Has anybody tried out their flash bang yet?

ShawnC6 said:
I can definitely test out a shotgun like just ahead of the barrel. Sound is only pressure so a shotgun shell can only make so much, just depends how it's directed for perceived loudness.
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My Benelli Super Nova entry with 3 1/2" magnum shells is wicked pisser loud. A friend shot off a bear banger and then I shot the gun and jaws dropped at how much louder the shotty was. They still talk about it to this day.
 
Flash bangs have been lethal. I remember a case where a SWAT member was killed in the States. IIRC it was a dispatch and then a stand down right at the moment prior to entry. Seems he attempted to reinstall pin and was killed when it detonated.

Not a toy and definitely never attempt to reinstall pin. Once pin is pulled it should be allowed to bang.

We are prohibited from deploying them under certain physical conditions because of their lethality.
 
skypilot said:
Flash bangs have been lethal. I remember a case where a SWAT member was killed in the States. IIRC it was a dispatch and then a stand down right at the moment prior to entry. Seems he attempted to reinstall pin and was killed when it detonated.

Not a toy and definitely never attempt to reinstall pin. Once pin is pulled it should be allowed to bang.

We are prohibited from deploying them under certain physical conditions because of their lethality.
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These things they bought are not toys, and will be dangerous in the wrong hands, but are not meant for entry use. Not in the same class.
 
got a chance to try it out, I bought a few for bear deterrence. Lets say that it was not quite as bad as I thought it would be....

I used it in daylight , but the flash was bright enough to lose sight of the FB for a quick second. Im not sure it would start a fire as the flash was the same size as the FB body, but I would be careful in dry conditions.

Secondly the fuse was surprisingly FAST, a lot quicker detonation than I expected.... So DEFINITLY make sure you have the spoon in the webbing between your thumb and first finger, and when you toss it open your hand all the way. There is VERY little room for mistakes with that fast fuse, so you don't want it hanging up on your hand/fingers when you throw it.
Also the pin takes a good tug to get it out......
When I tossed it underhand it went off in mid-air about 15 yards in front of me....AS I SAID THE FUSE WAS SURPRISINGLY FAST..

Thirdly, the bang was just a bit louder than a shotgun blast, and there was some good concussion...

All in all I think they are very well made, and would make an EXCELLENT bear deterrant with a bear at about 20 yards or so...I will always take mine fly fishing/hiking/bowhunting as I think that they are perfect as a bear deterrant....I am very pleased with them for this purpose..

The battery (of course) died on my cell phone as I planned on filming it.

hope this helps
 
slim123 said:
got a chance to try it out, I bought a few for bear deterrence. Lets say that it was not quite as bad as I thought it would be....

I used it in daylight , but the flash was bright enough to lose sight of the FB for a quick second. Im not sure it would start a fire as the flash was the same size as the FB body, but I would be careful in dry conditions.

Secondly the fuse was surprisingly FAST, a lot quicker detonation than I expected.... So DEFINITLY make sure you have the spoon in the webbing between your thumb and first finger, and when you toss it open your hand all the way. There is VERY little room for mistakes with that fast fuse, so you don't want it hanging up on your hand/fingers when you throw it.
Also the pin takes a good tug to get it out......
When I tossed it underhand it went off in mid-air about 15 yards in front of me....AS I SAID THE FUSE WAS SURPRISINGLY FAST..

Thirdly, the bang was just a bit louder than a shotgun blast, and there was some good concussion...

All in all I think they are very well made, and would make an EXCELLENT bear deterrant with a bear at about 20 yards or so...I will always take mine fly fishing/hiking/bowhunting as I think that they are perfect as a bear deterrant....I am very pleased with them for this purpose..

The battery (of course) died on my cell phone as I planned on filming it.

hope this helps
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Thanks for the info.

SMOKESKULL said:
My Benelli Super Nova entry with 3 1/2" magnum shells is wicked pisser loud. A friend shot off a bear banger and then I shot the gun and jaws dropped at how much louder the shotty was. They still talk about it to this day.
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I was really unimpressed with how loud bear bangers are. But I was also a little further away than I am from a muzzle.
 
