Alpo Posted June 23, 2024 Posted June 23, 2024 One of them little Olin Coast Guard approved boating flare guns. Guy committed suicide with one on the TV show. I don't think that would work - he shot himself in the temple in the burning ball of magnesium bounced off his head and was lying on the floor. but that's beside the point. I'm curious about the noise it makes. How loud is it?
Pat Riot Posted June 23, 2024 Posted June 23, 2024 I have fired a few different types of flare guns. The 12 gauge type was a loud thump or pop, kind of like an M79 grenade launcher. The coolest one I fired was a Navy Mk 5. A Very Pistol. I think it was a 10 gauge. I recall it had a bit more of a pop than a 12 gauge type. Also, the flares had a parachute. At least the ones I fired did. I had 2 “pencil” flare guns for my boats. You would screw the flare into the firing mechanism of the actuator. You would then pull the bolt back with your thumb and turn it so a notch in the housing would hold the bolt. To fire you just nudged the bolt out of its locking detent and the spring action would send the bolt home and a firing pin would ignite the flare. I did not like these devices as one wrong move, slip or dropping it could be a serious fire issue. I kept them mostly for a signaling device in and emergency. I also had a plastic flare gun that was about the same size as a 10 gauge model. I paid a decent price for it. One day I decided to test it and it didn’t work. I shipped it back to the manufacturer and they somehow lost it and would not replace it. Jerks!
Ozark Huckleberry Posted June 23, 2024 Posted June 23, 2024 7 hours ago, Pat Riot said: One day I decided to test it and it didn’t work. As an 'oh, by the way,' regarding testing flares . . . IIRC from my Navy survival training days, launching a distress flare when not in distress is a federal felony offense. Think of it as being the same as making a hoax 9-1-1 call. There are ways to get permission, like notifying the local emergency response authority for clearance. But just walking out and popping it off into the air is a no-no,.
Pat Riot Posted June 23, 2024 Posted June 23, 2024 6 minutes ago, Ozark Huckleberry said: As an 'oh, by the way,' regarding testing flares . . . IIRC from my Navy survival training days, launching a distress flare when not in distress is a federal felony offense. Think of it as being the same as making a hoax 9-1-1 call. There are ways to get permission, like notifying the local emergency response authority for clearance. But just walking out and popping it off into the air is a no-no,. I should have mentioned that I fired, or I should say “aimed” it at a water retention pond. I would never fire a flare into the air. I decided to test it after I heard that the brand and model flare gun I had was known to be defective.
Alpo Posted June 23, 2024 Author Posted June 23, 2024 Several years ago, sportsman's guide was selling some surplus flare guns. The flares that they used hadn't been made in decades. But they also had adapters that would take standard 12 gauge flares. Some people I know - and before I found out about this I thought they were semi-intelligent - had war games, using these flare guns, with the adapters, shooting marine flares at each other.
Pat Riot Posted June 23, 2024 Posted June 23, 2024 52 minutes ago, Alpo said: Several years ago, sportsman's guide was selling some surplus flare guns. The flares that they used hadn't been made in decades. But they also had adapters that would take standard 12 gauge flares. Some people I know - and before I found out about this I thought they were semi-intelligent - had war games, using these flare guns, with the adapters, shooting marine flares at each other. Jees! Did they burn down the woods? Back in 82 some of my shipmates and I volunteered to be balloon chasers for my Chief. He had a hot air balloon. It was getting dark. For some reason the Chief stayed aloft too long. As we were driving down this country road in Virginia we saw a flare go up and when it started down we could tell it was on a little parachute. The flare landed of the roof of a house. We radioed my Chief then we drove to the house to tell them. By this time the flare had burned through into the attic. The flare was out but it started a small fire which we put out with a garden hose. Luckily they had a hose long enough to drag up to the attic. The police and fire fighters arrived. I took a police officer to where we saw the flare and the direction of where it was fired from. We learned later that some kids found a flare gun and fired it to see how it worked. Oh, and we eventually caught up to our Chief after he landed in a field. He was a bit mad until we told him about the flare incident. Flare guns definitely aren’t toys.
Alpo Posted June 23, 2024 Author Posted June 23, 2024 2 hours ago, Pat Riot said: Jees! Did they burn down the woods? Now that I don't know. I wasn't there. Just relating the story as it was told to me. They also told me that the 12 gauge adapters worked real good with the aguila mini shells. That, of course, would be a federal felony.
Texas Lizard Posted June 23, 2024 Posted June 23, 2024 I don't have a need...I don't get lost.....Even in my walk in closet.... Texas Lizard
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