Conventional projectile based non-lethal weapons are lethal at closer ranges because the beanbag/gelatin round is traveling to fast. As a temporary solution, a vent could be added, that would direct the gases powering the round through an exhaust pipe where it is cooled and directed to the side of the gun.
A toggle (located next to the safety) would let the police officer open/close the vent, varying the power.
This could be done to most shotguns, and could save lives where a short range non-lethal weapon is needed and only traditional methods are available.-- thelambs, Jan 11 2004 Police officers do'nt have time to think,do I want to kill this guy who wants to kill me or just hurt him? Why adjust the weapon? Kill the scum.(and have a nice day).-- python, Jan 11 2004 thats what they get for protesting violently instead of actually trying to solve the problem...-- Space-Pope, Jan 11 2004 No one said it couldn't look like a giant orange vacume cleaner...
And the point was to have the option of short or long range. It would be better than no option at all would it not?-- thelambs, Jan 11 2004 Saw a show on the discovery channel which had a range finder to find the distance to a target and shoot a ring airfoil round with the apropriat amount of force, this could be used to adjust power automatically, lowering user error.-- thelambs, Feb 21 2004 Or you could have a rangefinder on the camera which detects the distance to the target, then you adjust a dial to the correct distance, and if you don't guess correctly, the gun wouldn't fire. this would eventually lead to a vast improvement in police officers's ability to estimate accurately. Might even weed out the dumb ones.-- whatastrangeperson, Apr 01 2004 [SP] Police officers don't only shoot at non-violent protesters. I don't want to wind up dead for expressing my opinion publicly.
I think this is a great idea. I think an on/off toggle wouldn't be too tough to operate. Let the default be close range.-- Worldgineer, Apr 01 2004 random, halfbakery