Nothing says Happy New Year like a European Flare Pistol (26.5mm)

At least, that’s how Goat Boy rolls. Now that I’m done yammering about Glacier Park, it’s time to revisit some of the other hobbies that I’ve talked about from time to time. And I figure you can never go wrong with firearms.

Now, for all of you 2nd Amendment haters out there, you’ll be happy to know that a flare gun IS NOT a gun. At least in the eyes of the BAFT&E (who is all that really matters). Several years ago, I fell down the rabbit hole of European flare guns.

Why? Well, you don’t need a firearms license to buy one or any kind of background check. They are all military surplus, so built to last. Mine are all from the late 1950s to early 1980s and just scream Cold War. You all know I’m a history nut. Plus, at the time they were everywhere and pretty cheap.

Actually, any kind of mil sup is always cheap, especially if you can’t find ammo for it. So instead of the 1″ inside barrel diameter that they use in the good old US of A for flare guns, these are 26.5mm. But they make an adapter insert sleeve.

And if you are me, it was really fun scouring the internet for 26.5 flares. For reasons unknown, the Czech Republic made a LOT of them, and they were everywhere. German stuff was around as well. But came with fins for range, which is weird for a flare.

The classic is my Polish pistol, which is a direct clone of the Russian original from WWII. Made in the famous Radom factory (which also produced my P-64 Walther PPK look alike AND my cool Mosin Nagant M38 WZ 48 trainer rifle – chambered in .22 to make it cheaper to train recruits).

Funny (not really), the Czech also cloned the Russians. But the barrel breach extends farther on the fold, and they went with a painted finish versus a nice blued steel. Not sure how those would hold up on the salty seas versus an inland battlefield. And yes, I did mount a sight rail. Shhhhhhhhh.

Now the Yugoslavians went the other way and copied more of the German flare pistols of the time. Mine is from 1957 and has the Yugo crest. Quite a bit fatter in the grip and has a very stiff pull (flares have some pretty hard primers). But then again, Fatter and Stiff Pull was the name of my high school band.

As for the German version, a little letdown. I’ve come to expect highly over-engineered EVERYTHING from our pals in Deutschland. But their version is a lot of stamped metal, and a very advanced lanyard. I guess Germans dropped their flare guns so often that they forced their soldiers to strap this boat anchor to their wrists.

Now I am the proud owner of an RV85 flare rifle. This thing is really fun to shoot because no one knows what it is. Basically, in the mid-1980s about 2500 of them were made in the BRNO factory (very very famous – my 1939 Persian Mauser was made there, and the workmanship is incredible).

Designed for the Soviet Bloc special forces, they WILL shoot flares, but more likely tear gas and special barrier penetrating rockets. Which reportedly could get thru 4 inches of concrete and explode on the other side. Yeah, nasty. These things can hit a target at 100 yards with ease. But it’s in 26.5mm flare caliber, so slipped past the BAFT. For a while.

Not sure how many got into the country before it was recognized as being more than a flare gun. But mine was new in the box, unissued, in pristine condition.

With lots of spare parts and a nifty shoulder strap bag just in case I need to go and save the White House someday.

I’ll do a separate post on the RV85 one day. I keep it oiled and stored well since replacing it would now run me well over $ 2K. I’d like to get the NFA tax stamp from the BATF and have it designated as a Destructive Device. That would allow me to actually convert and use it as a REAL firearm LEGALLY. How?

They are called inserts. Made for 12-gauge (1″ ID) shotguns, they are a sleeve/barrel that you can insert in the regular barrel. They are stepped down into various pistol calibers, often rifled. Does take an adapter to get them up to fit 26.5mm.

I’ve got some inserts in .22, 9mm Para, 45ACP, and 45 Colt Long. But, by using some cool 9mm blanks I have for a prop Beretta 92 clone (yet another post), I can create my own projectiles.

It’s really fun to get that big bucket of sidewalk chalk sticks for kids at Walmart, then see them go harmlessly ‘puff’ on a tree 50 yards away. Or so I have heard.

Why this post? Well, back to New Year’s. Nancy and I had another couple over, and I let my neighbor fire off one of my German ‘falling stars’ flare from the front porch.

Of course, it looks a little bit better from a first-person perspective.

But my favorite is the Czech parachute flares. You Get about 7 seconds of burn time and can light up about 20-30 acres (more if snow-covered).

Thank you for sharing my welcome of 2023. This is going to be a big one. Trust me, you shall not be disappointed. And if you are, well, you had it coming.