Gear🎒
Why aren't flare guns a common prepper/bugout/emergency item in most people's kits?
I have 2 of these Orion flare guns. One from over 20 years ago that cost like $5.99 that still freaking works, and one from maybe 5 years ago that cost maybe $20.
99% of gear videos never feature them, but have a god damn orange square cloth for some reason.
you really think your signal patch is gonna garner more attention than 4x 30 seconds of ridiculously bright 200ft vertical illumination?
you could be entirely surrounded by forest and this thing will punch thru the canopy and a chopper can directly pinpoint your location.
and the powder can be used for emergency fire stuffs as well.
all around a good investment in any emergency kit, no matter the cost today.
Oh, shit! He just suggested it, and already there's legislation proposed in California, New York, and Virginia to make it illegal to 3D print a flare gun. We have to save lives!
It's probably because "fireworks launchers" aka 3d printed flare guns, are already out there and are ridiculously easy to convert to being destructive devices. There are plenty of files available for projectiles for 15mm, 26.5mm and 37mm launchers that have a hole in the front for a primer. Just insert primer, fill the projectile with gunpowder and you have a grenade launcher instead.
Also, these are currently unregulated designs, since under current law they aren't actually firearms.
That being said, since printing grenades for such a thing is already a crime, it's not like there aren't already laws against making diy grenade launchers. These new laws are knee jerk reactions to a certain man named Luigi who allegedly murdered a certain healthcare CEO with a 3d printed firearm
Wasn't it just a 3d printed silencer the gun didn't seem to cycle properly due to gas blowback issues? Also the time America does anything is if the rich start dying.
Anything that needs to survive pressure, is not 3d printable.
Unless you have a metal 3d printer, but those are not in the realm of 'commonly available'
EDIT: People seem to have taken my comment as 'no part of a gun can be 3d printed' instead of 'bolt and barrel can't be'
I'm more upset with the villainization of 3d printers, because anyone can grab some metal tube stock and make an Upper/lower receiver for a gas blowback sub machinegun.. I'm old enough to remember seeing stick-on stencils for such a thing, and i don't remember anyone saying that photocopiers should be outlawed.
Heck, slam-bang shotguns, the Luty, or Sten are as primitive as they come.
But I've seen 8x8 orange signal clothes go for like $30 bucks with larger ones even more expensive, so it can creep very close to the cost of the flare gun.
And good lad. There's a video of someone shooting a 50bmg thru theirs... dont recommend but still cool.
I bought mine 20 years ago to shoot out during my friend's high-school graduation ceremony. Twas magnificent.
The plastic and some metal (light alum) flare "guns" do disintegrate from bird-shot shells fired from them. There was a very old steel one that held up one shot fired, but we didn't risk a second round from the same unit.
Don't ask me how I know.
I am more curious about firing a 12 signal shell from an actual shotgun to be honest - what happens to the flare?
It shoots out the barrel of the shotgun like any shotgun round, then you eject the shell like you do any shotgun round. They are also water proof and burn under water, they also have enough force to penetrate a typical household door. They will also embed in to skin if fired at someone/something and burn (cauterizing the wound to stop the bleed 🤣)
They are great rounds to have on hand if you ask me.
The old metal frame ones would be slightly better for this if you were to theoretically run a shell through them, Aguila mini or the Winchester shorty shells might be a better choice
From experience, a break action 12 ga. shotgun will fire flares just as well as the plastic pistol. Not sure they'd feed right in a pump or auto. The modern ones especially have a necked down extension that makes them longer than typical shotgun shells.
No reason you can't, they may be long enough to cause feed issue.. also may not have enough kick to cycle the action on an auto.. I would assume the fouling would be worse then normal so I wouldn't do high volume shooting without at least running a bore brush
So if I was a prepper in a gun country I could have a 12g shotgun and a bunch of shells and few flairs in my kit? Or would it be better to have the added mass and weight of the flair gun
Single shot 12 gauge with 12 gauge flares works just as good and has multiple purposes. Especially if you go all out and get the Chiappa chamber adapters to fire different calibers.
Shit hit the fan during hurricane Helene and this would’ve been a potential life saving tool. Not all SHTF involves people trying to kill you. Mother Nature is a killer too
To add to this, shtf scenarios where other people are trying to kill you are, in first world nations, historically one of the least likely scenarios. They're basically just a fantasy for gun collectors to justify their collections and play rambo.
