How It Works: Taser's Electrified Shotgun Slug

Awesome!, new jackass episodes here we come! :D

Before an criminal loving liberals jump on here an comment on how this is dangerous and could hurt people. Stop! This is for police to use instead of a GUN. This a awesome technology that will SAVE LIVES. Well done Tazer, well done.

Now I fully expect some remarks defending liberalism.

@AreYouKidding

This technology is awesome and will save lives and I totally agree that criminals get too much public defense when it comes to the less lethal weapons. What people are really complaining about is the cop that is on a power trip anyway and shouldn't be a police officer in the first place, the one who pulls this out when someone doesn't have their insurance card or when a granny doesn't understand him. Really you shouldn't argue about the technology just its implementation but there will always be people who think getting rid of the weapon all together will solve the problem; What ever happened to night sticks? Those were less lethal.

this will save lives no doubt, i just want to know what they did to keep it from becoming an actual shotgun slug that's more likely to go through a person, than a disruptive no hands taser.

@ghost What did they do to keep it from becoming an actual shotgud slug? They only gave it enough propellant (i.e. gunpowder) for it to go ~100 feet. And since the entire projectile is the same size as a 12 gauge shell, it is not likely that it will blow a hole through anyone. Note that slugs and shot from a 12 gauge are more compact, thus delivering more force per impact.

@Aliasless, The new nightstick is the MagLight... Those things hurt more; I know personally.

In some country some models of taser, are used as torture.

Thats the problem, this is a shotgun, is more likely to be used right...

From the torquing that occurs from the fins for stabilization, I wonder how painful it would be when it rips into your flesh and tries to keeping spinning those long, sharp prongs. God, I imagine that would be more painful than even removing those fish-hook barbs found in regular Tasers.

Ouch!

some shotguns are smooth bore which means no rifling so little to no spin. the fins might be just to stabilize the slug like airplane wings and tail or fins on a rocket. But if it is spinning as it comes out the mussel and as it hits the assailant what is keeping the tasers from hitting and ripping out taking skin with it. ouch

or the torque from the spin is what beaks the pins holding the batters and housing the live wire letting the main mass continue to spin leaving the head with the probes in the person

flstick137 still less painful than a 9mm, .40, .45, or .38 slug......Or maybe not, becuase you won't be around long enough to really feel it.

Very very innovative. I wonder if the parts of the shells are re-usable.

I'm very curious as to how much each round costs. It has an "on board computer" and "Two lithium batteries", these will definitly cost more than lead.

I'm very curious as to how much each round costs. It has an "on board computer" and "Two lithium batteries", these will definitely cost more than lead.

@marcopolo1613 They may very well cost significantly more than lead, but when you look at the cost of a lethal shootout versus a TASER shootout... it's probably well worth it.

This seems like a positive step, but it may be a little much to assume the capability gap dead and gone. Keep in mind the time and money spent by the Israeli government to develop nonlethal weapons, such as rubber bullets, which ended up proving that there is no weapon can completely avoid lethality. I suppose we'll see how this one works out. The puncture wounds from those slugs might be nasty though, so lets hope that not too many crooked cops will take advantage of these.

I'm sure that being hit with one of those slugs will leave a nice little bruise and some painful puncture marks but, it's much easier to treat than a bullet wound. Imma firing my TAZORS!

Very sleek, but also very technical (and thus, fragile). I wouldn't want to have to trust that shell after much abuse to fire and impliment correctly. Also, there is a signifigant fire and wait time - if I'm firing, I want to know the affect of my hit quickly so I know when to keep firing.

Would you risk stacking these in a shotgun, or are they load and fire? Would you put live rounds behind them?

I'm all for shotguns for law enforcement, but they are not common there (apart from carriage guns in the trunk or side-seat). That is a good deal of weight to carry around. If you replace the side arm, however, to compensate for weight, you have the problem of actually leathal cops.

The odds of you taking a 45 or 9mm and surviving are very high. Particularly when the guy shooting you is an officer and likely already has medical help on the way. Odds of surviving a 12g slug or shot load is much less.

That said, there is already a less leathal round for the 12g - 8 shot. Not leathal, but a few hours of having little chunks of lead pulled out of your skin and fat will make you wish it was.

