J Forensic Sci, May 2009, Vol. 54, No.

3
doi: 10.1111/j.1556-4029.2009.01012.x
TECHNICAL NOTE Available online at: www.blackwell-synergy.com

Aylin YalÅın Sarıbey,1 M.Sc. and elik Tarımcı,1 Prof. Dr.

Modification Methods of Blank Pistols in

Turkey in 2006

ABSTRACT: This study describes the modification methods of blank cartridge firing pistols in Turkey. We have examined cases submitted to
the Aydın Regional Criminal Laboratory of Turkey in 2006. In total, 95 modified pistols and 300 modified cartridges were examined. The blank
cartridge firing pistols are guns which look similar to ‘‘real’’ pistols, however, there are blockages in their barrel in order to prevent the discharge of
a bullet. However, as a result of simple modifications, these pistols can be easily converted into ‘‘real’’ firearms. Studied modification methods are
removing the obstruction from the barrel, removing the partial obstruction from the barrel, sleeving a smaller diameter tube into the original barrel,
using a replacement barrel, and rifling the original barrel. Special cartridges for these modified pistols are also produced. These modified pistols and
cartridges were evaluated in respect of the converting methods.

KEYWORDS: forensic science, ballistics, blank pistol, blank cartridge, modification ⁄ conversion methods, obstruction

Blank cartridge firing pistols are often used in demonstrations spherical buckshot in the case mouth as shown in Fig. 2. It is
and by entertainment organizations. It was observed that they have known that these converted cartridges cause deaths (6). In this
often been used in criminal offenses in recent years. They resemble study, the modification methods of blank pistols and the cartridges
‘‘real’’ pistols in terms of their shape, size, and working principles. used in these modified blank pistols were examined.
The barrels of these guns are blocked and are therefore not rifled.
It was reported that even unmodified blank pistols cause injuries or
Materials and Methods
deaths as a result of close-range shots (1–3). They can function as
conventional pistols simply following some modifications on their The material of this report consists of cases involving modified
barrels. Therefore, modified blank cartridge firing pistols can be blank pistols sent to the Aydın Regional Criminal Laboratory in
converted to discharge projectiles and then be subject to a firearms 2006. In total, 95 modified pistols and 300 modified cartridges
license. These converted guns are submitted as crime evidence to were examined and had been sent from nine different cities. In
criminal laboratories. In Turkey, anybody who is older than addition to identifying and photographing the modification meth-
18 years old can purchase these pistols in their unconverted state ods, the type of cartridges that could be used in the modified blank
without any legal restrictions (4). Nowadays, these guns are pre- pistols was also analyzed in this study.
ferred and used for criminal activity due to their low production
cost, easy accessibility, and the lack of legal loopholes in their
Results
control.
The original barrel of a blank pistol is produced from a material Converted blank pistols are widely used for criminal purposes in
which cannot usually withstand the pressures generated when firing Turkey. The following modification methods are commonly
a conventional, bulleted cartridge. Moreover, the original chambers encountered.
are usually of a diameter that is not compatible with these conven-
tional bulleted cartridges. However, by making simple modifica-
Removing the Obstruction from the Barrel
tions to the barrel and chamber, blank pistols may become
compatible with both conventional bulleted ammunition and modi- This is a modification method that is done by removing the barrel
fied blank cartridges that have been fitted with a projectile. obstruction (Fig. 3). The barrel obstruction prevents discharge of a
A blank firing pistol is a weapon that is designed for use only projectile and is located towards the muzzle of the gun. Modified by
with blank cartridges or, if the barrel is partially obstructed, tear using this method, we examined 31 pistols of which 21 of them were
gas cartridges (5). Tear gas cartridges can contain various different 9 mm and 10 were 8 mm caliber. As a result of such a modification,
lachrymatory agents, identified by different colored mouth closures. these pistols can discharge modified cartridges that have been fitted
The mouth closure of blank-only cartridges is generally green in with buckshot in their case mouth. Figure 4 shows one of 178 exam-
color (Fig. 1). These cartridges can be converted for use with modi- ined cartridges which had been modified by this method. Following
fied blank pistols. In Turkey, the most commonly encountered these modification methods, both the pistols and the cartridges are no
modified blank cartridges are produced by the insertion of a longer functioning as manufactured.

