Firing an M16 with GI blanks and no BFA?
Who would do such a thing?
If you happen to be sitting in the rain bored out of your skull on a training operation and happen to have a small fruit juice can and a P38 can openner handy you might cut the top of the can out and drape it over the muzzle to keep out the rain. You might let an aggressor get within about fifteen yards of you and honestly acciedentally lauch said can at him, hit him, have him stagger back in suprise, fire off a whole magazine burst with his M16 with BFA and have him scream at you like a little boy playing in the back yard "I shot you!" while you and your battle buddy can hardly see through the tears of laughter.
You might be discussing the possible effects of launching the Black (or later red) plastic muzzle covers with blanks with a REMF that was standing next to your home sweat hole in the ground when yur battle buddy asked, "you really, truely, positively want to know?" and on recieving an affirmative reply you battle buddy shoots said REMF with said Plastic muzzle cover from about two meters away resulting in the REMF being evacuated. DId not break the bone or even skin as it turned out but caused a massive and serious bruse that completely encircled the calf just above the boot top. Missed by that much. Remarkably no charges were filled.
BTW we found we could shoot ball through the plastic muzzle covers and still hit a kneeling man target at 100 meters. Caps appearently were blown of by air pressure in front of the bullet. Some were shot squarely through the middle others at odd angles including through one side and some were not hit. We got a new bag of still fuzzy black ones and wee disposing of our shiney old ones on a pop up range as every one wanted to know.
But back to blanks. They are not toys. They can and do cause deaths and serious injury when used improperly. You don't need to find but one or two spent blanks with one or more folds from their crimp missing to begin comptemplating where that bit of cartridge brass went. Further anything else that gets in a muzzlle from field use gets launched as well.
We were taught to stop using blanks if any one got within ten yards of us BFA or not. Some insisted it was OK as long as you shot the rifles up or otherwise not pointed at the opposing force man, but with the BFA used on the M16 that may well have actually pointed the vent at the person.
The key is to remember blanks are not kids caps. They are potentually dangerous ammunition.
and they will not funtion your M16 with out a BFA or something unauthorized in or on the muzzle to build up enough pressure
-Bob Hollingsworth
Seems like I could have a lot of fun with that.