Imagine taking that in the back of the head, yowza. Whats wrong with a good ol bean bag gun?

if the electrical signals jam the nervous system what if you hit the spine or somewhere dirctly conected to the brain, would the persons brain shut down?

I think using a pistol woul work if the shell brakes apart in the air relesing some wires conected to a small power source.

Saw this a year ago at CES in Vegas. Awesome tool. Hope the people using it remember that it's LESS lethal, non NON-lethal. People die every year from Taser deployments. Just happened near my home in Southern Utah last year.

How do I know when some Guy breaks into my house whether this thing is fully charged and ready? I know my 12gauge slug is always ready!!!!

I just don't get it. A police officer is going to carry a pistol, a Taser, and now add a shotgun? Maybe they should be issued a pack mule as well.

I have a family full of cops and 100% against drugs!

I remember a black woman in Baltimore city being hit with a Tazer and dying from it.

Ive met cops several times defending Tazers.

But BLACK PEOPLE AND THE HOMELESS(whatever their race) HAVE A HIGH INCIDENCE TO diabetes AND HEART DISEASE.

A TASER TO SOMEONE WITH HEART DISEASE IS SURELY LETHAL!!!

I read about a cop hitting a guy on the ground with a taser repeatedly apparently because he wouldnt put his hands on his head or whatever. It killed him.

About a year or 2 ago, I read about a naked mentally ill guy in New York city who climbed out on a ledge, about 10-20ft up. Cops came, they called in a inflatable ballon impact bag whatever its called in case he fell. Instead of waiting for it to arrive, the CO on the scene ordered the officer to fire the taser. The mental guy prophetically told one of the cops if you shoot me with that youre gonna die too.

NOW HOW ARE YOU GONNA SHOOT SOMEONE ON A LEDGE WITHOUT SUFFICIENT CUSHOIN FOR IMPACT AND EXPECT THEM NOT TO FALL AND EXPECT THEM TO LIVE???

He fired the taser. The man of course went into convulsions from the shock; of course; and the man fell of course. I think he flipped when he fell, maybe falling on his head; and he died; of course.

2 weeks later, I read about the CO from the story who in the precinct locker room commited suicide. Prophetic words fullfilled. He shouldve listened to reason.

I guess in the right situation a Taser could be a good thing; but I read about so much abuse.

I'm pretty sure Sam Fisher has had this technology for years...

@ seanovandonovan-- so the answer is what? use a real gun that is almost sure to kill? yea brilliant. shut up, this is made to save lives

Sorry meant to leave this message right after the last one.
so:

Whats wrong with pepper spray??? It works and is def not lethal. also Shotgun bean bags.

The Indian pepper Bhut Jolokia was declared the world's hottest pepper by Guiness. It is something like 100-1000 times hotter than a jalapeno.

Now the Indian government is going to "weaponize" it. They are going to make it into grenades. Mace would also work.
A shotgun shell filled with bhut jolokia.

In Hindi Bhut means big.

Assuming jalapenos make your nose run, an Indian guy at the supermarket said regarding the Bhut Jolokia: "it will send you running like a freight train".

Reminds me of the pulse wave myotron with its specific waveform mimicking electric signals in the body. Anyone remember the Black Widow? If I recall, there was a DARPA program years ago where they were researching how to modulate the myotron beam on an ionized path like an ultraviolet laser into order to make a "phaser" of sorts. I wonder what happened to that?

Shocking!
What next... Taser bombs.

Firstly, if a person gets hit by a .45 or .44 mag more than likely they are gonna stay down. Second, if someone gets hit by one of these things they are a lot less likely to stay down permantelly, but there is still that possibility, and rubber bullets and such would still be lethal at 35-100ft, and they aren't guaranteed to keep the person down long enough to be handcuffed. This slug will probably do that, and if the cop is anytype of marksman he shouldn't be aiming for the head in the firstplace. Also, how are cops supposed to know about a person with heart problems? They are just trying to survive like the guy throwing the bottle is, its just that he brought a more useful weapon to the fight. The liberals probably don't realize that there is a big difference between shooting at a known heart patient, or shooting at a person who you don't know their health condition. I don't know the range for pepper spray, but it can't be much more than that of an aerosol, so that comes back to the 35-65 foot area we are talking about, there aren't many less lethals that can do anything at that range. What if the bad guy throws a throwing knife or something more dangerous? Still, if they could make this into a pistol round like a .45 or .44 mag that would solve the pack mule problem.

