Yeah let me reference another topic similar to this one:
http://www.videomaker.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=3726
I posted a vidoe on that thread, just a demo, I used an airsoft gun, and adobe photoshop to make the muzzle flash.
Just a simple demo. I made the muzzle flash by hand, and I used no other video FX tools, but once again the stuff at http://www.videocopilot.net/action.html does look pretty good.
