[E.Allen]

The one blank thing is BS, if I'm firing a rifle, the one with the blank will have almost no recoil (only from the gases ejected from the muzzle, very little mass)

If I remember correctly during Gilmore, they use 30-06 rifles. Believe me, the live rounds will generate a noticeable recoil. If you watched someone firing a blank vs the real round you could see the difference.

[Wneighbor]

The one blank thing is BS, if I'm firing a rifle, the one with the blank will have almost no recoil (only from the gases ejected from the muzzle, very little mass)

And still, don't you think there are enough people actually willing to do this that there is no need of that worry? That is a bunch of feel-good emotional stuff IMO.

[supercat]

If I remember correctly during Gilmore, they use 30-06 rifles. Believe me, the live rounds will generate a noticeable recoil. If you watched someone firing a blank vs the real round you could see the difference.

From what I've read, things are much less clear in volley-fire situations. I've read reports of rifles recovered from civil war battlefields which were double-charged or triple-charged (powder,patch,ball,powder,patch,ball). In those cases, the soldier most likely didn't realize his rifle had misfired and thus loaded it again.

To be sure, most movies or TV plots where someone substitutes a blank for live ammo are completely absurd. Not all such real-life situations are so absurd, however.

[MeekOneGOP]

Yeah, I think if you are the one with the blank, you'll know it (notice the difference) too !

[30-06 Springfield]

Esquire magazine ran an article soon after Gilmore was executed. Let's see if memory has not failed me. The title was: "I was on the last firing squad" or close to that. It was a first hand report form a member of the firing squad.

1. The rifle used was a Winchester 1894 in 30-30 (Surprising isn't it?)

2. The members were LEO from the area of the crime.

3. They were volunteers.

4. The execution took place indoors. There are two adjoining rooms with a trapdoor style window seperating them. (I imagine earplugs are mandatory)

5. The criminal is seated with a white tee-shirt on and a red heart shaped taget is pinned to his chest. His head is covered with a cloth bag, but is out of sight from the members anyway. The only light was from a floodlight on his chest.

6. Yes, they used one blank.

Beyond this my memory fails me at the moment. Some of the facts may have weathered from age so if there is one or two errors, I apologize, but am about 99% certain on these.