'Safety bullet' invention aims to prevent accidental shootings

News Herald ^ | Story filed: 11:52 Tuesday 30th July 2002 | Editorial Staff

[vannrox]

'Safety bullet' invention aims to prevent accidental shootings

A Florida man claims to have designed a safety bullet which locks up a gun when it's accidentally fired.

Mike Worley says his simple invention takes gun safety to another level.

He came up with the idea after a local boy was shot in his elbow while showing off his dad's .357 Magnum.

The safety bullet can be hidden in the gun chamber and ejected quickly if the owner needs to fire a live bullet.

If the safety bullet is fired, it jams the chamber and locks the gun until the shell is removed with a special tool.

The News Herald reports Mr Worley has applied for a patent for his invention.

He says several companies are interested in his design, and one has started making a prototype.

Mr Worley, from Panama City, says he supports the use of guns and understands why people need a loaded gun as protection.

He said: "I think the safety bullet is a step in the right direction. I don't want fame and fortune. This is a simple device that takes safety to the next level."

Story filed: 11:52 Tuesday 30th July 2002

[SafetyBullet-Inventor]

Actually I love the feedback. Playing the devils advocate is what I want and need.

I wish I could give it away the injection molding machines are very expensive. I am going to have to charge for them to pay for material. Anyone invovled in keeping the piece gets all they want free and any militay people that carry a gun home get them free.

The plan is to produce them in every calibur. The inner workings are actually scalable. You can make them as big or as small as needed by using the same formula.

Who is Joyce Elder?

Yes I intend on making a few bucks on this and then buying some of my own product to give away.

I hope I get a rise out of these guys it will make them take a hard look at it when it hits the market. Its a great idea. Its not for everyone. Most of these folks here know guns. Where people get into trouble is when a kid finds their parents gun and pull the trigger. That is who this if for.

If some guy has an assault weapon I Doubt he would want a safety bullet. SOme one asked me the other day on a talk show what my thoughts were on assault weapons I asked her if she had ever been deer hunting. The deer can move pretty fast and I need all the firepower I can get.

This has been in 1500 papers and on every major news network. I am going to be on several TV shows along with some pro and anti gun groups. Which should be interesting.
Most everyone is pro safety and that is what my message is.

Thanks for the feedback.

Mike Worley Inventor of the Safety Bullet

[SafetyBullet-Inventor]

My friends have been telling me to forget this for the longest time. My best friend a lawyer sat on the idea for a year and then said it would be a waste of money to try and get it patented. I saw a book on how to patent things youself and went at it.

Abstract of the Disclosure!! Who talks like that. Legal mumbo jumbo I had to sort out to file a proper application. When I brought the idea to several gunsmiths and progun people the went nuts. They thought it was one hell of an idea. Encouraged I kept at it untill I file for the patent in May.

Now I am catching holey hell from a lot of people like this. You think I tried to jump their sister. I got guys calling it a piece of crap that have never even seen it yet.

Sad for them it tells me what they are about.

Good luck with your idea and keep at it. Make sure you file a Disclosue Document with the patent office that will protect you untill you file the actual patent.

Mike Worley Inventor of the Safety Bullet

[SafetyBullet-Inventor]

The one I like is People don't make Margaritas Blenders do!

[SafetyBullet-Inventor]

?

[SafetyBullet-Inventor]

Simple.

If you had kids or had any kids visit you would load all your guns with one of these. They do not harm the gun in any way. They just stop those that should not use the gun from being able to hurt themselves or others.

Mike Worley Inventor of the Safety Bullet

[mvpel]

As I understand it, the number and rate of childhood accidental shootings has fallen to an all-time low, of around 100 per year for children below the age of 14. I don't have the cite handy, but I seem to recall it was from the National Safety Council.

[mvpel]

Respectfully, if I had kids they'd be raised like my dad was, when the rifle was considered "stored" when it was leaned by the front door, and he and his brothers and sister knew better than to touch it without permission.

[technochick99]

I'm sure you've done some preliminary market research. What feedback have you gotten back from women? Not those of the 'oooh icky! a gun!' variety, but of regular shooters and women who are very concerned about self-defense?

[Crowcreek]

Thank You ! -- Your invention is truly a Godsend for all gunowners!

I've always longed for a perfectly safe way to allow all the neighborhood kids to play with my guns, and thanks to your ingenious concept, now I can !!

:) Happy Inventing, Mr. Wonderful Safety Bullet! :)

[Sloth]

You are goofier than a three-dollar bill. Obnoxious, dense and borderline illiterate.

If everyone had their gun loaded with a safety bullet there would be no more accidental deaths.

An outright falsehood, of course. Accidental shootings often occur when people are *handling* and *using* their guns, not when they're locked up somewhere. If every single person had your crappy product in their guns, there would still be accidental shootings after they unchambered it for use.

[MileHi]

If you had kids or had any kids visit you would load all your guns with one of these.

I do have kids and they are accomplished shooters. If other kids come over I put loaded guns out of reach.

[dighton]

In terms of gun safety, I have no doubt that your little invention can render a gun useless. However, when I wake up at night to hear my front door crashing open and realize that someone may be coming into my room within a few seconds, I'm really not interested in having to fiddle with my revolver in order to rotate a live round into the chamber. In that moment of fear, it's very likely that I will remember only sight picture and steady pull. If that sequence leaves me with a jammed gun, then the gun is useless.

That's the long, short, alpha and omega of it.

[TC Rider]

Go to Yahoo type in accidental shooting.

That's my whole problem with your invention.

