Warning shots with blanks

[Oleg Volk]

We have pretty much agreed that warning shots are a bad idea for several reasons, most having to do with the path of the bullet.

What about using blanks in case of people stealing vehicles or trespassing? The main down side I see is that the perps may think themselves under attack and have a perceived reason to return fire. What of situations where the homesteader is behind cover with a rifle (has pretty good advantage) and wants to scare off the intruders without harming them? Would using blanks be a good idea, provided they don't jam the action?

 

[Betty]

No blanks. No warning shots.

What happens if you didn't catch the car thief's lookout, who happens to be creeping up behind you - and your first "bullet" is a blank? Make the first shot count, or don't shoot at all.

 

[Mike Irwin]

Even touching off a blank could be grounds for charges being leveled against you, depending on where you are.

If you're going to pull the trigger on your gun, it had best be with full intent and necessity.

 

[El Tejon]

No.

 

[sm]

No
for reasons stated above

 

[Neal Bloom]

No. In my community it is against the law to discharge a firearm if your life is not in danger.

 

[LeadPumper]

Blankity Blank Blank...

Not a real good idea, in case you couldn't guess from the above posts.

Also, blanks can and will do damage up to several yards from the muzzle. The blast alone is still sufficient to maim or kill if close enough.

If you're going to shoot, shoot.

-LeadPumper

 

[rlpinca]

I don't plan on pointing a gun at someone unless I plan on killing them. Therefore I'd probably stay away from using blanks.

 

[2dogs]

This sounds like a bad idea to me.

And would you have another rifle loaded with real ammo in case the bg's decide to start shooting back?

No, if my life is not threatened, let them steal the car, or call the cops, or sic the dogs on them, or jump up and down and yell to scare them off.

 

[Betty]

Also, blanks can and will do damage up to several yards from the muzzle.

IIRC, wasn't there an actor who accidentally suicided himself with a blank when he held a prop gun up to his own head and did a "hey, watch this"?

 

[45R]

Not a good Idea for SD. The first shot might be the one that you need to make it count, and if you have it loaded with a blank vs your SD ammo the outcome might be poor for the GG.

 

[Mike Irwin]

Yes, the actor was John Erik Hexum, or something like that.

Drove the wad and gas from a .44 Mag. blank into his brain.

 

[cordex]

Yes, the actor was John Erik Hexum, or something like that.

Drove the wad and gas from a .44 Mag. blank into his brain.

Yep

Jon- Erik Hexum, playfully holding a blank-loaded pistol to his head, fired it and fatally fractured his skull on the set of the CBS series Cover Up.

 

[TallPine]

There are some other actors and actresses out there who should be playing with guns.

 

[Plan-B]

Originally posted by runt_of_the_litter
IIRC, wasn't there an actor who accidentally suicided himself with a blank when he held a prop gun up to his own head and did a "hey, watch this"?

If I remember correctly, Brandon Lee (Bruce Lee's son) died while shooting The Crow after getting hit by blank wads as well.

 

[cordex]

If I remember correctly, Brandon Lee (Bruce Lee's son) died while shooting The Crow after getting hit by blank wads as well.

As I understand it, they were capping over the blanks with little metal bits so they appeared to be real cartridges in close-ups. They told their gun wrangler to go home the day before the final shoot, figuring they could sort things out and save a little cash. One of the little metal covers got stuck in a chamber of one of the revolvers and when the blank was loaded behind it and fired, the metal cap was propelled into Lee's torso stopping at the spine.

 

[Drjones]

Originally posted by TallPine
There are some other actors and actresses out there who should be playing with guns.

Re: the initial post: Sorry Oleg, I'm gonna have to side with everyone else here.

How 'bout just loading up your 12er with rock salt? May not be good for your cars paint, but....

Maybe, maybe MAYBE, you could use the blanks from INSIDE your house, but even then you could face charges of discharging a gun, use of deadly force, all that crapola....

 

[Greg L]

In addition to all the other reasons not to do this. If your first round in the magazine is a blank will it have enough power to cycle the action to bring a real cartridge into the chamber. About the last thing I would want to happen is to have a jam right after announcing with a bang that I was starting hostilities.

Greg

 

[Kevlarman]

Why not have something else to warn them? A toy blank pistol? A megaphone? Dog with a very loud bark?

 

[G-Raptor]

Oleg,

You're kidding, right?

I'd be more inclined to fire a live round into the dirt. Not VERY inclined, but it would be preferable to having a blank round in the chamber.

 

[rifleman]

Rocksalt idea=good. I had a teacher who was "repelled" by it as a yung-un, said the stuff works well.

 

[Derek Zeanah]

Yeah, I see a few problems here:

1. You're setting up your defensive arm such that the first few rounds are (hopefully) non-lethal. This leaves you in a bad spot if you need to use lethal force on short notice.
2. Blanks are not safe. The kinds that require a blank adapter to be bolted on the muzzle are better, but "hollywood blanks" (is there a better term for these?) can be lethal at close range, and would probably not be viewed as a reasonable response by law enforcement types.
3. The idea of bringing a gun into a situation that not currently at the lethal force level seems risky. You're guaranteed to escalate the situation to where anyone else involved would be willing to use real lethal force.
4. No guarantee here as I dodged law school (though my dad's still trying), but I don't think a jury would like the idea much.

 

[Phyphor]

Originally posted by runt_of_the_litter
No blanks. No warning shots.

What happens if you didn't catch the car thief's lookout, who happens to be creeping up behind you - and your first "bullet" is a blank? Make the first shot count, or don't shoot at all.

Not to mention that if your weapon's semi-automatic, it's not gonna cycle properly with a blank, unless adapted to fire blanks. In which case, firing LIVE ammo would be a REALLY bad idea.

 

[Phyphor]

Originally posted by Mike Irwin
Yes, the actor was John Erik Hexum, or something like that.

Drove the wad and gas from a .44 Mag. blank into his brain.

There's an error in your post, Mike. You used the word 'brain,' but clearly, this guy lacked one.

 

[Monkeyleg]

Oleg, the first response to your question was a negative from Runt. Must be fun around your house.

Remember the old addage: once it's drawn consider it fired.