Are flash bangs considered DDs?

Yes.

Except when the ATF used them against the Branch Davidians at Waco. At that time FB's were harmless non-flammable little bundles of joy.

Instructor tossed 2 at the Citizen Academy I went to in a few months back. Went to PD's range, tossed 1, "BOOM",,,bright and somewhat loud, not as much as expected, so he says stand here, tossed it out about 10 ft, "BOOM", slight pressure wave on body.

The "spoon" has a serial # on it, has to go back and fill papers out showing discharge of it, and the unit can be re-loaded maybe 20 times. Said he has to fill out ATF papers to get the things.

How can you legally obtain flash bangs?  I assume that the companies that manufacture them cannot sell directly to a buyer.  Do they give the flash bangs to a Class 3 dealer first?  


Or should I not waste my time getting flash bangs?

I don't understand why flash bangs are DDs.  Aren't they supposed to be non-lethal?

I don't fully know how a flash bang works, so just let me ask my question. Does the casing explode? How does it work? I would think that there might be some shrapnel, but like i said i dont know how they work. Can someone explain?

I don't think they explode, judging from what SBR7_11 said.  If they can be reloaded, then they stay in one piece.  I think flash bangs just send out a slight shockwave and a brilliant flash.    

The flash bang canister I handled is an aircraft grade aluminum cylinder (very heavy). I am going to try to describe it by rough memory: approx 2" od, case maybe 4" long. The bottom had a hole (maybe 1") bored in bottom, and the perimeter on top had holes bored to act as vents to keept the canister from becoming a "projectile" as the blast erupted. Remember, blast from one end = projectile (liability), holes in both ends eliminate liability, as forces counteract. The top had a basic looking grenade fuse/spoon, pull pin, hold tight, toss into room, 1.5 seconds (maybe 1.75, don't recall) and [b]BOOM!![/b], occupants should be severly disoriented for 7 seconds, so you have to enter quick.

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