too.

I wonder if Les Bauer had to pay for its product to be used in the episode, or if they simply had to give permission for its use.

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Old May 13, 2013, 09:28 PM   #2
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FWIW, it's Les Baer. I've owned a couple of his outstanding 1911s. A great company, IMHO.

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Old May 13, 2013, 09:43 PM   #3
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I wonder if Les Bauer had to pay for its product to be used in the episode, or if they simply had to give permission for its use.
It seems a pretty safe bet the company did. If it was mentioned repeatedly, it probably cost a nice chunk of change.

Payment for product placement, either by mention in the dialogue or just having the item shown lying around or being used, is used to underwrite a lot of cost in making movies. I expect it's done in TV as well.
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Old May 14, 2013, 06:46 AM   #4
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Les Baer, FBI-HRT...

Baer is highly rated & provided the DoJ FBI contract for a few high-cap custom model 1911a1 pistols for regional SWAT & HRT(Hostage Rescue Team) members in the late 1980s/1990s.
Les Baer's shop couldn't keep up with the strict contract demands for the FBI & they later switched to the regular 8rd type S-A .45acp models.
To my limited knowledge, The HRT & SWAT qualified FBI special agents still use Springfield Armory sidearms.

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Old May 14, 2013, 08:51 PM   #5
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Great gun. Excellent quality. It's a starting point for a high end bullseye build
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Old May 15, 2013, 12:39 AM   #6
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Les Baer, IMhO is a true American success story. I've read a couple articles about how he started his business and many articles about the guns he produces and was really impressed.

I am not doubting what anyone has said but I wonder why he would pay to have his 1911 mentioned (favorably) in a TV show when as I understand it his company is swamped with orders anyway even before the current frenzy.

(That said, he still advertises in the gun magazines so I guess I could see it...)
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Old May 15, 2013, 01:14 AM   #7
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Product placement...

Not all products or items are involved in product placement or $$$ agreements.
Some marketing & PR firms set up deals for major products; cars, jewelry/watches, high end A/V brands, airlines, etc.
Baer may have made a agreement with the producers or the production company lawyers but I highly doubt it was much $$$.

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Old May 15, 2013, 06:02 AM   #8
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The mentioning of les baers name my come more from building a handgun or two for the producer and some other higher up with the shows company as a thank you. Les Baer handguns for many months were so over booked on orders they were not taking any new orders!!
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Old May 15, 2013, 11:42 AM   #9
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Product placements are not be accident.
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Old May 15, 2013, 09:22 PM   #10
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I think Baers may be the best value in the semi-custom market right now. They use a lot of hand fitting and are extremely tight and are very accurate while still being reliable. I've got two and have carried my Stinger a fair amount:



This Premier II has adjustable night sights, though I've mostly used it as a range gun:

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Old May 16, 2013, 01:29 AM   #11
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I have nothing but Great things to say about Mr. Baer and his guns.
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Old May 16, 2013, 09:26 AM   #12
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You know it may seem stupid or cheesy... but honestly I've never seen a CC baer that didn't look like jims. that to me speaks more then any ad or words.

hard edge wear says look how long I've served, look how often I have been chosen to protect someone's life,I don't get babied I am trusted and expected to perform when I am needed regardless of my condition.

Most would frown or complain about wear like that, but I love it. It's not neglect its a badge of honor.
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Old May 16, 2013, 12:52 PM   #13
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I'd be quite surprised if Les Baer's operation is paying a television production company to prominently display its product(s) being used in the filming of multiple murders. Though product placement is ubiquitous and a fact of life in the television and motion picture production industry, I doubt this is a case of it here - for if it was, it would be far more likely to be a brand/manufacturer moving a lot more units than Baer!