ShawnC6 said:
I was really unimpressed with how loud bear bangers are. But I was also a little further away than I am from a muzzle.
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yep agree, they are more like a toy and are not very loud...plus the fact that they all seem to go off at different ranges makes them a little spooky.(had one go 40 yrds before goin off...and another pop of at my feet and go off) so yer takin a chance of a long delay goin off behind the bear....and sending it running at you...
We used em in the bush at work all the time, not really impressed at them for bear deterrence.....but they are awesome to fire high up in the air over your buddy havin a bush dump...:)

I am super impressed with the FB's...I think they are perfect for bear deterrence....with the high quality construction...i feel that the fuse will be a dependable and consistent delay.....which is very important for judging distance in a deterrence situation.
 
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slim123 said:
got a chance to try it out, I bought a few for bear deterrence. Lets say that it was not quite as bad as I thought it would be....

I used it in daylight , but the flash was bright enough to lose sight of the FB for a quick second. Im not sure it would start a fire as the flash was the same size as the FB body, but I would be careful in dry conditions.

Secondly the fuse was surprisingly FAST, a lot quicker detonation than I expected.... So DEFINITLY make sure you have the spoon in the webbing between your thumb and first finger, and when you toss it open your hand all the way. There is VERY little room for mistakes with that fast fuse, so you don't want it hanging up on your hand/fingers when you throw it.
Also the pin takes a good tug to get it out......
When I tossed it underhand it went off in mid-air about 15 yards in front of me....AS I SAID THE FUSE WAS SURPRISINGLY FAST..

Thirdly, the bang was just a bit louder than a shotgun blast, and there was some good concussion...

All in all I think they are very well made, and would make an EXCELLENT bear deterrant with a bear at about 20 yards or so...I will always take mine fly fishing/hiking/bowhunting as I think that they are perfect as a bear deterrant....I am very pleased with them for this purpose..

The battery (of course) died on my cell phone as I planned on filming it.

hope this helps
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The purpose of an NFDD is obvious. We "know" that entries are planned and very few "spontaneous" uses will occur. As such the device can be carried and used quickly without the danger of pre detonation. The legs are bent from the factory to prevent any ND. This does cause difficulty and ackwardness when muscling the pin out.

When you "know" you will deploy one, a leg on the pin is usually straightened, allowing the pin to come free and "arm" with some control and less brute strength and potential to "lose" the banger.

I always have body armor between me and NFDDs as is policy, if transport on my body is necessary. So, I am not sure how you will satisfy safety with relatively quick deployment in a bear situation. No reflection on you or your dexterity, just something to consider.
 
slim123 said:
Secondly the fuse was surprisingly FAST, a lot quicker detonation than I expected.... So DEFINITLY make sure you have the spoon in the webbing between your thumb and first finger, and when you toss it open your hand all the way. There is VERY little room for mistakes with that fast fuse, so you don't want it hanging up on your hand/fingers when you throw it.
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This is exactly what a US army instructor was saying to operators in training and then : "if you screw up, you'll be called stumpy !! "
 
understand what you are saying "skypilot", but once you realize how hard of a pull it is, you shouldn't have any problem whatsoever pulling it in a quick situation. I would never..ever consider straightening out the pin legs for fast deployment...they are bent to keep it in a safe fashion....having said that, it isn't super hard to pull it straight out once you are expecting it to be hard...I tried 3 to get a good feel for it..
but my concern is that ppl need to understand it's a very fast fuse....its a lot faster than one would think..and needs to be not only respected...but cemented into a person's head before deploying it..

having said that I understand what you are saying about carry safety, but upon inspection they seem to be very well made and there is a wrap tie, pin with bent legs and a secondary metal wire affixing it to the unit. If lockhart feels this is safe enough to send in the mail...its probably safe enough to carry...as long as its inspected periodically to make sure the safeties are still intact

As far as a bear situation, I have had many over the years, and my situational awareness in the bush is very high....every encounter I have had I have seen the bear first, so there is time to either circle away downwind, or back off and increase distance...
but once in a blue moon there is no way out, and then you have to stand your ground and be ready with your deterrant....myself I would rather scare it off..than kill it needlessly. I have never needed to shoot in all my encounters, but once I got between a sow griz and her cub...and I was lucky to walk away...as she was so close about 15 yards popping her jaws and standing up...I feel that if I had this with me then I could have "convinced" her to leave...without her tossing the dice of my life...and choosing to leave on her own. At that range, I would have been very lucky indeed to get off 2 slugs...if she decided to charge for real...

