Milsurp Flare Guns?

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Panzerschwein

Panzerschwein

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Anyone ever play around with a military surplus flare gun? Something like this:

1_14.jpg


I've thought about getting a Polish, Czech, or other military flare gun firing 26.5mm flares just to have around. The 26.5mm flares are really expensive. I'd probably buy a box to store for an emergency and then just use a 12 gauge flare adapter device in the meantime. They also make metal adapters that let you shoot pistol ammo and rimfire ammo out of the flare pistol.

I can't really think of a practical use for one other than during camping or boating etc. in an emergency or maybe to pop some smoke or star shells on the 4th of July. So what do you think? Should I get one of these old army flare pistols?
 
I have one. German I think, maybe Polish. I got some of the fancy re-loadable, 209 primed, screw-off aluminum cases and thought that I would just make my own flares. Easier said than done, load data was scarce. Its neat through. Came with a case and cleaning rod. Trigger is pretty heavy, but hey, its a flare gun. If you actually want to shoot any reasonable amount of flares, a 12 gauge adapter would be the way to go.

They are neat from a collectable standpoint. I'm surprised that they aren't considered a firearm yet.
 
My friend has one just like the one in the photo and I have a plastic frame one, might be german, not sure. They are cool for sure, flares are a bit pricey but somtimes you can get a 10rd box at a gun show for $25. The surplus smoke shells are disappointing, just a stream of smoke to the ground, enough for a signal I suppose.
Reloadable shells are cool, just load it with some fffg and sfuff whatever "signaling" items in there and your good to go. I use a charge similar to my brass frame revolvers and cardboard/drink bottle caps and pieces for wading. It's not rocket surgery but it goes without saying load at your own risk.
The 12ga adaptors are nice, just don't use real shot shells, even if it's "just target ammo" you will bend your frame if your lucky, and it's not hard to imagine what worse could happen.
But hey, I like mine and I'm sure you will like one too.
 
How much do milsurp flare guns usually go for? I don't recall seeing any for sale. If you were thinking about one for emergency or occasional use there's commercial ones available for marine use. But unless you're near the shores of the Great Lakes, Gulf of Mexico, or the Atlantic or Pacific Ocean you probably won't see them too much. I'm on the south shore of Lake Ontario and West Marine, ( westmarine.com) has them for about 60 bucks IIRC. They're 12 ga. and come with 4 rounds. A 4 pack of those 12ga. flares is about 35 bucks. How would that compare versus getting a milsurp? They can be worth their weight in gold at times on the ocean or great lakes where we're talking many miles of open water. I was considering one recently for use on Lake Ontario for emergency signal purposes but I'll probably go with the commercial one.
 
theothermike said:
Forgot to mention, be careful where you shoot red flares up, it still is a distress signal and police/first responders might show up even if your just messin around..... And they won't be happy, not that i would know from experience...:uhoh:
Click to expand...
Yep, never shoot a red flare over or near water!

Mike
 
I think they are too expensive to be interesting.

Flares, smoke, and anything else you'd want to shoot out of a flare gun are expensive. In my state, the fire hazard risk obviates any recreational value.

For emergency purposes, I'd probably go with something cheaper. Around water, one of the plastic ones might make more sense. For novelty purposes, 37mm might offer more entertainment value. Although, that's a little more difficult these days with the ATF cracking down on bird bombs, parachute flares, and now even chalk.

Cartridge adapters are too expensive and flare pistols lack sights.
 
For any professional on the water those old flare guns would be just a curiosity... As a licensed captain running passengers into the wilderness areas of Everglades National Park.... the only flares I want with me are to SOLAS standards, period. Yes, they're relatively expensive but quite reliable in very bad circumstances... A SOLAS flare will fire off in a howling rainstorm - every time if they're not expired. The parachute flare flies twice as high as most cheap flares and lasts in the air as least twice as long....

For those not familiar with them, SOLAS rated flares (the acronym stands for Safety of Life at Sea) are the ones you're required to have if you're making an ocean crossing... They're also the dramatic flares you see in popular movies when the hero, really, really needs help....
 
I have a couple of the old orange plastic Olin flare guns that the local fisherman have given me after they have expired. I also have about 1/2 a 50 cal ammo can of expired 12 GA flares. Some are SOLAS rated parachutes. Took a couple apart to see what made them tick once but never bothered to take pictures though. Someday I might go inland a bit and shoot them all off on July fourth or New Years eve. Probably will not get in trouble then.:)Those milsurps are expensive to feed and even though you get decent prices on the flare gun itself I was not wanting to buy the ammo for it, or for that matter an adapter. YMMV

ETA: that the ATF does not bother with them shows how popular they really aren't IMHO.
 
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I shot hundreds of rounds from an M8 flare pistol while in the Navy signaling aircraft to abort a landing.

Two colors in those, red and green. Occasionally we also had to put out the grass fire we started.

Loads of excitement. Not recommended.
 
When I was an Instructor at the Infantry School (Ft Benning) 37 years ago, we used the M8 flare pistol to shoot artillery air burst simulators on training exercises. I bought one recently on eBay for $40. Thinking about making my own flares.
 
There used to be a guy that came to the gun shows where I lived that sold nothing but flare pistols. He had two models: one exactly like you have and the other one was made by HK. He sold the guns in a green tool bag (which he probably got at Harbor Freight) and it came with a half dozen or so various flares all for $75. Behind where he was sitting were big crates full of flares so you restock if you shot all the ones it came with or wanted more. Anyway, I bought one of the HK ones. I thought it was sort of cool but I was always afraid to shoot it. I worked as a professional firefighter and lived in the desert and I could just imagine the news headlines if I had fired one of these and started a big brush fire. So years went by, I eventually retired and a couple years ago on New Years at midnight or the forth of July or something I went out in the driveway and shot a starburst flare out of this flare gun and I was very disappointed. It didn't go very high and the flare itself was very unimpressive. It was slightly more impressive than a bottle rocket but not as good as readily available fireworks. I came in the house and set the whole bag down next to my workbench intending to clean it and put it away. Several years later it was still sitting there under my vice with the bag covered in metal filings and metal chips........................complete waste of money.
 
The flare gun pictured in the OPs post is a Czhech VZ44 26.5mm Flare Pistol. I picked up one about 4 years ago for $20.
You can get flares from UNAmmo.$50 for a box of 10.

http://unammo.com/
They also have 26.5 Polish Mfg. Flare Pistol in Excellent Condition for $80.
 
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