Cold War Flare Guns: A Comparison
As promised, photos and further review of my three recently purchased Cold War era flare guns.
Unless otherwise noted, they are in all photos:
From left to right:
Yugo - Polish - German
From top to bottom:
German
Polish
Yugo
The first four photos show the shoulder bags/holster. The Yugo is made of soft fabric, cotton would be my guess. It is very flexible, has plenty of room for accessories and flares. The Polish is made of stiff canvas. Feels like a box, also has room for accessories and flares and has a side opening for additional flares as shown in the 5th photo. The German holster is a thin vinyl covered fabric. Probably a lot sturdier than it feels, also water proof.
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...j8yu9w7p-1.jpg
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...pcbjlcqv-1.jpg
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...6ndyomhb-1.jpg
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...z0zolkuq-1.jpg
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...h8l5bz1j-1.jpg
This next photo is of writing on the underside of the top flap on the Polish shoulder bag
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...r1cg2dkj-1.jpg
And the writing on the inside of the German holster
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...cwnrsfwb-1.jpg
And the reverse of the three carrying cases
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...qnlz2p0m-1.jpg
Now to the flare guns. The first photo is with the action closed, hammer down, the second with the hammer back, the third the reverse side and the fourth with the action open.
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...bwkoc5b9-1.jpg
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...ak77zy2c-1.jpg
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...vlnmrbjj-1.jpg
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...xfkrcokv-1.jpg
The next two show looking down the barrel and the top of the barrel. The Yugo and Polish guns are marked the German is not.
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...d1slojfk-1.jpg
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...pqi3fr5o-1.jpg
Yugo release lever
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...zcnpk44a-1.jpg
Polish release lever
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...17kxkb1r-1.jpg
German Release lever
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...0kabucpe-1.jpg
Yugo face
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...9ozvmn0k-1.jpg
Polish face
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...krpbtfcw-1.jpg
German face
https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...8tmbwlws-1.jpg
Personally I have become attached to all three. They each have unique features which make them interesting and I am probably going to start hunting for more.
The German gun is more finely crafted. Probably uses the least amount of material needed to do the job. It's action opens the easiest of the three. It is the lightest of the three. Barrel dimensions on all three seems to be about the same. Durability of this gun I would expect to be the worst. Of note, the face is the thinnest by far of the three guns. While suitable for flares, I don't know that I'd want to use an insert for the 45LC/410 in this one. The holster probably protects it to a certain degree but it feels and looks cheaply made. This is the most expensive of the three guns.
The Polish gun is the cheapest looking of the three when you look at them side by side. Picking it up however changes this dramatically. It is by far the heaviest of the three, probably indestructable, huge face, heavy stamped metal. Lacking the trigger guard, obviously not one you'd want to carry around with a flare or anything else in the chamber. It is the most awkward of the three, the hardest to get open. That lever under the trigger has to be pulled out while using the other hand to open the action. It is the only one which does not have a spring to open the action. You can also see the rust, I figured I'd leave it so you can see what you can likely expect if you order one. It's carry bag is in my opinion the most durable of the three but maybe not the one I'd want to carry around all the time. It would be a little difficult to get flares out of it. This was the cheapest of the three guns.
The Yugo is a very nice cross between the two. It is also well built, heavy, thick face and strong. It has a spring loaded action, not quite as easy to open as the German but not bad. It has a good feel to it. The carry bag is interesting in how it closes. It would be easy to pick different types of flares from this but being so soft I don't know how easy it would be to carry fully loaded. This gun was priced in the middle. The aggravating thing with this is the cosmoline. I spent hours cleaning this goo off and when I took it out today, the hammer again will not strike hard enough to fire it. The goo came back and solidified again. It is like new however and once cleaned the nicest condition of the three.
I still don't know for sure if the German gun is East or West but I believe it is West and possibly Border Patrol issue "Bund". Any feedback appreciated.
