[Orthonym]

First, let me emphasize that I Am Not A Lawyer. That said, the law does not seem to make sense to me whether one is considering either public safety or justice. Every New Year's and other holiday we hear reports:D around here of "joy shots" going up, up, up and then coming down on or near someone's head. I have looked at the relevant statute(s) several times in the past (no, I don't have the book before me) and understand there's a lot of "legacy code" in the Florida Code, but why were some of those silly things there in the first place? For instance, I believe that the section banning blanks also forbids "Dago Bombs". Are those the stuffed pasta shells which explode in one's microwave oven? Oh, well, they took out the part forbidding (n-word)-chasers. (You can look it up!) :rolleyes: Owhell, I guess it's too much to expect that laws be just and reasonable, and, yes, actually make sense.:banghead: :rolleyes:

[BowStreetRunner]

You cant have blanks in FL?
when i lived there I went to the Gasparilla Parade in Tampa many times and the Rough Riders group shoots off.38 revolvers into the air as they walk down with the parade. Since no one died from falling lead, they were using blanks, they hand out the brass as they reload down the parade route (i think i still have some from when i was a kid).....anyways....somebody is using blanks
BSR

[Hkmp5sd]

790.31 Armor-piercing or exploding ammunition or dragon's breath shotgun shells, bolo shells, or flechette shells prohibited.--

(1) As used in this section, the term:

(a) "Armor-piercing bullet" means any bullet which has a steel inner core or core of equivalent hardness and a truncated cone and which is designed for use in a handgun as an armor-piercing or metal-piercing bullet.

(b) "Exploding bullet" means any bullet that can be fired from any firearm, if such bullet is designed or altered so as to detonate or forcibly break up through the use of an explosive or deflagrant contained wholly or partially within or attached to such bullet. The term does not include any bullet designed to expand or break up through the mechanical forces of impact alone or any signaling device or pest control device not designed to impact on any target.

(c) "Handgun" means a firearm capable of being carried and used by one hand, such as a pistol or revolver.

(d) "Dragon's breath shotgun shell" means any shotgun shell that contains exothermic pyrophoric misch metal as the projectile and that is designed for the sole purpose of throwing or spewing a flame or fireball to simulate a flamethrower.

(e) "Bolo shell" means any shell that can be fired in a firearm and that expels as projectiles two or more metal balls connected by solid metal wire.

(f) "Flechette shell" means any shell that can be fired in a firearm and that expels two or more pieces of fin-stabilized solid metal wire or two or more solid dart-type projectiles.

http://www.flsenate.gov/Statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=Ch0790/ch0790.htm

Besides, that would mean that caps for cap guns and blanks for starter pistols would be illegal.

[Orthonym]

As I said, I don't have the book before me, but I'm PRETTY sure that's what it said. Also, I've never seen blanks for sale where ammo is sold. Having thought about it some more, I am reminded of a shut-down thread somewhere on this site about the fellow who emptied the powder out of a whole big bunch of blank cartridges, and about the U.S. army switching from HE to EC blank powder to fill grenades sometime around 1918. Hmmm...:evil:

[Orthonym]

Did you look in the part regulating fireworks? That's what I meant about legacy code, the law's often full of internal contradictions.

[BogBabe]

Well, for fireworks, you have to swear you're planning to use them "for agricultural purposes" -- i.e., to scare away birds from your crops. You're not allowed to buy them just 'cause they're fun.

It's a running joke around here among fireworks vendors and fireworks buyers every Fourth.

Maybe you have to have some agricultural purpose to buy blanks.

[Orthonym]

I'm going to scare the poo out of those cutworms chomping on my tomato seedlings!:D

[Standing Wolf]

"Bolo shell" means any shell that can be fired in a firearm and that expels as projectiles two or more metal balls connected by solid metal wire.

Unless I'm mistaken, that's also known as "grape shot." Anyone?

[Orthonym]

Nope, "chain shot" or "dismantling shot". Brits complained when our Navy used it in War of 1812. Of course they used it themselves. Not to get TOO far off topic,:D but Germans complained to World Court re US Army using shotguns in trenches inWWI. "That's not FAIR!"

[Standing Wolf]

Hello, Orthonym!

Sorry, but now I'm more confused than ever. What is grape shot?

[Tamara]

Grape shot is the same as "cannister shot"; a bundle of musket balls propelled out of a cannon atop a large wad, a la a giant shotgun shell.

[Orthonym]

Sorry, Tamara, but I believe you're wrong too. Grape is NOT the same as canister. Grape is a (relatively) small number of iron balls, canister is a big tin or leather container of lots'n lots of cute little musket balls.:eek: TO GET BACK ON TOPIC HERE, I intend to go to the public library tomorrow and look up the actual Florida statute(s). Oh, BTW, here's the rest of my sig file:D

Hardware clerk to my SO: (rolling eyes) Is he always like this?
My SO to hardware clerk: (rolling eyes) I'm afraid so.