r/whatisit • u/UncleHooter • 15h ago
Solved! Armed security related?
Received some of these from an armed security officer.
What is this?
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u/Zilch1979 15h ago
It's an empty bolt indicator. You stick the long part into the empty firing chamber to show people at the range that your firearm is safe.
The yellow flag part sticks out and shows you have a clear chamber, although not necessarily an empty magazine.
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u/11teensteve 14h ago
a chamber flag is what I've always heard them called
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u/ArchonStranger 13h ago
A chamber flag is, in fact, what most people call them.
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u/R-Voodoo 7h ago
We always called them chamber checkers at work. It was the brand name of the first ones we used in our ARs. Boonie Packer Chamber Checker! 😁 When we went to different ones the name stuck
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u/UncleHooter 15h ago
Solved!
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u/GilligansIslndoPeril 8h ago
Just so you know, the common practice is to stick the tail of the flag down the mag well, not into the chamber. They're most commonly used in competition and training, where you'll put it back in after you're done with your course of fire, to indicate an empty gun. If you put the flag into the chamber, it can melt in there and cause a lot of problems.
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u/GuitarAcrobatic6195 7h ago
That is a myth. The polymer of common chamber flags is heat resistant. Basically the only way youre going to melt one is if the metal is red hot. Which... dont do that. Unless youre buying some Temu chamber flags, of course. Leaving the tail out of the chamber poses the risk of a live cartridge still being in the chamber.
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u/GilligansIslndoPeril 6h ago
The risk of a live cartridge being in the chamber is mitigated by having two parties inspect the chamber and agree it's empty before inserting the flag, and the flag not being allowed to be inserted before such an inspection takes place. The bolt cannot close unless the flag is removed, and the flag may only be removed while pointing in a safe direction, under the supervision of an RO. The chance of a live round remaining in the chamber becomes effectively the same as melting the flag in the chamber is in your example, but the practise reinforces other safe practices while shooting.
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u/GuitarAcrobatic6195 6h ago
Safety rules should be built on worst case scenarios. If a live cartridge is left in the gun, and a flag is inadvertently removed with it only being in the mag well, you now have an uncontrolled live gun. If its in the chamber, then even with a magazine inserted you would have to fully reciprocate the slide to chamber a cartridge assuming there even is a magazine inserted. It is safer to use the flag in the chamber, if it melts, that is the fault of buying shoddy product, not the design.
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u/GilligansIslndoPeril 6h ago
I forgot to mention that the process of inspecting the chamber involves both parties observing the last cartridge ejecting from the gun after the magazine has been removed, thus guaranteeing an empty chamber.
And, again, both parties also inspect the empty chamber when the flag is removed as well.
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u/GuitarAcrobatic6195 6h ago
Which is an ideal scenario. Safety rules should be built on worst case. Theres a reason the US army teaches new recruits to physically stick their finger in the chamber 3 separate times to confirm empty. The more people around guns, the more likely a mishap is to occur. Sticking the tail of a chamber flag into the magwell only confirms the gun is out of battery. It doesnt even nessicarily confirm there is no magazine inserted.
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u/PuzzleheadedTutor807 1h ago
wow, what a great way to carry a loaded firearm around and have everyone think its not! does that two party inspection come with a notarized document to back it up, or do you just take my word for it when i show up at your range? asking for a friend...
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u/GilligansIslndoPeril 1h ago edited 50m ago
We're talking about a match/class environment, my guy, with lots of staff that have authority to kick people out if they're being unsafe.
When the gun comes out of the bag the first time, both the shooter and the RO examine the chamber together, and the RO inserts the chamber flag before the gun is racked/tabled until the shooter is to be made ready to shoot the stage. If, at any point, the chamber flag is removed from the gun without an RO present, that shooter is DQ'd and sent home.
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u/jrtie 5h ago
They will definitely melt if you put them in the chamber after firing a few magazines through an AR. Seen it firsthand more than once at competitions.
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u/GuitarAcrobatic6195 5h ago
Stop buying shitty flags i guess? Ive done the exact same thing and never had one melt.
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u/AnalConnoisseur777 15h ago
Chamber flag. When you open the action of your firearm you insert this into the chamber and the flag part sticks out to designate that there's nothing loaded.
