In the interests of adding new non-lethal weaponry to the arsenal of accoutrements with which to further augment my super suit I've devised a unique load for a 410 shotgun shell.

The gel used to make wrist pads and wall-crawler toys can be made from powdered form and poured into moulds.
This substance has many properties. It floats, is sticky when clean, and from what I can tell, has about a twelve to one stretch ratio.

A twelve inch wide spider web mould with tiny indents at the intersections is filled with the liquid form of this gel. Individual shot pieces are placed in the dents and it is allowed to set.

Once set, slips of wax paper are tubed up and placed between each opening in the web.
Then the web itself is now carefully rolled inwards until the entire wad fits in the shell casing where the shot has been removed.

If the rolled up wad is placed into the shell correctly then the air resistance of its flight will cause it to unfurl and widen into approximately an eight to ten foot diameter sticky net that will contract rather snuggly when coming into contact with the average evil doer.

I guess that for the above average evil doers there's always rock-salt rounds.
-- 2 fries shy of a happy meal, Jan 20 2014

The unhappy truth is that nothing fired from a shotgun can be considered non-lethal. 'Probably not lethal' is a better classification for things like bean bags and gel rounds, as well as this thing, which I quite like but strongly suspect would not work. Fired from a .410 it would arrive at the target not as a 12" diameter sticky web but as a .75" diameter tanglesd wad of gel and shot.

Here's a bun to keep you going while you work out the kinks.
-- Alterother, Jan 20 2014


// I guess that for the above average evil doers there's always rock-salt rounds. //

Rock salt is also quite potentially lethal.

...which is why you should save it for doorbusting and take down evildoers of any stripe with something that has _guaranteed_ lethality, like 00 buck. It's available at your local Rite-Ade in the 'sporting goods' aisle, right next to a nice selection of pistol-caliber ammunition.
-- Alterother, Jan 20 2014


I chose 410 shells because they are small enough to be fired directly from my Gatling gauntlets and I can control the powder in the charge.
The Bola rounds were a huge success.

//Rock salt is also quite potentially lethal.//

You have to judge your distances accurately that's for sure.
For example my grandfather on my dad's side used to shoot rock salt from his twelve gauge at blueberry pickers on his property for decades and never killed a single one... that we know of.
-- 2 fries shy of a happy meal, Jan 20 2014


I guess I'm not revealing any classified information if I let known that my 12 gauge pump goes buck / slug / buck / slug all the way down the tube.
-- normzone, Jan 20 2014


This could work, although not as described.
-- MaxwellBuchanan, Jan 20 2014


The 'web' would have to be contained in a Plaswad or similar, otherwise friction on the barrel walls plus propellant blow-by will shred it.

Because of the extreme length-to-bore ratio of a .410 round, the pressure at the base of the shot column is severe. If you cut down the charge, because the projectile has relatively low mass, it won't have enough momentum to travel far because of air resistance over its extended area.

Oh, and what [Alt] said about "non-lethal" ... the correct term is "low lethality munitions". NOT "no" lethality ... particularly when these things fall into the hands of irresponsible aggressive psychopaths.
-- 8th of 7, Jan 20 2014


Um, so long as the magnitude of a projectile's impact is a consequence of the magnitude and type of propellant powder in the shell, it should be simple enough to reduce the powder magnitude to greatly enhance non-lethality. (Sure, you can't make lethality go away completely, because parts of a human body are rather more vulnerable than others. But the PROBABILITY of non-lethality should be able to go up considerably.)
-- Vernon, Jan 21 2014


The problem is that the difference between “effective” and “lethal” is a matter of quantity, not quality. And often not much of a difference, at that.
-- ytk, Jan 21 2014


//goes buck / slug / buck / slug all the way down//

I won't tell if you don't.

//This could work, although not as described.//

I see you've worked out the oxy-reaction fast-set single-polymer mesh charge.
I was saving that one for later.

//contained in a Plaswad or similar//
// Because of the extreme length-to-bore ratio of a .410 round, the pressure at the base of the shot column is severe. If you cut down the charge, because the projectile has relatively low mass, it won't have enough momentum to travel far because of air resistance over its extended area. //

Yes. A star shaped break-away capsule to begin the unfurling and keep the center of the web from slowing too quickly. The length to bore shouldn't matter as there will be next to no barrel.
This would be a close-quarters or even indoor deterrent.
Taking down evil-doers at a distance requires other hardware.

Non-lethality is a goal to strive for not a given.
The only prerequisite to superhero-hood is; do good...
and no capes!
-- 2 fries shy of a happy meal, Jan 21 2014


Probably not quite as sticky as Spider Man's brick- facade/train-stopping webs.
-- RayfordSteele, Jan 21 2014



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