Coulter Flares

[Seeker]

Hello All,

I inherted a package of three flares for the .35 remington from my grandfather. They use standard .35 rem brass but have an extended brass piece in place of the bullet that is open on top with a red plug of some sort about about 1/8 inch down. The package says

"hand load one at a time
Directions
When it becomes dark, shoot a flare straight up every 15 minutes followeed by three gun shots. The flare will explode at 500 feet and is entirely extinguished at 150 feet. Can be seen for several miles
Coulter Flares are available in all popular rifle sizes and 12 gauge shotgun.

At the botton it says "Marsh Coulter Company - pat pending Fraser, Michigan"

I looked them up on the web and found nada about the company or the product.

Anybody know anything about these? How old are they? Do they have collector value? Are they safe to use?

 

[James K]

I don't know about collector value, though I would think they have some. They were sold as a means of signalling for help if a hunter was lost or hurt in the woods, and were available in several of the more popular calibers. They were not all that large or bright, but could have provided a pointer to a location if someone were looking for them. They burned out pretty fast, so there is little danger of setting fires. They should not harm the gun, but there could be a deposit that could harm the barrel if not cleaned.

Seems a little primitive now, with GPS and all, and I have never actually heard of anyone who was rescued due to their use, but I am sure they provided some peace of mind.

Three shots is the traditional distress signal in the woods.

Jim

 

[SDC]

I've got a couple of similar rounds in my collection that were intended to be used as distress flares; you'd probably get a dollar or two for each round if you sold them at a show. The ones I'm familiar with were sold as Karlyn "Fireflies", and had a magnesium "bullet" that was shot out of the barrel; this bullet was packed with fireworks composition, and burned as it went.