Offshore Flare Gun

[Sal Randazzo]

I have this great old offshore flare gun. It is a WWII British Webley No.1 Mk. III Brass Flaregun caliber: 1 inch. You can look it up on the internet. It is very collectible and I see WWII Mk III Webley flareguns listed for $495. It Is all brass and very well made. I bought mine off an old sailor for $350.00. It is in really excellent condition. I never got around to using it and I do not sail offshore. I will sell it for what I paid for it if there are any offshore sailors out there who are interested in it.

[Steve Kuhar]

My son is a Coast Guard officer who teaches vessel inspection procedures. When he was aboard my boat he took out my distress kit, opened the breech on my Olin flaregun, cocked and fired the gun with his finger against the firing pin hole. The pin did not clear the surface. I have not tried it with a flare but if you can't feel the strike with your finger I suspect that a primer can't feel it either. I do not know if this is a widespread problem or not, but it was the first thing my son looked for. The flaregun was a common type made by Olin, and I would bet that there is one like it on many of our boats. It might be worth checking yours.

Steve Kuhar
CD30(b) "Aikane"

[Steve Laume]

Firing pin testing sounds like a good job for my son. He is the only one who will check to see if the electric fence is on. Flare gun testing should be a cinch for him. So I was wondering, just what does a properly functioning flare gun firing pin feel like? Maybe testing it with a spent shotgun shell would work too. Thanks for the heads up, Steve.

[Sal Randazzo]

Hi guys, I appreciate your discussions about firing pins, but I can assure you that this offshore flare fun will not have any firing pin problems. It is in amazing condition and incredibly well made from solid brass and with a steel firing pin and beautiful wooden handle. It must weigh a pound. It has a flared muzzle that prevents sparks from a launched flare from coming back and burning your hand. This is a problem with a lot of the cheaply made plastic flare guns. This offshore Australian flare gun was made in 1942. I've never fired it, but the old timer I bought it from said that it launches a large flare, highly visible flare high into the sky. If I get a chance I this evening I will try to send a picture of it.