All kidding aside, there's already a load of bilge sloshing about on how this is "controversial", but I've known quite a few game wardens, zookeepers, naturalists, and vets in my time and a weapon that would give them a choice between tasering an escaped half-gone bull gorilla and blowing its brains out would be more than welcome.
Looks like Douglas Adams' Kill-O-Zap Blaster. I like it.
ReplyDeleteI'd like it even better if it were wireless, as in "laser pulse projection stun" type. Only having two shots in a hostile encounter is not ideal, in my experience. Especially in an encounter with an opponent who;
A. Is way bigger than I am;
B. Sees me as a potential snack, and
C. Might have friends with similar opinions.
cheers
eon
eon:
ReplyDeleteThere's an obvious solution: have a bandolier of the things strapped across your chest. Slightly bulky, but it gives you multiple shots and makes you look awesome.
Just where do you go hiking, eon? Bears and wildcats are solitary, so no question of multiple attackers. Wolves still remember that the pink squishy guys are not to be eaten. Central Park pigeons and Ann Arbor squirrels... if they decide they're going to eat you you're pretty much getting et.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, if I find myself hiking in Alaska, I'm thinking firearm. Taser's nice and all, but critters move. And this thing only gives you two shots. If I want to be nice, first bullet goes into the ground, but if Bruin doesn't back off, second and subsequent bullets go into him.
That's a thing... I wonder if this device emits a loud sound when it fires; a large part of the deterrent of a gun would surely be the noise produced?
ReplyDeleteThe product page says it can emit a "warning arc". But it needs a sound chip or something to produce a large noise...
Sergej;
ReplyDeleteI don't go hiking, but until '02 I lived in the country, in SE Ohio. Between black bears, bigger than average "bobcats" (possibly Canadian lynxes, according to ODNR), coyotes, feral dogs up to and including freakin' Dobermans, and assorted two-legged "critters" (I lived a mile from a "minimum security" prison that definitely lived up- or down- to the "minimum" part), it was an open-air zoo. (There were persistent rumors of cougar, but I never saw one or tracks thereof.)
When I went out in the woods (only when I had to), Mr. Remington 870 12 gauge 3" Magnum deer gun, with rifle sights and extended magazine, went with me. Loaded with slugs. (I believe people who consider even Magnum handguns for such possible defensive duties are asking too much of the handgun.)
If I'd shot a bear, I'd have been in trouble, as they are protected in OH. But I'd rather pay a fine than end up in ICU- or worse.
cheers
eon