Handgun Flares?

[Carbonator]

Anyone know anything about handgun flares such as these?

http://hitechammotogo.com/html/handgun_flares.html

I have a .44 Special revolver with titanium cylinder and figured some emergency flares might be good to bring along on hiking/camping trips. I'm trying to find out how loud they are when fired, how bright they are (day vs night), green vs red application, what the flash trajectory is like, if flares will damage a titanium cylinder, etc...

 

[rcmodel]

Well it says there is no powder charge, and only the primer is used to project them to "THE AVERAGE ALTITUDE IS AROUND 150 TO 200 FEET".
So, they would sound at best about like a .22 Short, and figure on 125 feet in the real world.
And they should not set your Ti cylinder on fire.

Actually, .38 & .45 cal handgun flares have been tried off & on by the military in WWII.

They always end up finding out they are totally ineffective, because they are not big enough to be seen unless you know where to look for them.

If you want a signal flare that someone might actually notice, I would get some rocket propelled ones or a flare gun kit used by boaters.
http://www.bestglide.com/signal_flare_kit.html
http://www.westmarine.com/1/3/orion-flare-kit

Actually though, a cell phone will probably get more immediate results if you can get reception.

Most folks on dry land would see a signal flare and figure somebody was drinking beer and shooting off fireworks.

rc

 

[RedAlert]

If you fire off a flare in an area covered by the Coast Guard, you can expect some heat if it isn't an emergency.

 

[dogtown tom]

When you need a flare gun a real flare gun is needed, not a handgun cartridge that purports to do the same.

 

[tipoc]

When you need a flare gun a real flare gun is needed, not a handgun cartridge that purports to do the same.

+1

They are inexpensive, lightweight and water resistant.

tipoc

 

[M-Cameron]

heck.....go to just about any gun show and you can find brand new surplus 26.5mm flare guns and flares for cheap.......that would be much better than a tiny flare packed into a handgun caliber.

 

[hhb]

Handgun flares

The reason that U.S. Navy pilots carried revolvers instead of pistols is that if they ditched, they could fire .38 special flares. I have a few

 

[rcmodel]

Yes, but the pilots that had to use them probably didn't get found by the PBY Catalina looking for them..

As I said in post #2, that's why they quickly fell out of use by the military during WWII.
They just couldn't be seen by search aircraft, unless you already knew where to look for them.

rc

 

[rugerman]

Another point is that flares cause fires, bad on land worse in a boat where you can only run so far before you have to turn around and run the other way

 

[schnauzer]

Navy uses dye packs now for at sea location as well as emergency locating beacons. Beacon activates when in contact with salt water and if an aircraft is noticed in your search area the dye packs are jetisoned and turn the water a very noticable hi-vis flourescent green color.