oh my goodness - shocking -

[Sockpuppet]

squishy ones

I am fazed by all this new fangled technology. Reminds me though how easy it is to palm live ammo off the range or in theatre. Scarey scarey stuff.

poor kids

Yarp. The "new" ones are a hollow metal screw into the oblong with a large bulb on the end.

The rumor was that they had been tested to take 10 rounds before failing. But that could just be a squaddie talking tulip.

[Marina]

My theory is that some git has palmed a few live rounds from the firing range , then thought it would really make the demo go with a buzz if he squeezed off some live ones towards the end. Didnt take into account what would happen with the attachment stuck on the end of the barrel, which promptly exploded like a hand grenade.

Out of interest, what is the purpose of a BFA?

[Sockpuppet]

My theory is that some git has palmed a few live rounds from the firing range , then thought it would really make the demo go with a buzz if he squeezed off some live ones towards the end. Didnt take into account what would happen with the attachment stuck on the end of the barrel, which promptly exploded like a hand grenade.

Or someone loaded his ammo wrong for him. Put a few live rounds at the bottom of a blank mag. He wouldn't have known.

I went on an exercise and the QM had been "helpful" in loading 500 mags of blank ammo for the exercise to speed stuff up. (aka he didn't want it back so once it was loaded it was used)

Queue us having to reload 500 mags as none of us trusted there wasn't a live round smoewhere in the lot.

[Sockpuppet]

Out of interest, what is the purpose of a BFA?

Provides some resistance to the gases in the barrel which cycles the working parts of the rifle (as its gas operated).

When the bullet goes forward the gas in under pressure - remove the bullet and as blanks use less power (afaik) the gas pressure cannot cycle the rifle.

Also should stop a live bullet if fired accidentally and provides a visual recognition that your using blanks not live rounds.


The newer blank magazines in the UK will not take a live round and are also coloured yellow.

[EternalOptimist]

Out of interest, what is the purpose of a BFA?

whs plus

A 'blank' round has a smaller charge of powder than a live round, the idea is to make a noise, to simulate a shot being fired.
There is no bullet and the lips of the case are crimped over to prevent the powder falling out. There is a danger that bits of metal can be blown off the crimped edges so an attachment is fitted to the end of the barrel, to prevent anything solid shooting out, and also to diffuse the blast (which would probably be enough to kill you on its own, if close enough).

The BFA also prevents anything solid being put down the barrel in jest, and stops bits of sh 1 te (eg soil) accidentally going down the barrel then being blasted out accidentally.

If you ever see a soldier with a bright yellow thingy on the end of his weapon, thats a Blank Firing Attachment

[dang65]

I thought the French foreign legion's HQ was in Carcassonne

Wiki:

There are nine regiments and one independent sub-unit :

Mainland France
1st Foreign Cavalry Regiment (1er REC), based in Orange (armoured troops),
1st Foreign Regiment (1er RE), based in Aubagne (legion headquarters),
2nd Foreign Infantry Regiment (2e REI), based in Nîmes,
4th Foreign Regiment (4e RE), based in Castelnaudary (training);
1st Foreign Engineer Regiment (1er REG), based in Laudun;
2nd Foreign Engineer Regiment (2e REG), based in St Christol;
Corsica
2nd Foreign Parachute Regiment (2e REP), based in Calvi, Corsica;
French Overseas Territories and Overseas Collectives,
3rd Foreign Infantry Regiment (3e REI), based in French Guiana,
Foreign Legion Detachment in Mayotte (DLEM);
Africa
13th Foreign Legion Demi-Brigade (13 DBLE), based in Djibouti.

[EternalOptimist]

Queue us having to reload 500 mags as none of us trusted there wasn't a live round smoewhere in the lot.

Any soldier who trusts someone else to load his mags needs to be bent over a cookhouse table, greased up and introduced to mr bargepole

[Churchill]

Any soldier who trusts someone else to load his mags needs to be bent over a cookhouse table, greased up and introduced to mr bargepole

WHS.

However, go easy, Hairy Arsed Bloke is around. I can sense a disturbance in the force...

[NotAllThere]

Queue us having to reload 500 mags as none of us trusted there wasn't a live round smoewhere in the lot.

cue

[Incognito]

Surely they practice with a BFA fitted!
(Blank Firing Adapter - the yellow "thing" on the end of the barrel!)

That should've been a clue!
(And the fact that some f*cker had to sign for the live ammo!)

Don't have BFA's on M-16s. Was on an exercise with some septic tanks once. Never once lifted my head of the deck just incase.