@seanovandonovan-
Actually, there have been quite a few cases in which pepper spray has been known to cause death. It causes swelling of the airways, and can cause suffocation. And no, it doesn't always work. OC spray's main feature is the pain it causes. If a target is intoxicated or on an adrenaline high, it has little to no effect. In fact, many agencies train their officers to effectively fight after being sprayed.

Because TASERs don't rely on pain, but instead cause a lack of muscle control, it does not matter what drugs the subject has taken, they will drop.

@marcopolo1613-
My catalog shows a 5rd pack to be priced at $749.95. So that's about $150 a shot. Traditional TASERs are about $25 a shot.

@Mr. Peabody-
LOL. They already have "TASER bombs." Well, more like TASER claymore mines actually. Look up the TASER Shockwave.

I wonder if the police dapartment anywhere ever tried stuffing 12 gauge shell with the coarse salt? It can't be illegal, can it?
Pure magic. Low tech most often wins.
Will be staying in court all time with all due respect, though.

In response to "areyoukidding"'s comment...
I am considered "Liberal" (though I don't like democrats AND republicans).
... And this has to be one of the most bad ass things EVER.
Would people rather we use live rounds? How about tazing the Hell out of that guy from further away where it's safe? I think this will help save lives regardless.

If only we could make a gun that just sends out one big shockwave and knocks everyone down. That'd be -sweet-... (I know, too many video games/movies for me...)

@areyoukidding

Are you kidding? Talk about a hardcore knee jerk political reaction typical of conservatives...if you guys would only stop and think for a second, you'd realize that liberals are not your enemies. Anyway, I am about as liberal as you can get and I think that this is really cool! In fact, I was disappointed to see you can only get one if you are in law enforcement. Wouldn't mind getting myself a shotgun with a few of these puppies for home defense.

What you fail to understand, areyoukidding, is that liberals do not love criminals. We just view the situation with a tad more sophistication. The problem liberals have with the use of deadly force is that death can not be reversed, even if it was accidental, a misunderstanding, or simply if there was not enough time for a law enforcement official to properly assess a situation before being forced into action in their defense or the defense of another. If you did understand liberals, you'd know that we view this as a fantastic alternative to almost certain death. What an ALLEGED criminal's punishment is should not be decided with a gun in the heat of the moment, if it can be helped. That person's fate should be decided by a court of law.

For example, I recently saw two videos in which the situation could have been much safer, for both police and criminal, if these Taser Slugs had been available. In one, a criminal was putting down his gun in front of a police officer while secretly reaching for another gun. The criminal was shot and killed by another officer who was fortunate enough to see what was happening. Had that second officer had a taser slug, that criminal might have survived. I think the second officer reacted correctly, and the criminal fully deserved what he got, but now that second officer has to live with having killed a man. I know that can not be easy. In the second video, an officer was pinning a criminal on the floor in a parking lot while a second officer had her weapon out and ready. It was clearly a tense situation and the gun in the second officer's hand went off. Fortunately, the bullet went into the pavement (inches from the criminal's head and the first officer's leg), but a taser slug, or even a regular taser, would have kept both the first officer and the criminal from being in mortal danger.

There you go, a little insight into the liberal mind...I hope it doesn't give you nightmares.

The police get tasers and suddenly everyone is getting tasered just because it's non-lethal. Police are total idiots when is comes to exercising good judgment in the use of tasers. Now they have a more powerful weapon to taser people with.

They let car jackers go for mile and miles and miles running at 100+ mph running over people and causing accidents without using deadly force. But give them a chance and they'll taser some disabled person or mother with her kids and give them a heart attack. A 80 year old women was tasered a few weeks ago, because she refused to get out of her vehicle. A 9 yr old child at school was tasered for being unruly.