I think extra caution should be observed if you are wearing gloves to avoid hang ups..because the fuse is crazy fast

after its tossed you will hear a "pop"....then its 1.5 seconds..and believe me 1.5 seconds is not long at all
 
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slim123 said:
understand what you are saying "skypilot", but once you realize how hard of a pull it is, you shouldn't have any problem whatsoever pulling it in a quick situation. I would never..ever consider straightening out the pin legs for fast deployment...they are bent to keep it in a safe fashion....having said that, it isn't super hard to pull it straight out once you are expecting it to be hard...I tried 3 to get a good feel for it..
but my concern is that ppl need to understand it's a very fast fuse....its a lot faster than one would think..and needs to be not only respected...but cemented into a person head before deploying it..

having said that I understand what you are saying about carry safety, but upon inspection they seem to be very well made and there is a wrap tie, pin with bent legs and a secondary metal wire affixing it to the unit. If lockhart feels this is safe enough to send in the mail...its probably safe enough to carry...as long as its inspected periodically to make sure the safeties are still intact

I think extra caution should be observed if you are wearing gloves to avoid hang ups..because the fuse is crazy fast
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My poor attempt at my point was carrying it in a more ready/safe condition yet deployable relatively quickly in a situation like the bear defense.

I agree, never straighten the legs and carry. I straighten one leg for easy/ immediate use.

How good are they at staying where the land when tossed?
 
I tossed them underhand and they all went off about 15 yards out, they seem very well made and consistent...with that same toss they all went off mid air..about 5 feet off the ground.

I agree with you.... I spent a lot of time pondering the idea of carrying them around, and what you say about body armor between you and the device sounds like a hell of a good plan. But they seem to be very safe out of box, and I cant see or think of a situation where the safeties might come undone, even falling down a hill or something...they are still safetied inside a pouch with a locking top tab, so I feel that it probably would be okay...

having said all that, I was pretty scared deploying it for the first time.......its probably a good idea to be afraid of the first one, and gain some respect for the device...and avoid complacency...which will always lead to an accident
 
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slim123 said:
Secondly the fuse was surprisingly FAST, a lot quicker detonation than I expected.... So DEFINITLY make sure you have the spoon in the webbing between your thumb and first finger, and when you toss it open your hand all the way. There is VERY little room for mistakes with that fast fuse, so you don't want it hanging up on your hand/fingers when you throw it.
Also the pin takes a good tug to get it out......
When I tossed it underhand it went off in mid-air about 15 yards in front of me....AS I SAID THE FUSE WAS SURPRISINGLY FAST..
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Maybe Lockhart can weigh in here on why the fuse is set so short? I believe it's currently 1.5 seconds, which is too short for a throw of any decent distance. Could they look into a longer fuse? Perhaps 3 seconds? Possibly as an option? It's one thing to have the lead guy on a tactical entry team toss one of these into a doorway a few feet away, but guys on here aren't using them for that. They want them for, among other things, bear deterrence which could, and likely would, involve throwing these at greater distances.

I know that hand grenades in WWII had longer fuses, as long as 7 seconds, but that time was cut almost in half because the enemy had time to either jump to safety or pick it up and toss it back. I don't think there's any worry of that happening with these, so I'm not sure why such a short fuse time was selected. Apparently M-84 stun grenades have fuses that are up to a second longer...
 
Bad Lieutenant said:
Maybe Lockhart can weigh in here on why the fuse is set so short? I believe it's currently 1.5 seconds, which is too short for a throw of any decent distance. Could they look into a longer fuse? Perhaps 3 seconds? Possibly as an option? It's one thing to have the lead guy on a tactical entry team toss one of these into a doorway a few feet away, but guys on here aren't using them for that. They want them for, among other things, bear deterrence which could, and likely would, involve throwing these at greater distances.

I know that hand grenades in WWII had longer fuses, as long as 7 seconds, but that time was cut almost in half because the enemy had time to either jump to safety or pick it up and toss it back. I don't think there's any worry of that happening with these, so I'm not sure why such a short fuse time was selected. Apparently M-84 stun grenades have fuses that are up to a second longer...
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It's a typical fuse for a flashbang. The need to shock the badguys BEFORE they can harm their hostages or the entry team is the reason for the short fuse.
 
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