Flare Gun?

S

Sum1_Special

New member
I am packing a survival kit for an old sailboat I recently got, just in case I ever end up like Tom Hanks in Cast Away...

A friend gave me a Czechoslovakian made military surplus flare pistol(seems to be in good condition) and a couple of 12 gauge inserts and I need to know if this thing can safely fire lethal ammunition in case I need to do some hunting with it... I know this isn't legal, but the law would be the least of my worries if I am ever stuck on a deserted island or life raft. I've heard of criminals doing something like this but there is very little talk on the web about whether or not it is safe or even possible, considering this IS a military tool I don't think it is an unreasonable question, I assume it was also designed as a last ditch weapon. So, what's the word? Should I pack some buckshot? :).
 
I was going to say that you *might* get away with using some light "mini" rounds from aguila, but after reading their info I'd say not to even bother... just pack a decent .22 pistol or something
 
If your survival situation requires that you rapidly remove one of your hands, then yes, packing some buckshot sounds like it would be usefull.
 
Flares are loaded to lower pressure therefore shotgun shells would be dangerous. If you really need it just fire the flare into the BG ! That ought to work well .
 
I suppose you could pack one birdshot round and when you run out of flares load the regular cartridge, tie a string to the trigger and throw it in the lake for some "dynamite fishing". :D




PS: Before I get roasted... I'M KIDDING! :)
 
having seen a video of this while at the boat show one year, (They tied a Olin flare pistol to a 2x4 and used a string to pull the trigger,) the result was an instant disassembly of the flare gun and some severe damage to the 2x4. All that was left was small piece of the grip about where your ring finger and pinky would fit. every thing else was shredded.

Also do not think you can fire the twelve gauge flares out of a shotgun either, the base wad will get stuck in the slightest of chokes and hold the 2700 degree flare in the end of your muzzle for 20-30 seconds, reducing your fine shot gun to a gun shop wall hanger with a sign under neath saying "DO NOT FIRE FLARES IN YOUR SHOTGUN" The two i have seen have been reduced to blobs. One was on a 30in model 12, luckily they had enough to turn that fine duck gun into a fine grouse gun by making it a 25 inch barrel with screw in chokes, the other was a fine AH Fox. which looks now like the old pics of Bugs Bunny sticking the carrot into Elmers barrel.
 
No

Get yourself a Remington Marine Magnum for your sailboat. Then get some 00 Buck.
870marinemag[1].jpg
 
just go to wal-mart and buy yourself a 20ga New England Firearms for like 100$ or pick up and old junk .22 and practice practice practice. lol
 
As mentioned above buy a special purpose shotgun, even a Benelli Nova Self Defense shotgun with ghost ring sights would do for around $299 - $315.

Buy flare rounds if you need them for the shotgun, just use them sparingly because they foul the barrel.

I wouldn't advise shooting a shotgun round from a plastic pistol :)
 
i forgot to mention earlier: if you care at all about keeping your limbs, you prolly shouldn't put live 12 ga ammo into a little kid's plastic toy gun. lol. i do like the rem marine, but give me an old rem 870 wingmaster any day of the week. reliable, straight shooting, and if it's got the full choke 28" barrel, it'll kill anything short of a grizzely. i rate it in the top 10 shotguns ever made. you can also get optional pistol grips, barrels, shell holders, and other goodies to go with it. compsite-type stocks and all. or, go pick up an old romanian training rifle from your local gun/antique dealer for 90$ or less and have the straightest shooting .22 in town!!! bolt action with a 5 round clip. so you have 6 rounds to work with in 1 load. flip up rear sight for 25, 50, and 100 yards. really neat old gun. it's what the romanian snipers trained on in world war II for the mausers.
 
Hm, I already have a full sized shotgun and quite a few rimfires, I don't need anymore... I am asking if this military flare gun will double as a shotgun if I need it too, not what shotgun you recommend. Remember, this is for a survival kit, the guns you mentioned are too big and bulky.

The kit is rather small, about the size of a small duffle bag, When I am swimming away from my boat I don't want to be lugging around a 10 pound shotgun plus the rest of my gear, and a pistol will not give me the kind of power and versatility I will need...

I really don't see why this thing wouldn't be able to fire lethal ammo, it is not a 'little kid's plastic toy gun', it's made of steel, looks sturdy, and seems to made with the same quality and specifications as a military firearm. I have seen rusted $20 pawn shop specials still able to fire shells, why wouldn't this sturdy military flare gun be able to do the same?

The gun itself is chambered for 26.5MM flares, but I do I have a few inserts that converts it to 12 gauge... I think the pistol comes straight from World War 2, here are a few pictures of it...

czechflaregunbig.jpg


pix864915640.jpg


There are a lot of assumptions going around, but no one seems to know for sure if the gun can safely fire live ammunition... Unless someone can explain to me exactly why it would not be safe to fire, I might end up tieing it to a tree in the woods with a 50 foot string hooked to the trigger and see for myself...
 
I think it depends on the flare gun. It entirely conceivable to me that *some* flaregun manufacturer has made a disguised de facto shotgun which looks and operates like a flaregun, in order for sailors/boaters to steer clear of jail in the many international ports with draconian gun laws (Mexico, southeast Asia countries like Malaysia). But I dunno. Shop around.

That one looks fairly sturdy. You might put in some loads, put the gun in a vise, tie a long string around the trigger, and hide behind a wood pile or some tires to pull it, and see what happens. Work your way up from dove loads to slugs & turkey loads. :)
 
Apparently street thugs got the same idea as you. carry a flare gun, use it like a shotgun, and if a cop catches you with it say, "it just a flare gun", apparently there is a lot of case law regarding flare guns, most state consider them as much as a weapon as a handgun. So if you don't have a boat, and you think you found a loophole with owning a flare gun...think again. But in theory can a flare gun explode if you load it with a shotgun shell??? While doing an internet search I found a few accounts of case ruptures like this.

This Court has defined a firearm as, "a weapon from which a dangerous projectile may be propelled." People v Perry, 172 Mich App 609, 622; 432 NW2d 377 (1988). When the flare gun was recovered, the barrel was shattered and a spent shotgun shell was lodged in the gun's chamber. A firearms expert testified that a flare gun operates in a fashion similar to a shotgun, and that, while a 20-gauge shotgun shell is not the intended projectile for such a gun, under some circumstances, the slug could be fired from a flare gun.
Click to expand...

And that was a 20 gauge. A flare gun was not made to fire a shotgun shell. The operations are similar but the pressures and tolerances are different. If it doesn't explode on the first try, the flare gun will eventually fail, and you will lose your hand when it does. Your trying to test it by setting it off while it is tied to a tree is stupid, so don't do it. If it does not rupture on the first try, you probably weakened it enough that it will rupture on the second try. If you truly own a sailboat and you already own shotguns, take the shotgun on your boat and pack some extra shotgun shells near your flare gun. If your on a sinking ship and you can't bring the shotgun, you got a POSSIBLE weapon that MIGHT work in EXTREME emergencies with the flare gun.

On the other hand if your some punk kid who has no boat, but has a flare gun who thinks its now a shotgun...think again. And if you try to do something criminal with it...it is considered a firearm, so you will do hard time...and thanks to you starting this thread...you will be caught rather easily.
 
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