Is Shooting Blanks at a Pistol Range a Thing?

[Lester Polfus]

As I'm sure you've experienced in the past, some people are so stupid they even lie to their defense attorney.

I'm not sure how "I was only shooting blanks" could be part of a defense, but if it is, I would tread carefully. If it is a semi-automatic firearm, it would have to be modified to properly cycle with blank ammunition. I would expect one of the questions to be "Oh yeah? Where do you get your blank ammo?"

I've only seen blanks offered for sale at local gun stores in rimfire calibers for use with training dogs and such. Blanks are widely available for common guns such as 9mm pistols and etc, but I've never seen them for sale at local gun stores or shooting ranges. The most common source of supply would be places that produce blanks for the entertainment industry.

Could we possibly have a translation problem? Many folks shoot Airsoft guns, that are quite exact replicas of real firearms but aren't firearms.

You may be limited in what you can share, but we may need some more details to provide cogent information.

[Half Moon]

don't blanks require a specific blanks barrel and a different set of springs just to be able have the gun run for more than one round?

Not necessarily. Think hand actuated firearms - revolvers, lever action, break action, bolt action, yada.

[Zincwarrior]

EDIT: Deleted based on admin advice below.

I will note a reminder that blanks can still be dangerous at very short range, as a couple of actors have actually died from them. They have to have enough force to work the action, which is still a lot of pressure.

[Robh]

This is very strange sounding. Was that individual just shooting the breeze, or making a statement that would help in a defense or prosecution?

I've never heard of an individual going to the range to shoot blanks, much less going to a different jurisdiction to only shoot blanks.

As to the possibilities you present:
I don't think blanks are less expensive than actual ammo, but then again it never occurred to me to buy blanks. Moreover, and I could stand to be corrected, don't blanks require a specific blanks barrel and a different set of springs just to be able have the gun run for more than one round?
The point of shooting actual ammo is to exercise the hand as that is a very important part of shooting.
Some pistols do less well when dry fired and no dummy in the chamber, specifically the little 22lr, but dummy rounds are cheap to buy.
Unless you're talking about a real cheap gun (not in terms of price but quality), it takes tens of thousands of rounds to use up a pistol barrel.

While I don't discount that someone could go to the range to only shoot blanks, that is just very weird to my ears. You go to the range to actually shoot, and if you don't want to shoot the gun (for various reasons), there are many shooting-like practices that one can do at home in perfect safety.

Are you sure you heard this guy correctly?

Thanks for your thoughts. Yeah, it is odd. It was a remark that wasn't central to a debriefing. But a strange comment can raise questions about credibility. And I followed up to make sure I heard it right.

[Wondering Beard]

Not necessarily. Think hand actuated firearms - revolvers, lever action, break action, bolt action, yada.

Thanks, so changes must be made for a semi auto, right?

That brings up the next question, what gun was the individual using when he said he was shooting blanks?

[admin]

This thread isn't in General Discussion or the Romper Room. Be helpful, or at least on topic, or be quiet.

[Half Moon]

Thanks, so changes must be made for a semi auto

I'm not sure about recoil operated or blowback, to be honest, but gas operated absolutely need modified. I suspect recoil or blowback can be modified based on Hollywood cycling them somehow but don't know for sure.

[Robh]

As I'm sure you've experienced in the past, some people are so stupid they even lie to their defense attorney.

I'm not sure how "I was only shooting blanks" could be part of a defense, but if it is, I would tread carefully. If it is a semi-automatic firearm, it would have to be modified to properly cycle with blank ammunition. I would expect one of the questions to be "Oh yeah? Where do you get your blank ammo?"

I've only seen blanks offered for sale at local gun stores in rimfire calibers for use with training dogs and such. Blanks are widely available for common guns such as 9mm pistols and etc, but I've never seen them for sale at local gun stores or shooting ranges. The most common source of supply would be places that produce blanks for the entertainment industry.

Could we possibly have a translation problem? Many folks shoot Airsoft guns, that are quite exact replicas of real firearms but aren't firearms.

You may be limited in what you can share, but we may need some more details to provide cogent information.

I am reluctant to give all the details. But suffice to say, it was a remark that couldn't be part of any defense, it was just a small part of a larger conversation about someone's use of a gun over the years. When someone is nervous and being questioned, they say weird things, that really doesn't help them, and hurts them as far as being believable about the more critical issues. And I could just have the one in a million oddball that shoots blanks at a range. Gun in question is a Ruger P89 loaded with 9mm and .32 bullets at the time it was seized.

Again, thanks for the insight.

[frozentundra]

Thanks for your thoughts. Yeah, it is odd. It was a remark that wasn't central to a debriefing. But a strange comment can raise questions about credibility. And I followed up to make sure I heard it right.

The only logical thing that comes to mind is the use of "snap caps" or other inert training ammunition as being a common practice. It is possible that someone could confuse the term "blanks" with some of the more accurate vernacular used to indicate inert training ammunition.

"Snap caps", "dummy rounds", "safety trainers" are some ways to refer to these products. A-zoom, ST Action Pro, and various other companies make this type of inert training ammunition.

I could definitely see somebody mistakenly referring to these products as "blanks". They don't actually "fire", but you can mix them in with live rounds to purposely induce a malfunction during live fire, or to safely practice administrative gun handling skills without any live ammunition. There are several extremely good reasons that a person would want to do this during training.

Actually firing "blanks", like you would find on a movie set, is something I've never seen. They would be way more expensive and harder to find than regular ammunition simply because of economy of scale. Inert dummy rounds on the other hand are quite common.

[Robh]

The only logical thing that comes to mind is the use of "snap caps" or other inert training ammunition as being a common practice. It is possible that someone could confuse the term "blanks" with some of the more accurate vernacular used to indicate inert training ammunition.

"Snap caps", "dummy rounds", "safety trainers" are some ways to refer to these products. A-zoom, ST Action Pro, and various other companies make this type of inert training ammunition.

I could definitely see somebody mistakenly referring to these products "blanks". They don't actually "fire", but you can mix them in with live rounds to purposely induce a malfunction during live fire, or to safely practice administrative gun handling skills without any live ammunition. There are several extremely good reasons that a person would want to do this during training.

Actually firing "blanks", like you would find on a movie set, is something I've never seen. They would be way more expensive and harder to find than regular ammunition simply because of economy of scale. Inert dummy rounds on the other hand are quite common.

Thank you! That is something specific I can follow up on.