Glaser safety round

[Tiger ace]

Forgive my ignorance, is the Glaser safety round available in the UK? It's more just an inquisitive enquiry. I've always liked the scene in the film Manhunter when they have a good discussion about it. I'm not aware of any legal issues that would preclude it.

Reasoning (if needed) - in case I'm out and about with the underlever and come across an adder.

 

[Liveonce]

as far as i know, no and never were sold to private owners when we owned pistols.

but others may know different.

you could buy pistol ammo with a capsule of lead shot, but that’s not the same as Glaser safety rounds they were designed to kill a human without over penetration to remove the risk going on to hit a bystander.

can still get ,22lr shot ammo.

 

[Bavarianbrit]

It is not a shot cartridge it functions the same as a bullet and is only letting the shot out after hitting a hard resistance like body mass where the jacket stops or slows and the shot continues. Not for adders IMO. I did make some up in .357 mag for fun when I was in Argentina working back in 1996.

 

[kenbro]

Forgive my ignorance, is the Glaser safety round available in the UK? It's more just an inquisitive enquiry. I've always liked the scene in the film Manhunter when they have a good discussion about it. I'm not aware of any legal issues that would preclude it.

Reasoning (if needed) - in case I'm out and about with the underlever and come across an adder.

Why would you want to shoot an adder?
KB.

 

[long_range_rob]

Why would you want to shoot an adder?
KB.

Maybe he likes the British Courts

 

[Triggermortis]

Why would you want to shoot an adder?
KB.

Because it got its sums wrong?

 

[SpikeD]

Adders have been a protected species since the 1981 Wildlife and Country act.

Glaser's weren't know for their accuracy at the time and were eclipsed by the ballistic Action trauma (BAT) rounds whose marketing was somewhat enigmatic but even if you were to find any their collector value would make them very expensive to shoot. They also might be viewed as Section 5 by some FEO's as they were designed to expand and for use in pistols only.

 

[Tiger ace]

Adders have been a protected species since the 1981 Wildlife and Country act.

Glaser's weren't know for their accuracy at the time and were eclipsed by the ballistic Action trauma (BAT) rounds whose marketing was somewhat enigmatic but even if you were to find any their collector value would make them very expensive to shoot. They also might be viewed as Section 5 by some FEO's as they were designed to expand and for use in pistols only.

Thank you, didnt know adders were protected. Strange a venomous beastie is protected, but fine. It was just the nearest, for instance, rather than being in N America and having more of a legit reason to have them.

Thanks for the answers then - don't expect to see them in the UK.

 

[enfieldspares]

It isn't at all difficult to make a Glaser type projectile you have a set of dies to swage round nose bullets.

In the 1980s I used to swage commercially .380 and .455 bullets using a Corbin CSP-1 and dies. If you had appropriate jackets you could swage a jacket to start to close the nose, add small lead shot, place a simple disc over the top and then run the assembled thing through the dies to "close" the front edge of the jacket onto the disc and so keep the shot in place.

It would take longer to do that it has to write and I'd estimate even if batch making (so swage all the jackets first then next fill all of them with shot then next put a disc into each) it'd still take at least thirty seconds per bullet. So one hour would make but one hundred and twenty or so finished items. Add on the cost of the materials and as you can expect the labour time plus jackets, plus lead shot, plus disc plus packaging made it not a cheap item.

Yes they were commercially available in the UK as I recall seeing a packet. You got from memory six loaded cartridges in a vacuum formed plastic packet with a cardboard backer? The plastic capsules that LIVEONCE refers to as being a different thing is correct. Those were made by Speer and were in blue plastic.

 

[jon2]

Yes the Glaser safety slug was available in the U.K. We had some back in the day. We obtained them from Peter Elliot (ex SAS) at Delta Training.

Just before the ban we shot them all off into 5 gallon water drums.

To the OP we also had a Charter Arms Bulldog which if I remember correctly was featured in Manhunter too.

It was (is) a great revolver. A 5 shot .44 Special.

Another great revolver I owned at the time was the S&W Model 13 which in Hickock45’s vid on .357 revolvers is the one he whittles them all down to as the one he viewed as the best of the best. Very sought after now especially in good condition.

 

[tackb]

i used to use glaser safety ammo before the unjust handgun ban , they are however not the thing for close range snake encounters , they are designed to not over penetrate when shooting jolly naughty people

what you need is the speer shot capsules and some 12 shot or 9 shot , i had some i used in a winchester 38/357 lever action carbine , the rifling spinning the capsule wasn't great for patterns and realistically i'd say 8-12 feet would be the max effective range

although it's all moot really since adders are protected now and have been for a long while plus as far as i know they tend not to attack you so you are unlikely to need to defend yourself from them unlike mamba's , i did not like them one bit when i was in africa!

if you are determined i may still have a few shot capsules i can send you if i can find them in my incredibly tidy reloading cave,,,,,,,

 

[Bavarianbrit]

Here a test of them from 12 years ago.

