Blank ammo?

chem

Hi all. Just wondering if anyone knows where I can find .303 blanks? I have an SMLE and would like to take part in some reenact ment events in the future. I have tried Henry Kranks in the UK but paper work and red tape etc...

Any of the firearms dealers here can`t get anything under 10,000 round for me and thats ALOT of shooting and money.

Cheers all!

meathstevie

Question ? Is blank ammo classed as ammo ? If not you could by 10000 rounds:)

chem

long as they fall within the UN classification 0014 or 0338 (off the top of my head!). These are both exempted under schedule 1 of The Control of Explosives Regulations 1991 from certain controls relating to acquisition, handling etc.

But some countries differ. Don`t know what Irish Law has to say? I have a licence for .303 ammo so I might be covered?? Having said that you can buy 8mm blanks without a licence or you could do before the CJA 07. Don`t know if its still the case.

chem

Im having no luck yet on the 303 blanks yet so I was wondering if anyone might have afew about? If anyone happens to have a box or even afew lose ones can they PM me and I will buy and collect. As long as there not to far away. Cheers, and a Happy Christmas to you all, Chem.

Dr Strange

I am not exactly sure about the law regarding blanks but I know that some guys down in Cork use K98 blank firing rifles restored for the caliber .410. In order to hold them legally and shoot them at their reenactment events they all have to hold shotgun licences.

It was also explained to me by a specialist gardai that due to the possibility of flame/hot gas escaping the barrel when using blanks anyone firing one will need a licence.

TimTim

For anyone interested while out on the range with the reserve we were shown when you fire blanks, tiny shards of metal still come out the barrel and can rip a piece of paper to shreds.

So we have to use a blank firing attachment whenever we are using blank ammo. (Still don't aim the rifle at anyone else, even if they are blanks)

dos29

far as i know, they're not shards of metal, but plain old HOT GAS, which is more than enough to make bits of a sandbag at close range, even with a Blank Firing Attachment. in the pdf so have seen a few of these demo's. (as usuall, im open to correction!, specially since im after a few while writing this!:p) Correct and right, blanks can be VERY dangerous up close though, 100% correct.
on a side note, u should see a thunderflash blow the lid off an ammo box. 20ft easy!!!! both dangerous stuff in the wrong hands.

TimTim

We were told shards of metal as there was tiny holes in the paper afterwards and its always fun to see a thunderflash throw a helmet 15ft in the air.

newby.204

its just gas however its the force of the gas leaving the barrel, with/without a blank firing attachment that causes it to burst open paper, cardboard, and at close range, your skin if you mess around with it!! i always love when people volunteer their mees tin during those demos!!!

Our man in Havana

We were told that without the blank firing attachment the gun would not cycle correctly and the BFA was simply there to make the action cycle correctly when firing blanks.

newby.204

your right it wont cycle properly you will get a double feed!

dos29

more likely to get single shot than double feed. my understanding is no bfa, majority of gas escaping through muzzle because of no projectile, not enough gas returning through the weapon to push the actions to the rear, so ya end up cocking it repeatedly. i THINK double feed is more likely to be extraction/ejection related.

edit:- not that any of this has anything to do with using a bolt action smle as the op has stated!
apolagies if the the post is deemed as gettin off topic.:o

It wasn't me!

Hmm, actually, a point not visited is the fact that the OP has a licence to buy .303 ammo, so it could be a matter of convincing the local guards to extend his ammo limit to allow him to buy the blanks in bulk? Whether they'll accept the fact that he'd need 10,000 rounds of blank ammunition could be another story, but that's for them to decide. Now I'm thinking how good a photo 10,000 rounds of .303 shells would make... Best of luck, OP.

Sparks

newby.204 wrote: »

its just gas

...and whatever crap was in the barrel already because it wasn't cleaned, along with whatever was used as wadding and so on and so forth. There's a rather long list of people shot at close range with blanks who were injured (often badly) or killed as a result.

cantona

.303 ammo is just crimped closed at the top and when fired shards of metal do detach and are propelled out the barrel. Most other blank ammo is topped with wax with no crimp and is melted by the time it leaves the barrell or is atomised by a blank firing attachment