Do You Really Need a Flame Thrower?

   03.26.19

Do You Really Need a Flame Thrower?

My first inclination here is a “well, no.” But, then I ran into a colleague recently just home from the SHOT Show in Vegas. Of all the things he saw while there at the largest gun show in the world was a flame thrower. I just shook my head.

The XM42 Modular flame thrower is a handheld piece of equipment fabricated out of billet aluminum and offers a fully customized layout according to the product source. In this case that is the TacticalSh_t.com web site. A retail price was not listed.

So, in real terms what could you do with a compact handheld flame thrower, despite thoughts of creating general mayhem? Actually, there are some legitimate reasons for using a flame thrower for a variety of activities, so having this tool on hand may not be as farfetched as one might initially think.

First, if you live up north this winter, you probably wish you had a way to quickly and efficiently melt ice off the porch steps, and the sidewalk. Once the snow is off, usually there is a layer of hardcore ice that is nearly impossible to get rid up so long as temps stay below freezing. A flame thrower blast would clear that.

In the spring and summer, a quick waning of the flame thrower torch will literally burn away noxious and stubborn weeds in sidewalk cracks, along decorative brick walls, along fence lines and other applications. In a similar mode, this flame source would work for controlled burns for wildlife food plot maintenance, burning off weed fields, and maintenance around hunting camps and even prepper Bug Out sites.

Regional firefighting groups could use this flame thrower to create back fires to head off spreading and ever expanding wildfires. Sometimes you have to set fires ahead of a wildfire to deprive a huge fire of additional fuel resources to dampen the spread.

Just for fun, a portable flame thrower could be used to start bonfires for a camp especially when starter materials are wet or just damp. It could come in handy when a campfire is needed quickly.

So, maybe for some having a tool like a flame thrower makes sense. If it does for you, then check out the XM42. You may be the only person on the block to have one.

Other potential uses of a torch flame would be infected insect nests, ground hives, and other insect threats like fire ants, and

Avatar Author ID 67 - 533723563

Award winning outdoor writer/photographer since 1978. Over 3000 articles and columns published nationally. Field & Stream Hero of Conservation in 2007. Fields of writing includes hunting most game in American, Canada, and Europe, fishing fresh and saltwater, destination travel, product reviews, industry consulting, and conservation issues. Currently VP at largest community college in Mississippi in economic development and workforce training with 40 years of experience in Higher Education. BS-MS in wildlife sciences from MO. University, and then a PhD in Industrial Psychology. Married with two children and Molly the Schnoodle.

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