 

[webley701]

Forgive my ignorance, is the Glaser safety round available in the UK? It's more just an inquisitive enquiry. I've always liked the scene in the film Manhunter when they have a good discussion about it. I'm not aware of any legal issues that would preclude it.

Reasoning (if needed) - in case I'm out and about with the underlever and come across an adder.

If you see an Adder in the U.K. - think yourself lucky rather wanting to kill it (never mind the serious legal aspect of harming one).

Why would you wish to shoot it anyway?

When living in Asia I’ve found a Cobra (very venomous) in the house, had a Banded Krait (quite venomous) take a stroll under the chair I was sitting on & found a Cooperhead (non-venomous) behind the fridge - plus many others outdoors. You just keep still & they go their own way - none needed shooting. The problem snakes are those you don’t see as you invade their ‘personal space’ - no rifle will help you then.

 

[enfieldspares]

Another great revolver I owned at the time was the S&W Model 13 which in Hickock45’s vid on .357 revolvers is the one he whittles them all down to as the one he viewed as the best of the best. Very sought after now especially in good condition.

There's some sense that Hicock 45 says. I had, alas, a Colt Trooper MK III and agree with him that for double action, or indeed a series of single action shots, that the rear of the grip is all wrong and the gun (like the Python and the New Service) torques in the hand so that the web of the hand rides over the top of the grip.

I also had a Model 13 (and the Model 65) both "pinned and recessed") and he is correct. The Smith & Wesson "square" back to the top of the grip at the rear is just superior to Colt's rounded back to the top of the grip at the rear in anything past two shots. I recently watched his Trooper Mk III video and it is well worth seeking out.

The Lawman Mk III (which I wanted but never found) also would, I suppose, have had the same issue.

 

[jon2]

Privileged to have owned a Model 13.

I had limited exposure to Colt revolvers apart from a Diamond Back we owned in .22RF - an uber quality marque mind you despite any short comings of design.

 

[Liveonce]

had a colt python but my favourite was a smith and wesson model 52 it only shot .38sp wadcutters but was perfect for police pistol 1 competitions and very accurate, used to make my own wadcutters by swaging lead wire from tooling made by north devon firearms, So sad we can no longer own such pistols.
Also colt 1911 in .45acp and browning high power 9mm for practical pistol.

 

[Bavarianbrit]

My model 52 was stolen during a break in at my house when I was in New Mexico USA, the local police did not want to do any paperwork but I insisted as it was held on my UK FAC that was back in 1993.

 

[jon2]

had a colt python but my favourite was a smith and wesson model 52 it only shot .38sp wadcutters but was perfect for police pistol 1 competitions and very accurate, used to make my own wadcutters by swaging lead wire from tooling made by north devon firearms, So sad we can no longer own such pistols.
Also colt 1911 in .45acp and browning high power 9mm for practical pistol.

Here here totally agree. Yes I remember the Model 52 and others in the Parker Hale catalogue. Those were the days.

 

[8x57]

had a colt python but my favourite was a smith and wesson model 52 it only shot .38sp wadcutters but was perfect for police pistol 1 competitions and very accurate, used to make my own wadcutters by swaging lead wire from tooling made by north devon firearms, So sad we can no longer own such pistols.
Also colt 1911 in .45acp and browning high power 9mm for practical pistol.

I suppose you did the same with the model 52 magazines as the rest of us who shot PP1 with them, that is extended the cut in the magazine so that it would take 6 rounds?
My best mate persuaded me to sell him my Model 52 as he wasn't much of a revolver shooter but he was much better with the semi-auto.

I always thought that the Python was overrated. I had two friends that had Python's (one was a stainless steel version) both were slightly disappointed with their guns.
I had a King Cobra at one time, it didn't compare well with any of the various Smiths that I owned. Another club member had a Trooper that was a pile of junk too. Another friend had a Diamondback in .38spl now that really was a nice gun.

 

[enfieldspares]

Another club member had a Trooper that was a pile of junk too. Another friend had a Diamondback in .38spl now that really was a nice gun.

Pretty much, the Trooper Mk III, the worst revolver in .38/.357 that I ever owned. I sold it after but maybe six months and bought a six inch Model 27.