I thought the gun was symbolic the way Rick dug this old thing up, looked at it with lots of trepidation, then casually dissembled and discarded it. This is only later confirmed when Hershel and Rick talk about him no longer carrying his gun... no doubt as a consequence of Carl turning into a cold blooded killer. I thought this whole episode has many beautiful and poignant moments like that. I can't wait for more!

 

Don't forget, a lot of chaos went down when things first turned, so maybe prison staff dropped it. The inner guards probably don't carry guns, but some of the personell might.

 

Rick is going to go full on Heisenberg with that Colt

 

Maybe that first scene had some kind of a meaning. Rick found a buried gun, then looked at walkers by the fence (even that one walker with bloody eyes looked kinda strange IMO). I don't know if they're trying to tell us something...

 

Maybe it was Rick's own gun that he tried to get rid of earlier. He didn't look all that surprised to find it.

 

Guards don't carry firearms inside the prison; too big a risk of a prisoner seizing it.

Also, I believe that M1911 had been buried there for a few decades; the pistols guards carry nowadays are usually Glocks or Sigs, not M1911s.

 

Does The Walking Dead have a chekov gun rule, because I can totally see him putting a bullet in The Governor's head with that gun.

 

I don't think the 1911 was buried 'long'. It is in too good of shape for one that was buried that shallowly.


Another possibility, When things started to go bad, but essential personnel (like guards) were still going to work, one of the guards may have packed it in for personal defense to and from work. He could've been one of the walkers the crew took down clearing the yard.

This is what happens to a 1911 that has been left (for years) with just blood and such on it
[video=youtube_share;VtGntnu9HME]http://youtu.be/VtGntnu9HME[/video]

 

I'm wondering if the gun wasn't just left when they cleared out the prison for the outbreak, like a gaurd dropped it and just got covered with junk over time...

 

Too modern? That gun is an M1911, it is called that because it was adopted by the US Military in, you guessed it, 1911 so that design has been around for more than 100 years. That being said, this particular example appeared to be in very good shape for having been buried in dirt so it hasn't been buried long. If it had been buried very long, it would have been in far worse shape IMO.

How the gun became buried or for how long is completely irrelevant, the only real purpose of it in this episode is to reflect Rick's current attitude towards guns.

 

Carl has grown alot more than 17-18 months since the show began, A LOT More

 

Well, of course, he's grown 3 years, as the show started in 2010. But in the twd universe, about 17 months has passed.

 

If someone buried it on purpose they would have wrapped it in something. Unless they're idiots.

 

I thought he was digging it up, after he had buried it there. I must be a little slow these days...

But yeah, a prisoner, or whatever must have left it there. I guess it was foreshadowing the events that concluded the episode. E.g. Finding a gun in the yard and subsequently having to use it on your own people.

 

Think this buried gun was just a nod to the saying "bury the hatchet" which kind of means make peace. These last months in they have made peace with their situation (living in a zombie filled world). They have become comfortable and complacent and this attitude is about to bite them. Good point from the peeps that mentions Hershel talking to Rick shortly after finding the gun about his complacency outside the fence (not taking his gun).

 

Sorry to unearth this thread, but what are the possibilities that Hershel dropped the gun when the Governor sent in the walker filled truck?

 

No Hershel didn't have a 1911 with him. IIRC it was a Glock.