The Firing Line Forums

Go Back   The Firing Line Forums > The Conference Center > General Discussion Forum

Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Old March 24, 2013, 11:32 PM   #1
chris in va
Senior Member
 
Join Date: December 26, 2004
Location: Louisville KY
Posts: 13,805
How do blanks work?

Just something kicking around in my head.

To fire blanks in your normal semiauto handgun or rifle, does the recoil spring have to be changed out? If not, how does it cycle the action if the mass of a bullet isn't present?

Does it have the same powder charge as a normal round?
chris in va is offline  
Old March 24, 2013, 11:38 PM   #2
SIGSHR
Senior Member
 
Join Date: September 13, 2005
Posts: 4,700
I was told-over 40 years ago, when I was in the Army-that Hollywood propmen and armorers had various tricks to make semiautomatic firearms work without using blank adaptors. One version was they used sleeved barrels
that allowed the blank to generate enough pressure to operate the action. Which also made use of ball ammunition in such modified firearms impossible.Just reporting, I have never actually seen one. Merely changing a spring will do nothing.
SIGSHR is offline  
Old March 24, 2013, 11:40 PM   #3
jimbob86
Junior member
 
Join Date: October 4, 2007
Location: All the way to NEBRASKA
Posts: 8,722
I know that the gas operated M-16 needs a blank adapter present to reliable cycle the action .....

the m-14 as well ..... for funeral detail, we had to hit the charging handles ....
jimbob86 is offline  
Old March 25, 2013, 03:31 AM   #4
Falcon5NZ
Senior Member
 
Join Date: May 19, 2008
Location: Somewhere North of the Roaring 40's...Just
Posts: 275
In the RNZAF we used BFA's on the IW Steyr (Aussie made variant of the Steyr AUG), allowed a small amount of gas through so you still got a muzzle flash (although not as pronounced as without one, so it was fairly obvious if you fired w/o one. And they don't cycle either-ask me how I know )
It also had a tube that went into the barrel and I THINK that had the secondary function of stopping a projo going out the barrel full noise. We used blanks manufactured by Ordnance Developments Limited which are the same pattern as the US Brass ones but are green lacquered steel. In the transparent IW Steyr mags or a belt of 5.56 link a brass live round stuck out like a sore thumb

I do recall a trick with a turned down 5.56mm round in the muzzle of an M-16 to act as a BFA without being obvious and ruining the look e.g Memorials, Funerals but I don't remember exact details so I won't pretend to be an expert.

Now that's for gas operated weapons, which require gas "back pressure" to function. Recoil and Inertia operated may be different. I suspect you would have fun getting a Browning Auto-5 or Benelli M-2 to function correctly with blanks.

And some blanks do have a bullet, albeit a wooden one. Like the Smurf Killer



The BFA causes the projo to disintegrate as it leaves the muzzle.

You also have to realise that there are different types of blanks which can basically be classed as noise and launching. Noise blanks are for battle simulations while launching is for well, launching something (rifle grenades, lines etc). I've even heard that using a noise blank (accidently) to launch could result in a catastrophic failure due to the pressure buildup of a completely obstructed barrel.

They have different powders for the different rounds
The CARTRIDGE, 5.56MM, BALL, M855 has 26.1 grains of WC 844
The CARTRIDGE, 5.56MM, BLANK, M200 (noise) has 7 grains of HPC 13
The CARTRIDGE, 5.56MM, BLANK, M755 (launching cartridge specially designed for the M234 Riot Control Launcher) has 12 grains of Hi Skor 700-X (which if I recall correctly is a shotgun/pistol powder)

I may have veered off topic a bit but hope you can understand what I mean and you learnt something.
__________________
It is New Zealand's role to send out its bright young men and women to help run the rest of the world. And they go, not hating the country of their birth, but loving it. From this loving base they make their mark on the world.

Pro-1080 Poison and proud of it!!
Falcon5NZ is offline  
Old March 25, 2013, 06:56 AM   #5
2damnold4this
Senior Member
 
Join Date: August 12, 2009
Location: Athens, Georgia
Posts: 2,525
We used blank adapters on M16s and m60s during during the 1980s. In my experience, the m16s ran ok while the m60s could be finicky with the adapters.
2damnold4this is offline  
Old March 25, 2013, 09:48 AM   #6
jimbob86
Junior member
 
Join Date: October 4, 2007
Location: All the way to NEBRASKA
Posts: 8,722
Quote:
We used blank adapters on M16s and m60s during during the 1980s. In my experience, the m16s ran ok while the m60s could be finicky with the adapters.
IME, our M60's were "finicky" on a good day with live ammo, and downright unreliable on most days.
jimbob86 is offline  
Old March 25, 2013, 11:25 AM   #7
dajowi
Senior Member
 
Join Date: November 2, 2005
Posts: 1,196
We used to make our own blanks by pulling the bullets out of .22 cases and sometimes packing them with soap or wax. Worked well with revolvers but semi-autos not so well.
dajowi is offline  
Old March 25, 2013, 12:55 PM   #8
DPris
Member Emeritus
 
Join Date: August 19, 2004
Posts: 7,133
There are a number of ways used to make guns function with blanks, including screw-on & bolt-on muzzle devices, lightening recoil springs, partially plugging barrels to create sufficient back pressure to cycle, and so on.
For other guns that don't cycle themselves, there are also varying degrees of loudness in blanks, such as 1/4, 3/4, and full "sound" levels.
Denis
DPris is offline  
Reply

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 11:35 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.7
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
This site and contents, including all posts, Copyright © 1998-2021 S.W.A.T. Magazine
Copyright Complaints: Please direct DMCA Takedown Notices to the registered agent: thefiringline.com
Page generated in 0.06359 seconds with 10 queries