1
Department of Engineering Physics, Faculty of Engineering, Ankara Uni- Removing the Partial Obstruction from the Barrel
versity, Tandoğan 06100, Turkey.
Received 17 Mar. 2008; and in revised form 24 June 2008; accepted 13 There is a removable partial obstruction, which allows the for-
July 2008. ward venting of tear gas, in some blank pistols (Fig. 5). The

 2009 American Academy of Forensic Sciences 623

624 JOURNAL OF FORENSIC SCIENCES

FIG. 1—Blank cartridge. FIG. 4—Different type of modified blank cartridge fitted with buckshot.

partial obstruction also prevents the discharge of projectiles from

conventional cartridges. These partial obstructions can be screwed,
riveted (solid fit), or production cast into the barrel of these blank
pistols. As seen in Fig. 6, the partial obstructions can be removed
using simple tools. As a result of this, modified blank cartridges
containing buckshot or improvised projectiles can be fired. There-
fore, compared to the previous method, blank pistols modified by
this method are compatible with cartridges fitted with wider pro-
jectiles. The cartridges used in these pistols are shown in Fig. 7.
It was found that 53 of the examined pistols had been modified
with this method and 24 of those were 9 mm while 29 were
8 mm caliber.

Sleeving a Smaller Diameter Tube into the Original Barrel

This is the method of inserting a smaller diameter smooth-bored
tube into the original barrel of the gun, once the partial or full
obstruction has been removed (Fig. 8). As manufactured, the cham-
ber of the blank pistol is not suitable for the use with conventional
FIG. 2—A modified blank cartridge fitted with buckshot.
bulleted cartridges as it is too narrow. In addition, the barrel of the

FIG. 3—Appearances of the barrel obstruction. FIG. 5—Removable partial obstruction in the barrel.
 SARIBEY AND TARIMCI • MODIFICATION METHODS OF BLANK PISTOLS 625

FIG. 6—Taking out the removable partial obstruction from the barrel. FIG. 8—Sleeving a narrower tube into an original barrel.

pistol is not of the correct diameter for the bullet. Therefore, the
chamber of the blank pistol is widened and afterwards a tube made
of smooth or rifled hard metal, i.e., iron or steel, is sleeved into the
original barrel. Consequently, the use of conventional cartridges
becomes possible and the original weak barrel is strengthened.
Additionally, rupturing of the gun is prevented. Two of the exam-
ined pistols had been modified in this way, one of which had a
rifled barrel. Both of these guns had been converted from 9 mm
blank to 7.65 mm Browning caliber.

Using a Replacement Barrel

During the production of blank firing pistols the frame is gener-
ally manufactured separately to the barrel. It can therefore be rela-
tively easy to remove the original barrel and replace it with a
stronger one suitable for use with conventional bulleted cartridges
(Fig. 9). These barrels can be rifled or smooth-bored. The replace-
ment barrel is fixed by using a pin or rivet, and the chamber is
altered to be of the correct caliber. Eight of the examined pistols FIG. 9—Mounting a replacement barrel to the blank pistol.
had been modified with this method and all of them were

