Don't tell Dick Cheney; it'll only make him angrier. But Taser International has just wrapped up tests on a less-lethal shotgun. Even if you nail someone in the face with this thing, the chances of putting him or her is the ICU are pretty low.
Today's standard-issue stun guns work fairly well. But because the Taser uses a pair of tethered darts to deliver its electric shock, range is limited to 7 meters or less. Only one person can be targeted at a time.
This new "Extended Range Electro-Muscular Projectile" works out to 30 meters, according to News.com. And unlike Cheney's birdshot, this ammo fits into a diesel 12-gauge, not a wimpy 28. But testers said it could be "powerful enough for crowd control."
It's one of a bunch of long-range stun guns that that researchers in America and in Europe are investigating, Defense Update observes.
A different concept is the Sticky Shocker, developed by Titan, with DARPA's support... Sticky Shocker clings to a human target inflicting an electrical stun. Effective at up to 10 meters, the projectile contains a battery which excites several short high voltage pulses (50KV) per second... Different method of wireless stun weapon application is "laser induced plasma" weapon [kinda like this one], which uses artificial lightning effects to stun and incapacitate a target. Initial applications of such technology include the StunStrike, which [is] currently maturing into [an] operational system.
A German arms-maker is working on a "plasma taser" that squirts out an aerosol spray at the target, creating a conductive channel for a shock current, David Hambling noted in New Scientist. Meanwhile, Texas-based Lynntech, Inc. is using a grant from HSARPA (DARPA's homeland security clone) to build a shock grenade. (Here's Hambling's take.) And Taser International is toying around with a less-lethal landmine, based on its original stun gun.
There's no word, yet, on what the weapon does to quail.
(Big ups: RC)
UPDATE 2:04 PM: "Eagle Eye Body Armor sent us a release today noting that "Hunting accidents can be prevented carrying special hunting body armor,'" Defense Industry Daily noes. "'The Eagle Eye hunter's jacket that allows free movement with light weight is specially designed for the protection of individuals during the hunt.'"
