Courtney Thomas wrote in message news:

Is the Olin gun/case/flares kit adequate ?


I would highly recommend Olin/Orions 25mm flare pistol.

Early this summer our local CG Aux offered a flare demonstartion and
those willing could bring their flares and fire them under
supervision/permission of the USCG Aux.

At that time my plastic gun failed to open.

since then this press release has been issued at the 7th CG Aux
website:

---------------------------------------------

WARNING: Some Flare Guns Can't Be Opened!

Orion states that Olin flare guns (now Orion) can't be opened wide
enough to accept a flare cartridge and would be useless in an
emergency. A marine surveyor who regularly checks flare guns while
doing surveys found that 13% of the Olin guns (9 out of 69) he has
inspected can't be fully opened.

A spokesman at Orion Safety Products confirmed the problem; nylon
material used to keep the breech closed can deform and jam the opening
mechanism. Any Olin plastic flare gun is suspect, as are Orion guns
made before 2000, the year the mechanism was reengineered (guns with
the modification have the USCG approval code 160 028/12/1 stamped on
the body). A recall has not been issued, although Orion has agreed to
replace any of the defective guns, regardless of age. Orion recommends
checking the operation of the guns now and at the beginning of every
season; if the breech won't open, the gun should be sent back for
replacement.

Send defective guns to: Orion Safety Products, Marine Division, 3157
N. 500 West, Peru, IN 46970.

George J Kacmarik, DSO-VE

Date posted: 7/5/03

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source: (scroll down a bit)

http://cgaux7.org/articles_dso-ve.asp


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During the flare test/demonstration I shot off many different types of
flares including solas aerial/parachute.

I decidedly did NOT like the SOLAS aerial flares TRIGGERING mechanism.

The mechanism in question is the firing mechanism best described where
if the flare is held in the left hand the right hand triggers the
mechanism by the righthand upward motion bumping the trigger.

I much prefer holding the flare tube in my left hand an pulling a
trigger ring
with a downward motion. I disliked the upward bump trigger so much I
declined in letting my wife shoot one of them....

Now the solas aerials/parachute are nice but carry a hefty price tag,
the flare demonstration SOLD m3e on onlins 25mm flare gun, the 25mm
flare gun will fire paracvhute flares and in the demonstration they
were quite impressive.


example (note this is NOT a plastic gun):

http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wcs...=50&storeNum=8