FIG. 7—Modified blank cartridges fitted with a larger spherical buckshot and an improvised projectile.
626 JOURNAL OF FORENSIC SCIENCES

originally 9 mm caliber. Six of these pistols had been converted to is seen that only 10 of the 31 guns (32%) were 8 mm caliber origi-
7.65 mm caliber and the remaining two to 9 · 17 mm caliber. nally. Since the resultant unobstructed barrel is wider for 9 mm cal-
Two of the replacement barrels were rifled. iber blank pistols, 21 guns (68%) were modified by using pistols
that were 9 mm caliber originally. It was found that 178 of the 300
examined modified cartridges (59%) were suitable for use with this
Rifling the Original Barrel
type of gun.
This modification method is used rarely compared to the others. Fifty-three of the examined guns (56%) had been modified with
In this method, the partial or full obstructions are removed, the the second method. As the second method, in which the partial
chamber is made suitable for use with conventional cartridges but, obstruction is removed, creates a wider diameter bore, this method
unlike the previous methods, the original barrel is not removed. is applied for both 8 mm (58%) and 9 mm (45%) caliber guns. It
Instead, the available part of the original barrel is rifled. However, is determined that all 300 cartridges are suitable for use with this
because the metal of the original barrel is weak, the risk of rupture type of modified gun.
is high. Only one gun had been modified with this method and In addition to changes in the barrel, modifications are also
can be seen in Fig. 10. Note the crack towards the muzzle of the carried out to the chamber of the pistol in methods 3, 4, and 5.
gun. For this reason, 9 mm diameter blank pistols are preferred for
these methods. It is for this reason that guns modified with
these methods are able to fire conventional bulleted ammunition
Discussion
as opposed to just modified blank cartridges. In order to carry
Various gun types are used in criminal offenses in Turkey (7). out the third method of conversion outlined above, a tube with
You only have to be 18 years old to own a blank pistol in Turkey, a suitable diameter has to be produced and inserted into the
a firearms license is not required for their possession, and they only original barrel accurately. Since this is hard to achieve, this
cost 10% of the price of a ‘‘real’’ gun. They are therefore the pre- method is not encountered very often, consequently there were
ferred gun of choice and can function like a conventional pistol only two (2%) guns examined that had been modified using this
after a few simple modifications. Table 1 shows the original caliber method.
and the modification methods used of the 95 guns examined sub- Rather than sleeving a tube into the original barrel, replacing the
mitted to the Aydın Regional Criminal Laboratory in 2006. original barrel is easier. For this reason, the fourth method was
Thirty-one of the examined guns (33%) had been modified with encountered more often than the third method (8%).
the first method. However, although the barrel obstruction is In the fifth method, the chamber is modified to enable the dis-
removed with this method, the barrel is not widened enough, so it charge of conventional ammunition; however because the barrels of
blank pistols are produced from a material which cannot resist the
higher pressures produced, cracks can appear on the guns during
firing. Therefore, as there is a real risk of the gun rupturing during
the firing process, this method is not effective.
The first and the second methods appear to be the preferred
modes of modifications as they can both be done by an individual
without technical support or specialist equipment. Producing car-
tridges suitable for use in these pistols is also relatively easy and
their production cost will also be very low. As the costs involved
and the skill needed to carry out the third, fourth, and fifth methods
of modification are much greater, they are not seen as often as the
other two methods.

Conclusions
As blank firing pistols both look and sound like ‘‘real’’ guns, it
is often hard to distinguish them from the ‘‘real’’ guns without
close examination. Recently, the number of these guns has
increased and they are used often for robbery, purse-snatching,
FIG. 10—Cracking of the barrel due to the higher pressures generated
coercing, and other similar criminal purposes in Turkey. When the
from firing a conventional cartridge. negative effect of these guns on public security and their use
creating panic amongst the public are considered, in addition to
the often ease with which they can be converted into firearms,
the necessity of developing production standards, rendering them
TABLE 1—Distribution of blank pistols according to modification methods
and original caliber. incapable of being readily converted and new legislation regarding
their possession is vital.
8 mm (Item) 9 mm (Item) Total (Item)
References
First method 10 21 31
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Third method 0 2 2 Mandibular fracture caused by absolute close-range gunshot with a blank
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Fifth method 0 1 1 2. Puschel K, Kulle KJ, Koops E. Once again: risk of injury caused by
Total 39 56 95 blank pistols. Arch Kriminol 2001;207:26–32.
 SARIBEY AND TARIMCI • MODIFICATION METHODS OF BLANK PISTOLS 627

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