Firing blanks in PKD shooters

[doc3d]

Noeland, I'd suggest you link up to a local gun club; those guys are generally only to glad to show you the ropes re reloading and recommend brands of hardware and general tech info. Probably an important skill to learn, since ammo, for some reason, seems to be drying up. The local Sportsman's Warehouse had one single box of .44 mag commercial cartridges (which I bought). Must be political, or else people are just hoarding...

But I'm not comfortable publishing pyro mixes, except to other pyros. There are books out there that cover some of it, and there may be connections through PGI (Pyrotechnics Guild International). I was a member years ago, but dropped out. They had videos and all sorts of info, but you may have to demonstrate your bonafides to get in.

Doc

[Noeland]

I'm not asking you for pyro mixes Doc. Never mentioned anything of the sort. Why do you think I'm asking you for that?

I'm talking about reloading presses, dies, deburring tools, and the like.

EQUIPMENT


_________________
I don't have enough blasters!

[doc3d]

My apologies Noeland. I tend to come off kind of flip...

The whole pyro issue is kind of an emotional quandry for me. Even the business of blanks sort of spooks me, and I probably overreact. Tough to untangle it but maybe this nails a piece:

I got out of the pyro game about 8 years ago after a 16 year old kid working with a team in Tacoma (NOT my team) stuck his face over a live mortar. He lived, but with half a face. That's not the kid's fault, it the fault of the moron who didn't train him. I always took point, wore the least amount of hearing protection so I could be aware of exactly what was going on across the line (which is why I have permanant tinnitus now). And I was the only guy on the crew allowed to deal with "duds". Which often aren't. If I had been running the crew where that kid caught a hot mortar, I knew I'd have gone home and put a bullet in my head. So I quit.

Pyro chemicals can behave in very unexpected ways.

So I'm not trying to diss you man, or say "I know more than you do, nyah nyah". I'm just kind of squirrely on the subject.

As far as reloading goes, you can't go wrong with RCBS hardware and dies. And they have gear ranging from the onesie twosie reloader to automated progressive reloaders that looks like something out of an ammo factory (and priced accordingly).

However, here's a source for crimped metal blanks. I've never dealt with the guy, but I was just about to order some until I decided to experiment.

http://www.joeswansonsmotionpictureblanks.com/

Nice guy. Emailed me back. Heck. after holiday bills are paid up, I may buy a batch of his .44s to have on hand. Looks like Paypal-- an organization I detest-- won't let you deal with Joe any more, but he has a secure card server.

Doc

[joberg]

Doc, that Springfield is a think of beauty! Keep up the good work.

[doc3d]

Thanks for the Springfield kudo. The rifle was given to me by an 87 year old guy-- one of my best friends-- who originally set it up for his dad with iron sights. He outlived his dad, and is still truckin'

I told my son when I kicked off, it was his.

Following the thread: Re that picture of Harrison Ford from ebay, that's just plain weird. Absolutely no flash from the barrel! To me, it's sort of a comedic drawing, or something that's been photoshopped beyond the pale. Ultimately, bad art and kind of silly. It's signed by the artist (nothing says it was signed by Ford) so I guess it was worth the winning bid of forty-three cents.

Doc

[doc3d]

I took the Springfield out this season, but life is just like Blade Runner in some respects. The male forces the females and fauns to cross open ground first and take on the risks of doing so. My brother in law had spotted droppings indicating a crossing path the day before, so he earned the set up. Sure enough, fawns and a doe crossed the edge of a recently logged area (always a good deer hunting spot). Then came the boss, and he didn't complete the trip. I was second shot, if needed, but neither of us generally takes more than one. So I got the job of skinning the bastard after we carted him back and hung him from a backhoe (will send post via PM if you really want to witness Doc's ignominy). More Gaff than Deckard, but I got half the meat.

So you see, Blade Runner and life have more in common than you may think. Zhora and Pris are there to draw fire, before the real hunt. Unlike deer hunting however, the ladies didn't live.

But who does...

Doc

BTW, Leon is sort of like a fawn under Roy's rule. He's big, and he's tough, but childlike because he didn't get the "A" level IQ installed during construction... In the "precious photos" scene he looks like a beaten down little kid being chastised by his father when Roy ask him, "Men?.... Police... Men?"

[doc3d]

Joe Swanson called me tonight, and he's making me a box of .44 special blanks to test (metal, crimped). Since I'm using a revolver, no problems re weapon cycling due to the barrel restrictors usually required for semis.

His blanks have been used in quite a few feature films. We discussed in general terms what his composition and powder load is. There will be a slight increase in burst duration, but not huge.

Making blanks look good on film often involves cranking film speed, which my cheapo Hi-8 camera won't do-- it's strictly standard NTSC.

Will report on how the blanks perform but it'll be awhile before they're here...

I'm also going to continue on fabricating some of my own using standard wadding instead of crimping.

Doc

[joberg]

Good news all around doc! Let's see that baby in action.