My guess is that a scriptwriter is either an enthusiast or asked an enthusiast to give him the name of one or more top-end builders, and Baer's came up.
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Old May 16, 2013, 01:57 PM   #14
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On Law & Order Criminal Intent, they were grilling a Vietnam vet about handguns, and one of the detectives asked, "Were you issued a Hush Puppy?", and the vet replies, "No, the good old 911!"
OK, how many soldiers (sailors?) from that era even knew of the existence of the Hush Puppy, let alone had one issued to them? It's a question that sounds informed, but would be a really stupid guess, unless you knew the guy had an unusual background. And they really couldn't get 911/1911 right?
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Old May 16, 2013, 10:19 PM   #15
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Quote:
On Law & Order Criminal Intent, they were grilling a Vietnam vet about handguns, and one of the detectives asked, "Were you issued a Hush Puppy?", and the vet replies, "No, the good old 911!"
OK, how many soldiers (sailors?) from that era even knew of the existence of the Hush Puppy, let alone had one issued to them? It's a question that sounds informed, but would be a really stupid guess, unless you knew the guy had an unusual background. And they really couldn't get 911/1911 right?
Well, at the time it was a pretty closely held piece of information, but there were plenty of books, documentaries, movies, etc. about our spec ops missions in Vietnam over the following four decades, so it's not out of the realm of possibility that a GI, even one with no particular spec ops training, would know what a "hush puppy" referred to. I rather suspect the term was used to a vastly greater degree after the conflict (and by those with absolutely no firsthand knowledge of this type of warfare) than during.
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Old May 17, 2013, 12:26 AM   #16
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John Plaster, Leroy Thompson...

Aww youth...
To my limited understanding; there were a few "hush-puppy" rounds & service pistols developed/R&Ded for the MAC-V-SOG or Special Operations Group and few USMC Force Recon/SEAL-UDT units deployed "down range".
Retired US Army officer(Major/0-4/USAR) John Plaster who was a former member of a MAC-V-SOG team(normally three GIs & 5-6 hired mercs) wrote a few articles/books about the use of High Standard, Ruger & Hi-Power/P35s converted to suppressed weapons.
USAF veteran & top EP agent; Leroy Thompson wrote at length about the hush-puppy pistols of SE Asia too. I don't recall any 1911s or 1911a1 .45acp models but I have seen Browning Hi-Powers in 9x19mm with sound surpressors in use with special forces/MAC-SOG & SEALs/UDT.
The term means to quietly dispatch guard dogs with a clean pistol shot(.22LR or 9mm).

CF
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Old May 17, 2013, 12:37 PM   #17
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Baer is highly rated & provided the DoJ FBI contract for a few high-cap custom model 1911a1 pistols for regional SWAT & HRT(Hostage Rescue Team) members in the late 1980s/1990s.
Les Baer's shop couldn't keep up with the strict contract demands for the FBI & they later switched to the regular 8rd type S-A .45acp models.
There was nothing wrong with those guns. I used one for years as one of the US Border Patrol Pistol Team guns, it would shoot 2" @ 50 yards. The FBI just did not know how to run them. Nothing wrong with the FBI either, for a bunch of lawyers and accountants.
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Old May 17, 2013, 12:37 PM   #18
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so it's not out of the realm of possibility that a GI, even one with no particular spec ops training, would know what a "hush puppy" referred to.
But still, sort a silly guess as to what sort of pistol a random G.I. would have been issued in Vietnam? Unless the whole point of the question was to gauge the guy's response? Maybe the detective wanted to see if the guy actually knew anything about weapons of the era, and if he'd said, "What's a Hush Puppy?", then the detective (this particular detective appears to know just about everything about everything, from baseball statistics, to botany) would know he was dealing with a guy who didn't know much about weapons?
If the guy were a WWII vet, and the detective said, "Were you issued a suppressed High Standard .22?", I'd have the same reaction; SOME people were issued such a gun, but it would be a totally left-field guess as to what a common soldier, or even a very uncommon soldier, would have ever been issued during WWII.
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Old May 17, 2013, 01:13 PM   #19
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But still, sort a silly guess as to what sort of pistol a random G.I. would have been issued in Vietnam? Unless the whole point of the question was to gauge the guy's response? Maybe the detective wanted to see if the guy actually knew anything about weapons of the era, and if he'd said, "What's a Hush Puppy?", then the detective (this particular detective appears to know just about everything about everything, from baseball statistics, to botany) would know he was dealing with a guy who didn't know much about weapons?
If the guy were a WWII vet, and the detective said, "Were you issued a suppressed High Standard .22?", I'd have the same reaction; SOME people were issued such a gun, but it would be a totally left-field guess as to what a common soldier, or even a very uncommon soldier, would have ever been issued during WWII.
Could be. Hey, I didn't write the script. The idea is pretty ludicrous anyway. Pistols have never been handed out like candy to enlisted GI's, not even in Vietnam.
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Old May 17, 2013, 01:55 PM   #20
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Old May 17, 2013, 02:29 PM   #21
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Pistols have never been handed out like candy to enlisted GI's, not even in Vietnam.
MP's, machine gunners, tunnel rats and air crew are what comes to mind.
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