Front venting .45's

I happened to be in Hill City, SD last night where they stage live cowboy shootouts each evening. I noticed that the revolvers being used were front-venting models. Are they still available? Do the reenactors maybe use real steel w/ blank ammo? I didn't get a chance to talk with them & was just wondering.

Not positive what they would have been using in that particular show, but there isn't much market for front-venting blank firing revolvers... cause yeah, you can just use the real deal. There's black powder revolvers, where you just load a powder charge and some flash paper to hold it in, then there's standard centerfire or rimfire revolvers with blanks. They make 'balloon blanks' as well, which are used in special competitions (or shows) where they have to pop balloons, so they use real revolvers and blanks that have enough force out to a certain distance... don't want to mess with those for standard theatrical or reenactment use, though!

I could be wrong- there's some pretty nice civil war style blank firing guns available through companies like iar-arms or westernstageprops, but as far as I know they aren't front-venting.

I concur with fightdesigner.
Usually imported replica real steel revolvers shooting balloon blanks.

Did a movie in Kadoka, SD, I enjoyed it there, a lot of grassland, wow.

JJ