Hollywood Guns: The Tomb Raider Pistols

Few action heroes are as tied to their sidearms as Lara Croft. Since she first raided a tomb back in 1996, her signature weapons have been a matched pair of pistols — dual-wielded, akimbo, and rarely holstered for long.

Those pistols are Heckler & Koch USP Match handguns. The USP Match is a target-focused version of H&K’s USP line, known for the barrel weight up front that tames muzzle rise for faster follow-up shots. In the classic games they’re stylized (longtime fans know them as the “RGB Mach 5”), and Angelina Jolie carried real 9mm USP Match pistols — complete with flared magazine wells — in the 2001 and 2003 Tomb Raider films.

It’s a fitting choice. The USP Match looks purposeful and precise on screen — exactly the image of a globe-trotting adventurer who’s as comfortable in a firefight as she is scaling a ruin. And running two of them at once made Lara one of gaming and film’s most recognizable gunfighters.

Here’s the thing nobody puts on screen, though: two pistols means two magazines to keep loaded. Lara never once winces topping off a stiff double-stack mag — but that’s the movies. In real life, even a tomb raider would want a Super Thumb sitting in the range bag.

The H&K USP 9mm runs a wide-body double-stack magazine — a match for the Super Thumb ST2. It makes loading those mags faster and easier on your thumb, so you can spend less time loading and more time on the adventure. Available for $6.95.

ADCO Sales and Super Thumb are independent and are not affiliated with, sponsored by, or endorsed by Heckler & Koch or any film or game studio. All trademarks and character/film references are the property of their respective owners and are used for commentary and identification only.