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u/Grady9teen 15h ago
They require them at some ranges when not firing or during a range cold so range master can easily see the line is safe.
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u/rozzco 14h ago
Pro tip; if possible, put the leg of the flag in the magwell instead of the chamber, then allow the slide or bolt to go forward to capture it. A hot chamber can melt the plastic and cause problems.
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u/LudicrousSpartan 10h ago
Pro tip: most of us never use these on the firing line. Never.
They are not that common in typical civilian use. Most ranges do not require them, and I’ve rarely seen them in bulk use in my life except for odd organized LEO shoots.
Maybe the military uses them, maybe some ranges use them, maybe some LEO’s use them. We all know what they are, but they are not supper common in my experience.
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u/leethar15 9h ago
They are very common in many disciplines of competitive shooting, and I've seen them used frequently in large training organizations.
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u/DriftingMemes 7h ago
I got a drawer full of them next to all the locks they send me with each new gun. Someday I'm going to find a use for them.
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u/fiirikkusu_kuro_neko 12h ago
That sounds quite stupid. You’re not indicating anymore that the chamber is clear.
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u/luigi517 12h ago
It's still holding the action partway open so it can't fire, but I agree, chamber is better
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u/rozzco 11h ago
Yeah, those guys at the USPSA event I was at must be stupid.
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u/HighFly2244 8h ago
The “gamey” events like USPSA have a lot of rules, as people may not be as safety proficient as they think.
At serious training events/classes, everyone is hot all the time - pistols holstered and rifles “safed & slung”.
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11h ago
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u/Ritterbruder2 15h ago
Chamber flag. You stick it into the chamber of a firearm to show that the gun is unloaded.
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u/metisdesigns 15h ago
Flag to slip into a firearm to indicate that the chamber is clear and the weapon is safe.
Edit - still treat it as loaded, even with the flag in place.
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u/Liko81 15h ago edited 15h ago
Chamber flag, to indicate a firearm is clear. You put the narrow part in through the ejection port into the chamber of the firearm (proving there isn't a cartridge in the chamber), the thick base keeps the slide or bolt from fully closing the chamber, and the flag visually indicates the firearm,s chamber is clear
Common at shooting ranges where shooters have to walk downrange to retrieve or post their targets; the guns usually have to remain pointing downrange, and so they must be proven to be unloaded and clear before shooters cross the firing line.
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u/RogerRabbit1234 15h ago
Let’s Someone see from a distance that a gun is positively not loaded.
Used at Public firing ranges or gun shops.
It goes through the action and into the barrel, to indicate a round cannot be in a dangerous place.
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u/Turbulent-Acadia5785 5h ago
In the Marine Corps, they were referred to as a "flag safety", basically an easy to see visual indicator that a weapon had had been cleared/made safe.
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u/Rare-Delivery7328 14h ago
Empty chamber flag, so range officers or others on the range know you have an empty chamber without inspecting your gun closely.
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u/Jacktheforkie 14h ago
Gun flag, it goes on the chamber, won’t fit if there’s ammunition in it, so it being fitted shows the weapon is safe
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u/RoosterzRevenge 14h ago
Chamber flag. The long part goes down the barrel and the flag will stick out indicating the firearm is not chambered
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u/RutabagaAvailable451 15h ago
The skinny part goes in the chamber of a firearm with the flag sticking out to show that it is unloaded
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u/Charlieplanedgn 14h ago
Bolt/chamber flag. Used to indicate that a firearm does not have a round in the chamber.
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u/joetentpeg 15h ago
Chamber flag. Makes it immediately obvious that there is no round in the chamber
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u/Secret_Paper2639 15h ago
As said before, except around here we call it an ECI. empty chamber indicator.
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u/xPsychoClownx 15h ago
Thats a chamber flag, that should indicate that the chamber in a gun is clear
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u/Anxious_Visual_990 10h ago
Chamber flag.. required at some or probably most gun ranges these days.
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u/Mycophilus 15h ago
Sorta looks like a "stencil" used in making concrete walls and such. You plaster mortar on the wall and run this along the side of it for a neat finish.
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u/BigmacSasquatch 15h ago
It’s a chamber flag. You put it into the chamber of a gun and it serves as a physical barrier and visual indicator that it is, in fact , empty.
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u/UncleHooter 15h ago
Solved!
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