A sleeve gun is a device wrapped around a user's forearm and used to conceal a small firearm under a long-sleeved coat or jacket. A triggering mechanism causes the firearm to extend out of the gadget quickly enough for the user to grab it and fire.

The term "sleeve gun" was also used for an experimental assassination handgun developed for the British Army

British Army

The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...

 during World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

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Construction

Though parts vary by user, the most common component used in constructing the sleeve gun is a sliding rail from a drawer. The rail is disassembled and sawed-down to forearm's length. It is then modified to prevent parts from sliding off during use. Many parts are fabricated from scratch for the firearm holder and the ejecting mechanism. The mechanism is triggered by releasing a spring that holds the firearm under the wrist. The trigger itself is either through a ring attached to a metal wire or just the sudden movement of the forearm.

In popular culture

The sleeve gun was first popularized in the 1965 television series The Wild Wild West

The Wild Wild West

The Wild Wild West is an American television series that ran on CBS for four seasons from September 17, 1965 to April 4, 1969....

, where it was among the many gadgets James West (Robert Conrad

Robert Conrad

Robert Conrad is an American actor. He is best known for his role in the 1965 CBS television series The Wild Wild West, in which he played the sophisticated Secret Service agent James T. West, and his portrayal of World War II ace Pappy Boyington in the television series Baa Baa Black Sheep...

) employed in several episodes. The gadget was used mainly for West's Derringer

Derringer

The term derringer is a genericized misspelling of the last name of Henry Deringer, a famous 19th-century maker of small pocket pistols. Many copies of the original Philadelphia Deringer pistol were made by other gun makers worldwide, and the name was often misspelled; this misspelling soon became...

, but various episodes had it holding other items such as an acid squirt-can, climbing claws and blades. The actual prop used in the series is currently on display at the CIA Museum

CIA Museum

The CIA Museum, administered by the Center for the Study of Intelligence, is the primary national archive for the collection, preservation, documentation and exhibition of intelligence artifacts, culture, and history. The collection, which currently numbers 3,500 items, is held in trust for the...

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Perhaps the most well-known use of the gadget is in the 1976 film Taxi Driver

Taxi Driver

Taxi Driver is a 1976 American drama film directed by Martin Scorsese and written by Paul Schrader. The film is set in New York City, soon after the Vietnam War. The film stars Robert De Niro and features Jodie Foster, Harvey Keitel, and Cybill Shepherd. The film was nominated for four Academy...

, where Travis Bickle

Travis Bickle

Travis Bickle is a fictional character from the 1976 film Taxi Driver, played by Robert De Niro. He is widely considered one of the most iconic characters in film history, and De Niro earned an Oscar nomination for his portrayal of him....

 (Robert De Niro

Robert De Niro

Robert De Niro, Jr. is an American actor, director and producer. His first major film roles were in Bang the Drum Slowly and Mean Streets, both in 1973...

) is seen constructing one in his apartment and testing it while reciting his famous line

You talkin' to me?

"You talkin' to me?" is a catchphrase delivered by Travis Bickle, a character played by Robert De Niro in the 1976 movie Taxi Driver. The quotation and the scene it was featured in have become a pop culture icon. In 2005, it was chosen as #10 on the American Film Institute list, AFI's 100 Years.....

 in front of the mirror. It is also used in the 1995 film Desperado

Desperado (film)

Desperado is a 1995 action thriller film written and directed by Robert Rodriguez. The film stars Antonio Banderas as the former mariachi who seeks revenge on the drug lord who killed his lover....

, where El Mariachi (Antonio Banderas

Antonio Banderas

José Antonio Domínguez Banderas , better known as Antonio Banderas, is a Spanish film actor, film director, film producer and singer...

) ejects two handguns from his forearms to engage a band of thugs threatening him at a bar. In the 2002 film Equilibrium

Equilibrium (film)

Equilibrium is a 2002 American science fiction action film written and directed by Kurt Wimmer. It stars Christian Bale as John Preston, a warrior-priest and enforcement officer in a future dystopia where both feelings and artistic expression are outlawed and citizens take daily injections of drugs...

, John Preston (Christian Bale

Christian Bale

Christian Charles Philip Bale is an English actor. Best known for his roles in American films, Bale has starred in both big budget Hollywood films and the smaller projects from independent producers and art houses....

) uses two sleeve guns to conceal his sidearms and extra magazines. The main antagonist in Red Heat

Red Heat

Red Heat is a 1988 buddy cop film directed by Walter Hill. The film stars Arnold Schwarzenegger, as Moscow narc Ivan Danko, and James Belushi, as Chicago detective Art Ridžić...

uses a sleeve gun to eject a small one-shot pistol. A more mechanical version of the sleeve gun is seen in the 1997 film Alien Resurrection. In the 2002 film Returner

Returner

is a 2002 Japanese science fiction film, directed by Takashi Yamazaki and starring Anne Suzuki and Takeshi Kaneshiro.-Plot:Milly is a soldier from 2084, where humanity is on the verge of extinction because of the "Daggra", an alien race. In mankind's final stronghold in Tibet Milly leaps into a...

, Miyamoto (Takeshi Kaneshiro

Takeshi Kaneshiro

Takeshi Kaneshiro , born October 11, 1973, is a Taiwan-born Japanese actor and singer.-Name:...

) uses a sleeve gun to conceal a cellular phone used as a bomb detonator. In the pilot episode of the TV series Hunter, the main villain uses a sleeve gun to conceal a knife. A sleeve gun is also seen in the Archer episode "Placebo Effect", but never used in the episode.

A variant of this gadget, known as the Hidden Blade, is used by Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad and Ezio Auditore da Firenze in the video game series Assassin's Creed

Assassin's Creed

Assassin's Creed is an award-winning historical third person, stealth action-adventure video game developed by Ubisoft for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Microsoft Windows. The bulk of the game takes place during the Third Crusade, with the plot revolving around a sect known as the Secret Order of...

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