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Seeing the recent piece about the
disposable car made me think about
another (and more practical) idea:
disposable guns.
Most people, unless they're
recreational shooters, professional
hitmen, law enforcement or some
similar profession, do not use guns
regularly. However, in the US, a lot
of
people carry guns for protection,
self-defence or as a psychological
security blanket. (Whether or not
guns are effective as such is beyond
the scope of this thread.)
Anyway, wouldn't it make sense to
manufacture, for these people, an
inexpensive disposable gun, somewhat
along the lines of disposable mobile
phones and single-use cameras. It
could be a metal/plastic/ceramic tube
preloaded with one or two bullets;
cheaper to manufacture than a normal
gun as it would be a basic model,
designed for beginners, and have no
reloading mechanism. One would buy
it, keep it in one's
handbag/pocket/briefcase and, if an
emergency arose, use it.
"Mother of Storms"
http://www.amazon.c...104-2916203-5339940
Pretty cool book, despite the (literally) deus ex machina ending. [Uncle Nutsy, Apr 08 2001, last modified Oct 21 2004]
Fashionable Armor
http://www.augustac.../bus_124-1678.shtml
Incidentally, gun control laws are very strict in Bogota, Colombia. [Guncrazy, Jan 24 2002, last modified Oct 21 2004]
MetalStorm
http://www.metalstorm.com
This weapon system can deliver a literal Storm of Metal. Seriously. It's incredible. [Denzine, Oct 04 2004]
LiquidMetal
http://www.liquidmetal.com
Liquid Metal seels amorphous metal- That's right, metal without a crystal structure! Excellent stuff. [Denzine, Oct 04 2004]
WWII FP-45 Liberator Pistol
http://www.adrax.com/watsons/lib3.htm
Some basic information about the -original- disposable firearm [scott_r_uber, Aug 14 2005]
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Problem: everyone, especially beginners, who choose to carry a gun as protection should practice, practice, practice shooting it so they know how to handle it properly (and to make sure they won't shoot themselves by mistake). Guns are inexpensive enough, especially my version of "disposable" ones. You know, the small handguns with the serial number scraped off....ones that can be placed in the hand of an intruder who suddenly finds himself dead and unarmed on my property....... <evil grin> |
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This used to be the 'Saturday Night Special' that was outlawed, but for some reason keeps showing up...<duh>. |
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The idea itself was actually half-baked in the game Cyberpunk. One of my favorites was the 'Mattel Intimidator'...It was a cheap high-density plastic pistol with a plastic wraparound with a microphone and speakers. You fire the gun, the mike picked up the sound and rebroadcast it multiple times with reverb and slight differences in pitch, while yelling things like 'Gotcha!' 'Head shot!' 'You're dead!' |
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And then there were Wednesday Night Specials, which were like Saturday Night Specials only without the means of aiming properly, and intended mostly for suicides. |
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Or so William Gibson said, anyway. |
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Such gun you could get from a vending machine (there used to an idea about this but it apparently has been deleted) and buy on a need to use basis. Once the crisis is over you simply return the gun and continue with life as normal. Maybe they could be included in tourist pack for vistors to America along with a guide telling tourists who they can and can't shoot. |
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In John Barnes' novel "Mother of Storms," most civilian guns in the near-future U.S. are of a model called "Self-Defender," which is a cheap, unreloadable, disposable handgun. |
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They also have two additional features: (1) when fired, the handle releases an ultraviolet dye packet, marking the user, and (2) each time it's fired the gun sends out an emergency call on a police band. |
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Does the Police Band do covers of hits?