The police don't need any more non-lethal weapons, but common sense to use them.

areyoukidding

your demeaning attitude toward "liberals" was unnecessary and says more about you than it does about them... and to be specific.. you should have used these words instead -people with a conscience-

people without a conscience always hate and demean those who have a conscience... calling them names like. "liberals" and "socialists".

so I shall call you a name that characterizes your bent, sociopath.

let us remember the misinformation in the article, 1.2 milliamps through living tissue resistance.... is no small matter.... and comparing it with 20 amp available in a wall outlet is completely misleading and actually irrelevant.... I can get a couple hundred amps out of a car battery,,, that too is irrelevant.

suppose the person who has 1/2 inch needles penetrate his body, gets hit in the eye, or has a heart problem....

of course the design engineer and the corporation making money on this cruel and unusual torture... will say anything, including misinformation, misrepresentation, distortion, prevarication, equivocation and lies to make their obscene profits..

such weapons are unconscionably cruel and disgusting
when rubber bullets could do just as well.. and cost a lot less..

and lets not forget the "harmless" microwave beam weapons for crown control, that heats the crowd's skin to excruciating burning hot levels

wow give me one now thats sick

lol can u buy one?

I say forget the shotgun, just carry the pistol. BIG savings in court costs and housing / rehabilitation costs. Use the slug for mental patient / wigged out drug addict /suicidal standoffs etc where the individual is "out of his normal state". A criminal raping or mugging someone in an alley would be more of a candidate for the pistol. Thus the slug would not have to be carried as a standard item. The mental case situations are usually called in and the officers can be prepared with to use the slugs ahead of time.

You folks with your 'liberal' comments are really missing the boat. I suppose I could be termed a 'liberal' these days because I don't support the Christian Fundamentalist candidates the Republicans seem to be pushing. But in fact, I'm wholly behind this type of device. Over all, it will reduce the number of lethal confrontations between police and criminals. Of course, there will be lethal outcomes, but you can never eliminate them completely, no matter what means you are using.

I think if people would stop listening to the highly polarizing doomsayers on radio and TV they would find that many so-called 'liberals' are actually middle-of-the-road folks who stand squarely behind the police and the armed forces, and want to get tough on illegal aliens. We're just going to have to keep voting Democrat until the sane Republicans take back the party from the religious nuts.

Please explain to me why I am legally able to buy firearms and lethal ammunition, and yet be prevented from buying this non-lethal home defense alternative?

Wow, yes, please explain that to me as well.

Oh and a Airsoft gun shoots at around 350 feet per second with a .20g BB, this only goes 270 F.P.S. now this weights a lot more (25g), so the joules is about 85.(a airsoft BB at the same speed would be .68 joules) to feel what 85 joules feels like, hit your self with a baseball(141.75 grams) going at 140 mph (a little faster then a MLB pitch) it will hurt like you-know-what, but you'll live.

But I want a Ion gun (google them, they are so cool)

I would like to buy one of these puppies too. I fish in Alaska and frequently use a 12ga with slugs for protection with bear encounters. If in a pinch, I could easily kill a griz with a 12ga slug or two, but I'd wish I didn't have to. (By the way, had plenty of encounters and have never even needed to fire a warning shot. Get out of their way, and they leave you alone.) This would be a great less than lethal alternative. In some areas of Alaska, bears can become a serious threat to people, Bear spray is not always effective and it also has drawbacks. Cannot travel on a plane with spray! (D.O.T. and TSA won't allow personal defense sprays of that size in checked bags.) That means, when I get to AK, I buy a $60 bottle of spray that I will be forced to throw away at the end of my trip, or I bring my shotty with slugs for free. I would pay good money to keep one of these in the tube.

before any police can use this they will have to try this on them self first. what happen,, they did ,and the wife's of these police man are a little upset ,now they are completely useless,and now need serious help with evening doing the laundry....

What will the holster for this "sidearm" look like?

Stop fighting about the liberal hooplaa people have the right to their own opinions, but if it involves pissing off another party it should be kept to themselves. I personally think that the taser slug is a step forward but they should learn how to decrease the potential lethality of the shell, spikes? that is just over the top, a sticky metallic polymer would work just as well i would know that crap is mad hard to get of and the metallic particles would be able to transfer the shock through materials because the particles are small enough to fit through the fibers........so there.. Problem solved.

@ AreYouKidding

Why bring politics into a discussion about technology?

This new invention is great, stick with positive thoughts and less whining, you will live a better life.

I'd love to believe these would be used properly, but the evidence of how current tasers are used shown on youtube and from reporting agencies clearly says otherwise...