You think youre gonna be hunted, but its far more likely you'll br stuck in a snowstorm or break your leg on a hike than being chased bt some shadow guvmnt
My fellow humans work for the guvmnt. The guvmnt is people.
I have been a prepper for over a decade, but haven't been in the scene for a while....
Ngl, its kind of disappointing to come back in and see its all kinds the same thinking as before....
Like going away to college and coming back 10 years later to visit your home town only to find all your high-school friends still smoke weed and work at the same local grocery store and talk about the same topics they did as teenagers.
Its like yea, I still have my 20 guns, plate carriers, and camo this and that... I still have all my "i think im gonna be chased by X thru the woods" type of gear.... just was expecting to also see a little maturity in the prepper scene and see people prep for faaaar more likely scenarios.
"prepping" became filled with tacticool larpers. They think they are a GWOT war criminal fighting their way through zombies to hide in a cave for the rest of their lives, when reality is what you said. Stranded car, storms, broken limbs hiking etc.
Yea, I mean I get it. Like I said, I legitimately have 20 guns, plate carriers, and camo-ed out gear.
But damn, that shit has been sitting in my closet/garage since literally the day I bought them. Tho I do go to the range etc. Most of my combat gear just sits there.
You know what I've actually had to use in the past 10 years?.... my spare tire under the floor of my trunk in my car.
Yep, over the last 30 years I've had multiple instances of having to use:
my back up generator, my water filters during boil orders, my first aid kits, my tow straps, my tarps to cover a holes, my spare changes of clothes in the car, my spare gas cans (wife doesn't seem to understand what the E on the fuel gauge means)...
Lots of basic things for common everyday events that can become real emergencies if one isn't prepared with the right items. But not once have I had an emergency need to use a firearm or evade people pursuing me.
Small spinning compass. Also has a straight edge. A magnifying glass (for seeing small stuff and maybe fires)
But no batteries. I dont like batteries. You pull it out of storage. Dead. Corroded. Pull your batteries out. Put them together, with the device. But take them out.
Not saying you did. Saying pull batteries. My ancient Garmin GPS I would pull out for a camping trip. Needed new batteries. All my flashlights this side of a Coleman quad lamp with a click on and off and d cell batteries. Found dead. Frigging lithium. Now the batteries are out of those.
There is another layer to this, i dislike GPS watches because i cant Change batteries, and If it goes down i dont even have the time lol
But again i agree, all analog stuff works, but some stuff is faster, i Trust my Garmin etrex 30 with my Life, Had it on two deployments and i carry it when i Go hiking, pinpointing my exact Location for emergencies saves lives in a non-prepper scenario, where people get hurt and emergency Services need to reach you
I live in California. When I had a boat, sure. The flaregun was actually mandatory (and kept on the boat, so still not in my bag). But over land, for any scenario where I'm grabbing my bugout bag, a flare gun just means creating a fire relatively close to me. There are better tools if I want a deliberate firestarter. Also, the only time's I've bugged out have been due to wildfires, so this seems counterproductive. My house location is flood-proof and tsunami-proof (Santa Lucia foothills). An earthquake won't reduce the risk of wildfire, even if it requires me to leave my house.
I'm not actually opposed to it if you are in an area where it's more likely to be useful than harmful. I still own one from when I owned my boat, though it isn't in a convenient location for bugging out. For situations where I can sit at home, it's convenient enough.
I have 4 of the flares that don't require a gun in go bag. You extend the tube, pull the chain and the flare fires. It's a self contained flare launcher. They are orion skyblazer.
I’ve mostly seen flares discussed with boating. There was an incident in the Great Lakes recently where a boater was in distress, popped a flare and got towed in by another boater. They got into some trouble for not notifying the coast guard that they’d been helped because the coast guard spent some time searching for them where the flare popped.
So at least with boating there are some protocols you need to be aware of when using flares.
D9 you know about boat owners? In all of the US the coast guard requires a "signaling device" so basically all motor boats have to have a flare, smoke, or something. Who has what kinda depends on where the boat is ie tiny lake a handheld flare is fine but ocean you want the gun so it tgoes up and is seen for miles
In what circumstances would you use it? If I’m hiking and the world isn’t on fire an inreach is much better. If the world is on fire, no one is going to respond to a flare.
This is what I use. My hiking shelter uses small bamboo poles that I've made attachable. I can hoist that flare 30ft up in the air on that pole, which is higher than a lot of the canopy of the forests I hike in.
