Is this legal to own?

Status
Not open for further replies.
Looks like a military smoke grenade. It doesn't explode, so off the top of my head I wouldn't think it would fall into the "destructive device" category, but I'm no NFA expert.

There are civilian versions used for signaling at sea, so pretty sure they're legal. On the other hand, don't know if the military ever released any for sale, so possession may be questionable if they didn't.

We used to play with those in the reserves, try not to breath the smoke, it's nasty. They do put out a lot of smoke pretty quickly, they also get hot, so don't hold in hand once ignited.
 
Last edited:
Legal. These show up occasionally at gun shows. They used to be more common, but lately they've gone up a lot in price. Last I checked (and this was a few years ago), the going price was about $70 each.

Some people have been reactivating / rebuilding used ones. Recipes for the smoke compound can be found online.

These use an igniting (not a detonating) fuse. The time delay on a smoke grenade fuse is shorter than on a fragmentation grenade.
 
HC = High Capacity (e.g. white phosphorus boosted) Smoke grenade.
Generally "legal" federally, but may be illegal on State-to-State basis as an incendiary, or under "war weapon" laws.

They do not always "age" well or gracefully.

The percussion primer in the fuse is "vulnerable" to solvents if used during cleaning or the like.

Be very sure if you pull the pin, the HC get very hot in use, and you need to be somewhere suitable for around 1000 cubic meters of dense white smoke, with a definite chemical taint to it.

Mind, "the authorities" might disagree with your possession "on sight," even if legal, so discretion remains the better part of valor and all.
 
A blast from my past.

As a teenager, living just outside Ft. Bliss while Dad was in Vietnam, we kids would hike up to the "VC Village" on the slopes of Mt. Franklin. There was tons of stuff like smoke grenades, artillery simulators, 7.62x51 and 5.56 ammo just laying around, as well as discarded magazines. Since I was issued an M14 in HS ROTC, I made sure to have a couple of those mags loaded up with ammo at home, just in case of a "Red Dawn" situation.

We would set off smoke grenades and artillery simulators, sometimes shoot them with our .22's, and when we saw the MP's coming up the hill in a Jeep we would hide out in the tunnels in the fake "VC Village". They never found us, would get tired, and drive back down the hill leaving us to our mischief. (I think that the statute of limitations has expired for our transgressions.)
 
Note this is old (first made in 40s, not sure date of yours) so while smokes tend to last well, this is maybe very old and if not stored well may do funny things.

Even if it doesn't explode etc assume it has zero fuse and as stated when working properly it'll get hot in a hurry. Do not light it off in your hand but throw like a grenade. Pull pin, get rid of it.

Also as stated it will make a LOT of smoke. More than you expect, for longer than you expect. Plan accordingly.

Will be hot enough to light things on fire, so do not just toss in the distance and wander off, but go recover the expended grenade and feel the ground around it for heat as well. Don't throw it in fire season, etc.

I'll take it if you don't want :) We throw smoke around periodically.
 
Another military toy that was fun to play with in the reserves were signal rockets, in military terms "signal, ground illumination". They came in a steel tube, about 12" long, that you opened with a key like an old sardine can. Different types, red star cluster, white parachute, etc.

The actual rocket tube inside had a primer on the bottom, like a cartridge. You took the top off, it had a little spike in it, and placed it under the bottom where the primer was and while holding the tube, struck the bottom hard with your other hand to set off the primer. The rocket taking off had a lot of reverse force you could feel in your hand. Big rocket noise also as it took off, went pretty high up.

I don't know what they cost the military, but were fun to use as fireworks at reserve summer camps in the late 60's, early 70's.
 
Last edited:
A blast from my past.

As a teenager, living just outside Ft. Bliss while Dad was in Vietnam, we kids would hike up to the "VC Village" on the slopes of Mt. Franklin. There was tons of stuff like smoke grenades, artillery simulators, 7.62x51 and 5.56 ammo just laying around, as well as discarded magazines. Since I was issued an M14 in HS ROTC, I made sure to have a couple of those mags loaded up with ammo at home, just in case of a "Red Dawn" situation.

We would set off smoke grenades and artillery simulators, sometimes shoot them with our .22's, and when we saw the MP's coming up the hill in a Jeep we would hide out in the tunnels in the fake "VC Village". They never found us, would get tired, and drive back down the hill leaving us to our mischief. (I think that the statute of limitations has expired for our transgressions.)
Huh. I guess some things never change in El Paso.
 
The smoke grenades I used in Nam were not explosive devices. The simply relied upon a chemical reaction to both make smoke and expel it from the canister into the atmosphere. I do not think one can run afoul of the explosives laws by having one. However, in this age of environmental protection the grenade might be banned due to its chemical composition. If anyone has one, be careful of wind direction if you employ it. If you end up breathing that crap it, it ain’t joy.
 
I remember attending the FBI firearms instructor class, two weeks, one in the class room one on the range. I was given about 2,000 rounds of .38 wad cutter a few boxes of 12ga and some CS and CN and smoke grenades.
What ever was not used went home with me!
 
Burns hot. Right through canister. At a military air show in northern Maine in early 80s I saw a parachutist jump and set one of these off. He was supposed to toss candy at a designated landing site to kids that were waiting. Guy was screaming bloody murder as he came closer. Grenade was apparently duct taped to his boot. Hit the ground and kids surged towards him . He’s dancing around screaming telling them to get away. Highlight of the air show for me.
 
Illegal in some areas if not in most. Dwindling supply of newer stock as DOD contractors are obligated under their contracts to not sell on the open civilian market (or so I've been told; this seems to be the case as well as mail order surplus catalogs routinely sold these 20 years ago---ITAR may factor in somewhere as well). I wish I'd bought a dozen when they were cheap and plentiful.
 
One Hunting season in PA, my good friend had a gunshop in small house behind the main house. He had given a mutual friend of ours a smoke "grenade" that was suppose to hide a battle ship!
It was about the size of a five gallon bucket.
Well he had some people looking to buy some guns when my friend lit off the 5 gallon smoke "grenade" for the next 35 minutes the small shop could not be seen!
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top