heeheeheeheeheeheeheehee |
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You Yanks use handguns often enough to need them to be disposable. Christ, I'm *never* going to the States. |
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On the plus side - If all civilian owned guns were banned... sorry wrong idea... try again: could only fire one shot it would be a bit hard for someone to kill a lot of inocent people... they would have to walk round with a big bag of the things or something and that would be obvius... |
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[mcscotland]: Actually, I use handguns often enough that having to purchase a lot of disposable ones would be cost prohibitive. |
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Still, having baked these myself (in my misspent youth), I have to croissant the idea of a commercial version of these. |
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Given the above I`ll condone this one for sale in the US only. Flak jackets are still too heavy for casual wear in Britain. |
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If it's fashionable, is it still too heavy? (See Link) |
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RobertKidney: Before the advent of primed-cartridge firearms, some people expecting a melee combat (e.g. as a member of a ship boarding party) would have a half-dozen or more pistols on their belt. In such combat, there is no opportunity for reloading; a person would take the gun from their belt, fire it, and drop it. If they won the battle, they could pick up and reload all their weapons; if they lost, the loss of their weapons would be the least of their problems. |
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As for the idea that one would reduce the fatality level of deranged people who go on suicide rampages, that's questionable. An eighteenth-century blunderbuss, suitably loaded and fired at a crowd, could probably kill as many people with one shot as most of these creeps kill altogether. And of course bombers (whether suicidal or not) can kill even more people. |
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And how many shots did it take 19 creeps to kill 3000+ people on 9-11? |
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I dream of a world without guns, except the ones i have. |
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Indeed, the suicide special. the modern equivelent is the .25 cal auto pistol, for most people inexpensively purchased at the local pawn shop. For most criminals, stolen from a relative or aquaintance. |
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I use handguns on a regular basis, and if I give advice to anyone who wants one for "security blanket" use, I point them toward well made guns that they can shoot *A LOT* for the simple fact that if they ever need that handgun, they should be able to do so effectively. |
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(I've trained over 300 people in the proper use of handguns, most of which have been in their teens, and not a single one of my students has ever used a gun in a crime.) |
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This idea is feasable, but even moreso when using the technology being develeoped here: http://www.metalstorm.com |
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I imagine vending machines doling out single-use handguns in the more dangerous places in the world, shooting ranges, perhaps even 'emergency' rifles in hunting lodges would be possible. Electronic ignition, no moving parts save the bullets, and the possibility of using amorphous steel ( www.liquidmetal.com ) which can be injection molded like plastics and likely may not require a finishing step, all conspire to bring a very simple and cheap manufacturing process into being. These guns could easily be made in vast quantities. |
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I think such guns have been featured in the roleplaying environment 'Shadowrun'. However I am not entirely sure... Anyway. Have a croissant! |
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//professional hitmen//
On the contrary, your idea would be welcomed by professional hitmen - just imagine: A gun without history, which can be thrown away easily because it is dirt cheap. |
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Unless they're game wardens or zookeepers, few people use gnus on a regular basis, but most people like the occasional gnu. Warm and friendly, they provide a psychological security blanket and sometimes a comfy seat, but they do tend to clutter the place up after you have used one. |
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Wouldn't it make sense to manufacture disposable gnus that disappear harmlessly into the savannah after a single use? Cheaper nylon gnus could be dispensed from conveniently placed vending machines, ready for use in a crisis. |
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The idea was baked in WWII with the "Liberator" (check the link) .
A simple, single-shot pistol that was air dropped en masse by ally troops to bolster the French Underground's firepower. It was so cheaply made that it took less time to make one than it did to reload one after use and was used mostly in ambushes against solitary German soldiers so their uniforms, weapons and any credentials could be stolen and used against them.
But since everyone else seems to be throwing fishbones at you I'll give you a croissant for coming up with ideas to modernize the concept. |
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Gun's, let us not forget, don't kill people ......... unless you aim really carefully. |
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Guns don't kill people, husbands who come home early from work do |
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No, husbands coming home early don't kill people, it really is the guns... Well, actually it's the bullets... Well, no, usually it's soft tissue trauma and blood loss that kills people. |
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Presumably these would be mass produced, and cheap enough that new owners could buy a six pack and pop off a few practice rounds, right? |
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