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Questions on Blank firing Cartridges

BenZiel

Plastic
Joined
Apr 9, 2020
Hi all, I am new to guns, I'm very excited and I'm trying to learn more. I do not know much, please don't be harsh.

In theory, would it be possible to convert a blank cartridge to fire a small bullet? (Not from a PAK / blank gun, but from a real firearm which can accept the blank cartridge diameters)

To begin with, I know that the propellant used in these cartridges is not the same as the stuff in standard ammunition. They say that the pressures generated by this flash powder is too great, and the gun could explode.

If the pressure is too great, then logically, one would just remove most of the powder in the cartridge until a level is found at which the pressure is not too great? Then a projectile can be fired, at that pressure, which is low enough not to break the weaker outer casing of blank cartridges?

Furthermore, if using the propellant in the black cartridge is not an option, then could one simply replace it with a little black powder?

Yes, I know there will be a massive smoke cloud when the round is fired, it will be damaging to the barrel of any gun, and is not nearly as powerful as modern propellants, but, would this work in theory, despite the negatives?
 
"new to guns" so should stick with normal,legal,no fooling around ,

but the bullet likely will get stuck .. then somebody will try a real bullet and blow up the barrel...

best to not try this..of any funny business with guns..
 
not uncommon for a bullet to get wet from water or oil getting into the powder. The primer fires and the bullet goes part way into the barrel and gets stuck. it takes a strong push to push it out. A bullet fired with a stuck in the barrel will burst the barrel.
 
Would this be due to a lack of pressure behind the bullet?

No. When it happens due to a "squib" load (insufficient propellant to overcome barrel friction) if the shooter fails to notice and fires a second shot without clearing the obstruction the barrel often shatters from the over-pressure.

Experimentation with firearms is not for the technically ignorant or inexperienced. A lot can go wrong and I've seen guys lucky if all they got was minor burns when a barrel ruptures. I personally know of dozens of cases from an authentic 18th century musket to modern hunting rifles. When it happens the shooter is essentially holding a bomb near his face.
 
There are a few videos on YouTube in which people have fired .22 caliber pellets powered by .22 caliber nailgun blanks with good results. There's very little reason to do so however, unless for some reason you can't get your hands on .22 ammo. It would be single shot; you'd need to load the pellet and blank by hand for each shot.
 
Should be fine if all testing is done behind a brick wall with a string attached to the trigger
 
In theory, would it be possible to convert a blank cartridge to fire a small bullet?

Yes. Blanks are used to propel grenades, harpoons and nails.
 
Should be fine if all testing is done behind a brick wall with a string attached to the trigger

No, it won’t be.

There shouldn’t be any speculation here. Whatever you are doing is a stupid idea. It’s been thoroughly tested that properly made bullets shoot out of properly functioning firearms using properly loaded casings, and even that only 99.9% of the time. It’s academic enough for companies to perform these tests in labs where they know the modes of failures.

If you need to hide behind a brick wall to shoot your firearm, you have no business shooting it. If you’re commenting to support this guy, realize he might hurt someone besides himself doing this. Not because it will or will not shoot, but because he (or she) came here with an obvious lack of knowledge on firearms and firearm safety.
 
In theory, would it be possible to convert a blank cartridge to fire a small bullet?

Yes. Blanks are used to propel grenades, harpoons and nails.

In a specially made device that was tested for use and safety..not in a home made fabrication.

Only if you are against the wall protecting your family should you experiment ...with having an exit door take family to run and hide.

One example and a cops son..It was common for foolish kids to hold a fire cracker by the end and fire it off. Sure enough a cops kid tried this and blew of the end of his thumb.. Yes the cop, the dad came to our school to give us a safety talk and showed us the photos...Things that go boom are dangerous...
 
Using an unknown powder to force a bullet out the barrel is stupid! Powder charge is determined by the burn rate. For a blank to make the loud POP to simulate gun fire it has to burn very fast! Explode rather than burn at a particular rate needed to push the bullet down the barrel and maintain pressure as the volume of the space increases as the bullet travels toward the muzzle.
 
Blank powder burns extremely fast to produce the report, or in other words, the explosion you hear. Enough blank powder used in a small enough cartridge space will grenade your firearm and it doesn't take very much.

Rifle grenades sit on the end of the barrel. That leaves almost the entire barrel open for "space" to let the blank powder expand resulting in enough pressure to launch the grenade but not enough, theoretically, to destroy the firearm. However, it didn't always work out that way.

Hatcher's Notebook has historical information about the problems encountered trying to develop blank cartridges. The military blew up a lot of firearms before they got what they needed.
 
Blank powder burns extremely fast to produce the report, or in other words, the explosion you hear. Enough blank powder used in a small enough cartridge space will grenade your firearm and it doesn't take very much.

Rifle grenades sit on the end of the barrel. That leaves almost the entire barrel open for "space" to let the blank powder expand resulting in enough pressure to launch the grenade but not enough, theoretically, to destroy the firearm. However, it didn't always work out that way.

Hatcher's Notebook has historical information about the problems encountered trying to develop blank cartridges. The military blew up a lot of firearms before they got what they needed.

Another factor, at least for the M4 or M16, is cycling the action. The adaptors they put in the end of the barrels have holes in them to release gas; different sized holes for different lengths of barrel. These are crudely tuned to just barely cycle the bolt group, most known for excessively fouling the receiver and causing Private Snuffy to think wrenching the BFA impossibly tight will solve his misfire issues.

Another weirdo fact; I can’t remember which is which, but the blanks have oh so many crimp ridges while the grenade rounds have more or less of them for ID purposes. We actually came across a box of the wrong kind at a training event, otherwise I’d never have known.

Not that any of this is relevant to the OP’s strange desire for DIY ballistics testing. I’d also never heard of Hatcher’s Notebook before, and now I’m curious.
 

I ordered it on the 18th when I saw your post; absolute no brainer for $15. Gotten a lot less with a lot more. One hellova perspective too. I’ve only had a chance to poke through the M1903 and Enfield history’s.

I work down the road from Ruger. You’d think with 5-axis CNCs and EDM that tool and die would have died off, but they employ much of the same fixturing as did Springfield armory, with a modern twist.
 
Ive had Hatchers Notebook since I was a teen ....its a hardback with proper binding......Its interesting ,but a lot of it is pretty dated now....Especially what were cheap ex military guns now routinely sell for large sums....His other book on the Garand is more interesting ,but reading others who were there ,not particularly factual.
 
On the subject of nailgun blanks /charges .....I see no point using them in a 22 ,but a number of shooters use them to power some of the larger rimfires ,like 25 and 27 Stevens ,and 32 rimfire.....With success too ,from whats reported.
 








 
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