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Author Topic: To make and shoot a blank?  (Read 634 times)

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Offline robin_du_bois

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To make and shoot a blank?
« on: December 17, 2004, 05:11:45 AM »
Can anyone help me with a way to develop and fire blanks from a .40 cal flintlock.  My classes are reading Last of the Mohicans and I wanted to demonstrate the whole shooting process for the students.  The demonstration would take place outdoors.

thanks for any help
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Offline quickdtoo

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To make and shoot a blank?
« Reply #1 on: December 17, 2004, 05:18:09 AM »
Just load a light charge with a patch on top instead of a ball. Steel wool is real cool looking at night. Be prepared for some nasty cleanup, though, it really fouls bad with no projectile. Have fun!
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Offline savageT

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To make and shoot a blank?
« Reply #2 on: December 17, 2004, 05:18:22 AM »
robin,
Not to scare you off of your grand plan but is this going to pass by the school board and principal??  In this day and age of terrorist concerns is there EVER a time that a firearm can be brought on school grounds, let alone firing a squib shot??
Please, ask allot of questions and get it all on paper before hand.

Jim
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Offline Robert

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Sure, that's easy. Old fashioned Black Powder
« Reply #3 on: December 17, 2004, 05:20:51 AM »
Pyrodex and 777 won't work well, real black powder...it is a 'true explosive'...goes boom without a lot of compression.  We use our smokepoles for NewYears and 4th of July, just use a normal load with ff or fff and pack a few wads of newspaper over the powder.  Makes a real nice kaboom without a projectile....still VERY DANGEROUS though even without a bullet.  Unlike the movies....NEVER point a weapon with any kind of blanks toward a person.  We also use the same load in my little cannon.....once we aimed it straight up and put a scrap of 2x4 on top with a blank load and it rained toothpicks for about 45 seconds.
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Offline quickdtoo

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To make and shoot a blank?
« Reply #4 on: December 17, 2004, 05:25:47 AM »
Hmmm, reminds me of Thunder Island!  :-D
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"Always do right, this will gratify some and astonish the rest" -  Mark Twain

Offline robin_du_bois

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To make and shoot a blank?
« Reply #5 on: December 17, 2004, 05:56:39 AM »
thanks all,

not to worry -- plenty of open space for this, everythings been approved and i'll be shooting into a great hill of soft dirt with absolutly no one in the path of the muzzel.
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Offline lostid

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To make and shoot a blank?
« Reply #6 on: December 17, 2004, 04:26:15 PM »
The fun part for flat-landers is too see "clatch-BOOM", they like that, so just don't have a mis-fire! Or you'll look like this :oops:
 be sure your pan and vent is clean and dry,

"parade loads" we use are generally 1/2 above our normal hunting or target load. Use "spit balls"!,,wet paper towel or toilet paper,,not too wet and just big enough to pack tight!!
 If you use 40 grns normal use 60..if 50 use 75, get it? now I don't know how you make spit balls but I make mine dry and hard,, my spitballs dont splat,, they hurt! I could make 2 .40 cal spitballs from one sheet of Charim! roll'm up stuffm' in there like a ball and pack it tight. As an individual demonstration of the firearm,,, "report" is secondary too funtion. Sure ya want a big bang,thus up the load, paper's got a lot less resistance than lead. Make smoke,,,
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Offline crow_feather

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To make and shoot a blank?
« Reply #7 on: December 18, 2004, 07:55:14 AM »
A guy in CA. poured a bunch of powder from his can of GOEX down the bore of his Thompson Center, then stuffed about three feet of toilet paper down the bore.  He put a cap on the rifle, pulled the trigger, and blew off his left hand.
Guy didn't know the term "moderation".

C F
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Offline quickdtoo

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To make and shoot a blank?
« Reply #8 on: December 18, 2004, 08:11:19 AM »
Hmmm? :roll:
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Offline Trapper-Jack

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To make and shoot a blank?
« Reply #9 on: December 18, 2004, 08:27:28 AM »
Quote
A guy in CA. poured a bunch of powder from his can of GOEX down the bore of his Thompson Center, then stuffed about three feet of toilet paper down the bore. He put a cap on the rifle, pulled the trigger, and blew off his left hand.


We had a local officer with the Sheriff's Department do somewhat the same thing here a couple of years ago.  They flew him to Salt Lake for reconstructive work on his face.  He seems to be doing ok now.

On a lighter note, I have had the opportunity to do a couple of demonstrations for some home schooled students with my muzzleloaders, accurtriments (sp), and some tanned pelts.  Worked it into a history lesson around the fur trade and Louis and Clark.  One thing that I was able to do was use live ammo instead of blank loads.  I was able to impress upon the kids that even though these guns are "old fashioned", they still need to be taken seriously.  I shot soda cans filled with water to demonstrate how seriously.  Great effect.  Another thing to consider is making fire with a flint an steel.  That has always been a big hit.
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Thanks,
Trapper Jack

Offline lostid

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To make and shoot a blank?
« Reply #10 on: December 18, 2004, 03:04:16 PM »
best of season to all of ya
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Offline quickdtoo

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To make and shoot a blank?
« Reply #11 on: December 18, 2004, 03:20:18 PM »
Same to ya, Lostid! Have a good un! :D
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"Always do right, this will gratify some and astonish the rest" -  Mark Twain
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