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Flare gun in vehicle

thenewchance

Regular Member
Joined
Sep 1, 2011
Messages
17
Location
Southeast Wisconsin
Just wondering, what is the legality of having a flaregun inside of a vehicle for the purpose of a distress signal? It's technically defined as a "firearm" so I'm not sure how this works.
 

msteinhilber

Regular Member
Joined
Oct 10, 2010
Messages
125
Location
Verona, WI
Carry it in your vehicle like you would any other firearm as per State law then as you're right, it could/would probably be technically classified as a firearm:

167.31(c) "Firearm" means a weapon that acts by force of gunpowder.

175.60(bm) "Handgun" means any weapon designed or redesigned, or made or remade, and intended to be fired while held in one hand and to use the energy of an explosive to expel a projectile through a smooth or rifled bore. "Handgun" does not include a machine gun, as defined in s. 941.27 (1), a short-barreled rifle, as defined in s. 941.28 (1) (b), or a short-barreled shotgun, as defined in s. 941.28 (1) (c).

On the other hand, the ATF doesn't consider a flare launcher to be a firearm by itself. It will, however, become classified as AOW if you have inserts installed to fire standard cartridges.
 
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Shotgun

Wisconsin Carry, Inc.
Joined
Aug 23, 2006
Messages
2,668
Location
Madison, Wisconsin, USA
Carry it in your vehicle like you would any other firearm as per State law then as you're right, it could/would probably be technically classified as a firearm:

167.31(c) "Firearm" means a weapon that acts by force of gunpowder.

175.60(bm) "Handgun" means any weapon designed or redesigned, or made or remade, and intended to be fired while held in one hand and to use the energy of an explosive to expel a projectile through a smooth or rifled bore. "Handgun" does not include a machine gun, as defined in s. 941.27 (1), a short-barreled rifle, as defined in s. 941.28 (1) (b), or a short-barreled shotgun, as defined in s. 941.28 (1) (c).

On the other hand, the ATF doesn't consider a flare launcher to be a firearm by itself. It will, however, become classified as AOW if you have inserts installed to fire standard cartridges.

I don't think flare guns are considered firearms. The ATF doesn't think they are. It may be an implement that acts by force of gunpowder, but it's not a weapon that acts by gun powder.
 

Fallschirjmäger

Active member
Joined
Aug 4, 2007
Messages
3,823
Location
Cumming, Georgia, USA
The answer may be contained within the statute itself; "167.31(c) "Firearm" means a weapon that acts by force of gunpowder."
There are 'powder actuated tools' that use gunpowder to drive fasteners yet are not thought of as weapons. I think one has to look at the entirety of the clause and understand the meaning behind it and not concentrate on a sub-set of words.
FH00FEB_POWTOO_02.JPG
.
 
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