Everett Hitch (Viggo Mortensen) carries an 8 Gauge Double Barreled Shotgun in the film, refered to only as "The 8 Gauge" in the dialogue. To handle the vicious recoil of the massive weapon, Everett has a leather pad build into the shoulder of his coat to help absorb it. Since the only existing 8 Gauges today are antiques and are unsafe or too expensive to fire, an ingenious alternative was made. Armorer and gunsmith Steve Karnes built three "8 Gauges" for Gibbons Ltd. out of reproduction Colt 1878 shotguns, two of which fired 12 Gauge blanks with 8 Gauge sleeves over the barrels to increase the bore diameter and hide its real caliber, while one was built to chamber 8 Gauge inert rounds for scenes in which the gun was loaded, as the size between 8 and 12 Gauge is far too different for no one to notice. To see more on the production of the shotguns, visit the SK 1878 shotgun page.
Winchester 1866 "Yellow Boy"
Everett Hitch (Viggo Mortensen) carries a Winchester 1866 "Yellow Boy" as his rifle in the film. Sheriff Clyde Stringer (Rex Linn) carries one while escorting Randall Bragg (Jeremy Irons) on the train. One of the Appaches is seen using one with tribal decorations as well.