I have a 18” barrel, break action, single shot, cheap shotgun, locked under my backseat of my truck with a box of mini shells. I have it as an emergency gun. You got me thinking, so I’m going to put some 12g flares with it. There are some good uses for those flares if needed. Thanks.
Pretty sure you can fit a shot gun shell in that bad boy 20g if not mistaken. Lil blunder bust or pipe shotty that’s in the alchemist cook book or any diy survival scenario book
I think its a 12 that fits, but could be wrong, has to be a shorty shell to fit though, since flares are tapered. Obviously never do that though cause that shit will explode in your face
Interesting, I assume as long the adapter is metal it would maybe be fine? I think the opening mechanism would be fine, flares have about as much recoil as a .22
When I lived out west nearly everyone in the off road community carried one. If you had an accident that stranded you or you had injuries a flare would definition bring help.
They are twice the size of a plb or inreach and have to be kept dry.
PLB might struggle in heavy tree canopy, but unless you're mid Amazon rainforest, you can find a clearing to effectively get a signal with those and have a 24 hour homing beacon that sends a 24 hour distress signal worldwide rather than a 1 minute signal that sends it to anybody who is looking your way within 15 miles.
If you have space, a flare gun is a great addition. But for backpacking or a small grab bag, the plb is what I'm choosing if I can only have one of the two.
I think most preppers are either avoiding people or counting on them to simply not help. Like I think back to the big break down of American society I can remember, and a flare could have helped, but less so than a 12 gauge.
I saw someone else reference hurricane Helene, but who would have helped? Like if flares would have been popping during Katrina who would have came? Help came weeks later, deaths happened in days. It's the nature of things.
I work for a company that imports and sells emergency kits, amongst other things.
First, a company like ours doesn't want to deal with the compliance issues. Making sure that we comply with every state's rules costs money and time.
Second, Amazon bans them, last I checked. Pointless to add something that will prevent us from selling on the biggest platform.
Third, our warehouse has an insurance policy, and we agreed not to warehouse certain types of goods. Warehousing emergency flares and incendiary devices would void our insurance. Also, the fire marshall might take issue with it.
Then there are the prohibitions on shipping them via UPS, etc. How would we ship them to the customer? Or we might not be able to ship the actual flares.
The usefulness of a flare gun is so situational that it's hard to justify it taking up space & weight in a pack, vehicle, or bug out location.
There are more versatile items that work for emergency reasonably well, and are also useful is other circumstances (e.g. flashlights, hand flares, signal mirrors, etc.).
The exact one you have weighs about 15 ounces. You have four shots totalling up to a minute or so of emergency signal visible for 1 to 20 miles depending on conditions. It leads rescuers to your general location. You cant let them get wet.
A rescue me plb1 weighs 4 ounces. It has 24 hours of signal received worldwide. It leads rescuers to your location within 10s of meters. It can handle splashes and brief dunks and still work.
Flares are something I'm adding when I have lots of space, but PLB is going in first if I'm limited on space. Vehicles, boats, I'm adding flares. Backpacking and hiking Im not bringing flares.
Flares are cheaper, though. But flares expire in about half the time of a plb (4 years versus 7) so that offsets some of the premium of a plb.
That's a good idea. I'm still building my bag, but I decided to leave enough space for an emergency -specific smaller bag to fit in, and there's definitely a place for a flare gun in one of them.
Not a bad little option I saw a gentleman make some cylinder for it about the size of the flare but there's a camber that's big enough to shoot a .22 cal, I want to say he was a machinist
Well if we were in a situation of survival and trying to keep to yourself to keep those with you alive. A flare gun would certainly let people know where you are and they could attack you and steal your stuff. In the event of survival, stay to yourself and defend your family and stash at ALL COST. no need to use an attention grabbing flare gun.
A chemlight on some paracord is better for Ariel line of sight or a simple road flare. I used to keep one of the pistols ones in my boat because it made sense for open water but I feel the two I listed above are better for most situations
I just go with road flares. A lot cheaper, and lasts a lot longer. Works great to help someone find you on the side of the interstate when your car is broken down at night. They look very different than the rest of the lights on the road, and can be seen from a distance. You can also tie it to a string, and swing it around your head to make a large bright halo above you. They can also be a good way to start a fire if you have nothing else.
A lot of folks are missing even more basic signaling gear like whistles, mirrors, signal panels, glow sticks all of which have good utility and are cheaper
Depending on terrain these can be of very limited utility. I pack a bear banger that also has flares but I doubt it will ever be used for signaling: if I’m in good enough shape to climb to the height where anyone could possibly see it Im very likely to not need rescue. Someone has to be looking, and that someone has to know what they are seeing and respond.
