Firing blanks in PKD shooters

[doc3d]

I did a test using the plastic blank .44 cartridges from cheaperthandirt.com, and while the bang is good, the flash is not. Also, the base of the plastic cartridges is too thick to cycle reliably in a Bulldog. When I was at the range, I had to hand carve the base of the blank cartridges down with a pocket knife. Which means that to have an enjoyabe flash/bang, you need to take metal .44 cartridge cases and hand reload your own blanks. I've ordered some chemicals to make some pyro composition to make a nice visible flame from a blank. (Movies have now all gone to cgi for flame fx.) I won't tell you what the chemicals are, of course. Below is a a pic of doc3d in an earlier reincarnation when I worked as a pyro crew chief, scanned from a local newspaper. Yeah, it shows my real name. Elliott Swanson. Ain't no big deal. But I want y'all to know that the plastic blank .44 ammo won't work in a PKD.

[joberg]

I love people making their own ammo; it shows dedication and basically having the best bang for your buck!
Cannot wait to see the result doc

[andy]

Cool! I am still going to call you Doc though

My Grandfather would make a lot of his own ammo. Mostly shotgun stuff, but he did reload some rifle stuff. My cousins got all the presses after he died though.

Andy

[Noeland]

Yeah, the plastic blanks are just for the bang. If you're after the flash, you have to go the crimped route.

You can order 44 special or magnum blanks that are crimped closed and they work fine - with a few exceptions - in a bulldog. We fired them all over the victory ship in Tampa in Kovach's blaster.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_adTm6LFT4g&feature=channel_page

The exceptions were that a handful of the blanks didn't have the primers seated deeply enough into the cartridge, and they would stick. Once we realized that was the issue, we looked through the blanks carefully and weeded out the problem primers, and went on with shooting.

Have to say, still one of the most fun times I've had filming.

All the calibers were purchased from Joe Swanson.

http://www.joeswansonsmotionpictureblanks.com/
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I don't have enough blasters!

[joberg]

Fun stuff Noeland!!

[doc3d]

I'll be going to my bro-in-laws place where he has .44 reloading dies. We're going to experiment with a variety of chemical compositions for a blank cartridge with a burn duration of 1 sec plus that also will bang. I don't want to have to stick in the bangs by overwriting .wav files in an audio track. Crimps aren't absolutely necessary as long as the weapon is never pointed at anyone and you're using a revolver. Also with a revolver, you don't need chamber pressure to cycle the weapon, as you would with a semi or full auto action.

If anyone knows Joe personally, please email him and tell him I'm not a flake. I want to try some of his .44 special blank film/video cartridges. I sent him an email requesting info.

doc

[joberg]

I remember when my father wanted flame, smoke and flash he was mixing good ol' black powder, talcum powder and magnesium.
You'll have to experiment with the mix and see what you want out of the bang,

[doc3d]

I was thinking along the same lines. Talc is interesting and I hadn't considered that. But all the old time photographers in the pre-flashbulb days made their own using quite a variety of compositions. Modern day photographers still do it as well-- cave photographers often line up large flashbulbs or even flash powder racks running way back into the depths. Don't think you'd want a park warden catching you doing it, though.

I assume the talc disperses and ignites at some set point of air suspension density, prolonging a burn. The same thing would happen with standard finely ground baking flour. Many powders become dangerous when finely dispersed. We should probably keep formulary discussions as PM.

doc

[joberg]

PM sent

[doc3d]

I now have enough chemicals from a theatrical supply company to make the blaster shoot pink and orange and polkadot flames when I start doing blank workups. Woo hoo!

doc

[joberg]

We are anxiously waiting for the Kodak moment of that experiment

[doc3d]

Once I have a reliable pyro blank formula, I'll PM it to anyone who can convince me that they have the essential pyro skills to duplicate it. All testing I plan to do will be in a Ruger Super Redhawk .44 mag. This is the .44 used by the firearms industry to see if the loads they develop will blow up a gun...

[doc3d]

Sportsman's Warehouse *finally* restocked the RCBS kinetic bullet puller, so this evening, I've been taking apart metal .44 special bullets to start the blank building experiment. In the next week or two I'll be at my brother in law's place running test loads. In addition to the theatrical chemicals, I also got in three 12 gauge "dragon's breath" cartridges-- essentially they're designed to turn a shotgun into a mini-flamethrower. Probably not legal in CA, but they are in most of the rest of the US. I removed the powder and I'm trying to analyze the composition.

Here's a photo that didn't show notice of copyright I found on google of a dragon's breath 12 gauge round being fired, and digitally cleaned up a little. They burn 3-5 seconds. I've used them-- remember to clean your barrel-- and this is an accurate picture...



Doc

[joberg]

Doc, repeat after me: this blaster is not a flame thrower, this blaster is...

[doc3d]

Well... yeah... but you sure wouldn't have any problems with muzzle flash duration for photos!

I fired one using my 870 at a target from about ten yards, and the entire target and frame went up in flames...

Doc

[andy]

Interesting pic on Ebay. It is altered, but I wonder how much?...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=370140345112

Andy

[joberg]

I've seen this pic before and it's a fake!

[Noeland]

That's an illustration.

[doc3d]

Re qualififications, take a look at the first post in this thread. That's me.

I also scratch built my own gun from Coyle parts. Anybody who's looked at the You Tube shot of the BR gun firing live ammo please

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sSn5Zg7HtEU

notice a stack of sandbags between the gun and my head. I knew it would blow the cylinder shrouds first, if it failed, so my hand was relatively safe. I'm a very safety oriented guy... And of course, the gun going together:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/85452191@N00/3020793108/sizes/o/

I've been reloading for about twenty years. All my blank testing will be in a Ruger .44, not the Blade Runner toy. I do my own trigger work, barrel changing, and when necessary, farm out machining to remake a questionable part. Take a look at the Springfield on my Flickr page. That was a rifle stored in a garage for fifty years... reworked the action, fixed the crappy Springfield trigger, redid the stock, built the cheekpiece riser and added the Aimpoint 9000 red dot. (Paid for the reblue job-- nasty chemicals.)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/85452191@N00/3007491526/sizes/o/

I'm not going to hand out pyro formulary info via a mass post. I mentioned the dragon's breath, because it's a commercial product and out there. (it's also a low pressure burn-- that I've tested).

There about five, possibly six people in the world who have functional BR guns. Essentially, that's the short list unless someone sends me a photocopy of their pyro license.

Doc

[Noeland]

I asked for purely selfish reason as I plan on getting into reloading this year, so I am making it a habit of asking folks who already reload what kind of equipment they use.

I want to be able to load my own blanks for films as well.
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I don't have enough blasters!