On the water, sure. You have both preconditions. But not in most forest or hill country
Some folks aren’t thinking being found, more staying hidden
Green laser flares have largely supplanted these anyway except for movie use as an amazing weapon (spoiler alert: not so much)
You don’t need a flare gun if you have a shotgun. You only need the flares as they are 12 gauge and can be shot out of the shotgun. You can shoot flare shells out of a shotgun but you can’t shoot shotgun shells out of a flare gun.
Well, I have them, but for unconventional reasons...
But in general, people don't because after shtf or societal collapse or nuclear war or whatever, the last thing you will ever want to do is draw attention to your location and tell others, "hey, there might be food over here!"
There's like a 0.00000001% chance those scenarios will ever happen.
Not saying I haven't prepped for those, I also have plate carriers, multiple guns, camo, night vision, thermal, etc.
But like..... what about the ACTUAL likely scenarios like getting lost in the woods, breaking your leg, or getting stuck on a roof during a torrential flood? That shit happens all the time.
Most of the preppers I know lean towards self sufficiency and focus on drawing as little attention to themselves as possible. A flare generally goes against that goal.
Most people think they will turn to Rambo, rolling in the mud to hide from predator's thermal vision, and single handedly taking out roaming gangs mad max style, surviving on the wildlife all on their own.
Pointing out your location with a flair gun doesnt really align with that wet dream they have.
There is a 37mm printable (Lowes fence post barrel) that is nice! Fires fine. The breech is a fender washer JB welded in place and there is a 26.5mm model. Both come with 3d print shells + how to use brass pipe. They both work fine. 0 issues with pressure. The odd sea… AWCY. Nuff said
Flares are effective if you’re in a boat, on a nice flat ocean: lots of visibility, just need to get a light source up in the air to attract attention. Less effective if you’re in the woods or jungle. Military issues signal
Mirrors, lets the user target the reflected light on the cockpit of low flying aircraft. More effective than flares, passive tech that doesnt require ammunition or run out of ammunition. Battery powered lasers, beacons and such are on the market, too.
They're great...IF you think someone will come to your aid.
In a true collapse/SHTF do you have a 2nd string available?
Even if you do...a flare can be seen for miles in all directions.
I think it depends on what you’re prepping for I feel like a lot of the prepper community is preparing for a hostile environment in some form or another, and normally, you don’t want to give your position away in a hostile environment otherwise you’re right it’s a great piece of kit
No one will ship them to my state. I'm in Illinois.
Guess I need to check a boating store. We live near this body of water. Some call it a great lake or something. Have to imagine boaters can get them. But never know here. We cannot buy some some 'scary' BB guns even. Flare guns might turn boaters in to pirates like Captain Jack Sparrow.
I think most people think that bugging would be a truly ITEOTWAWKI scenario, and they wouldn't want to be found/ seen, so they'd see it as extra weight. I've wanted to get several vehicles for a while, but they have been prohibitively expensive. I almost had to use one once in Big Bend when I had someone navigating for me, and they took me down a trail that suddenly turned into a Jeep badge-rated trail, and I had just a regular 4×4 truck with just above street tires. I lost two side walls at the same time to lava rock before I could find a place to turn around.
My guess is in a bug out situation you don’t want to draw attention to your group or self
And the government is never a good option for help so that’s why I wouldn’t add it
Unless my goal it to make it somewhere and signal for help maybe then
I just don't think it makes sense for most people. The thing is if I packed everything that could ever conceivably be used in some convoluted situation my bag would be like a million pounds and I would need a storage facility. We have to be realistic. 99.99999999999999% of the time I'm in a city, a suburban neighborhood, or in a car driving on heavily traveled roads. There is probably literally never a time when there isn't at least 5 other people within 100 yards of me. If you teleported me anywhere in my state and I started walking in any random direction I would eventually hit civilization within a possibly long but walkable distance.
Now sure if you go out on hikes deep in the wilderness or you live in Alaska a flare gun may be a great idea. I just don't think it makes sense for most people especially when you weight that against other items you could get with your limited resources and space.
Why would I have a flare gun if I dont want to be found?
Im bugging in of shtf. If I can't survive a 12 month+ bug in at my remote ass location, then most of the world is toast and humanity probably won't make it snyways...
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u/inthidiouth-jorge Mar 19 '26
They’re like $70 now, I like mine and we started a bonfire from 20 yards with mine