I don't believe in 'accidental' shootings, I believe in shooting with intent and 'negligent' discharges.

I've trained for years to keep my finger off of the trigger until ready to fire. Why would I want to disable my weapons with your invention, and then have to train to remember to remove your device?

I appreciate your concern for the children, but how many kids will pick up a automatic and first rack the slide, like they see on the movies?

After little Johnny has racked the slide he's prime for a serious negligent discharge. If your device will not 'keep' a gun safe from kids, it's worthless.

Better to take our kids to the range and shoot with them and sign up our kids for NRA safety classes.

I hope you've kept your day job, because I don't see your device being bought.

Here's why, serious gun owners, who regularly train and stay current on gun issues will not buy your device for all the reasons that have popped up in this thread.

Your best customer inherited, stole, begged, borrowed or bought a gun years ago, then tossed it in a nightstand and hasn't touched it since.

They have never talked to their kids about gun safety, probably have never taken a safety course. They may have driven out to some old quarry and popped off a few rounds, but that's it.

But they will never hear about your device because they don't go to the range, the gun shop or read gun magazines.

You should visit the Brady/VPC/whatever site. They are always bawling for trigger locks, safe guns, safe bullets, etc. on one side of their site. Keep clicking around and you'll find articles and policy statements about how all trigger locks, safe guns, etc are flawed and the only real solution is total ban on handguns.

Your device will add fuel to their fire. They will have another flawed safety device to point to as a cause for banning guns.

Of course, they will also clamor for all handguns to be fitted with your safe bullet also. I'm sure they would love the disabling features of your device.

[Redcloak]

You have yet to address the one safety concern that I and several other posters have asked about: What good is your device if the owner has used it to accidentally spike her gun during a panic?

Don't act as though every gun owner will know to rack the slide or turn the cylinder to remove it. Those with a greater familiarity with firearms, and thus the ones who would remember to remove the safety bullet, are much less likely to buy your product. Your target demographic is thus the less experienced gun owner. They are not unlike many computer users; they know how to operate the device, but haven't a clue about why it works. Throw them into a confusing situation, and they're lost. However, a computer will be up and running much faster than a spiked gun! Your device, in the hands of a firearms novice, is a disaster waiting to happen.

[Eagle Eye]

If you had kids or had any kids visit you would load all your guns with one of these.

ha ha ha! Bull!

First off, my kids are trained in the use of firearms.

Why would I bother using this garbage device when it is just as easy to unload or lock them up or, (gasp) insert an expended round?

I've thought that this was a stupid product from the first time I heard of it and it gives me great pleasure to tell the supposed inventor this directly.

Why don't you try inventing a safety device for five-gallon buckets. They are 'more dangerous' to children than are guns.

[Redcloak]

There are other things that one could worry about...

Accidental Death Rates for Children (ages 0-14)
Cause	Number
Motor Vehicle	3,059
Drowning	1,060
Fires, burns	833
Mechanical Suffocation	459
Ingestion of Food or Object	213
Firearms	181
Figures are for 1995. National Safety Council, Accident Facts: 1998 Edition, at 10, 11, 18.

(I don't have the latest data at hand, but the number of accidental deaths due to firearms for children is now less than what is listed here.)

[Flyer]

Can't take the shot? Don't fire first. Your the guy who was going to give your kids a loaded gun. I am working to keep our kids safe. WHat are you doing besides slamming me.

Pardon me, sir, you owe me an apology. Your reply to me here is in response to my post #65. In that post I quoted part of your reply to Dan from Michigan in post #47, where you took a personal jab at him with the question "Does your family tree by any chance go straight up? ".

I did not "fire first" as you put it. My point was that I would not buy from you after seeing the way you treat others. If you intend to be in the business of selling a product you are going to have to learn a lot more about dealing with the public. Everyone is not going to kiss your butt because you think your product is wonderful. You have to learn to smile and move on. You have created a great amount of ill will on this thread about you and your product.

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[Charles Martel]

I spent two years trying to accurize a Mini-14 and I think I finally did it for 89 cents and a little work.

I'll bet a few folks would like to hear more about your miracle Mini-14 cure. I know I sure would.

[Charles Martel]

A "disabling bullet" hidden in the chamber (3 months ago) is going to be forgotten in the heat and stress and fear and ringing in the ears environement of sudden life or death combat. Then it will get the defender killed.

Indeed. There are already cable locks that work by passing through the bore or through a revolver's cylinder, but those are readily visible and you *know* the firearm is disabled. Better that than a device which makes the gun inert at the worst possible minute.

When the M-16 was earning its bad reputation in Vietnam, there were more than a few soldiers found laying dead next to their rifles, each with a cleaning rod stuffed down the barrel in a desperate attempt to unjam a stuck case. This contraption brings similar images to mind. Instant, complete vulnerability, right when you think you have the upper hand. Nice.

[Shooter 2.5]

There are two problems with a Mini-14.
The first problem is that the 10-32 screws on the gas block are too large for the application. It's actually possible to squeeze the barrel if the screws are too tight. I proved that by using the correct machinist's inspector's plug and ran it down the barrel where it stuck at the block.
When the screws are loosened, retorqed, and locktited, the groups shrink from 8 inch groups at 50 yards with a cold barrel to a three inch group at one hundred. That solution took an afternoon of work. Factory torqued rifles don't have this problem.

The next and last problem that the Mini-14 has, is that the barrel changes point of impact as it gets hotter. This is the problem that has been taking two years. Teacher317 was kind enough to look over my article that I'm trying to submit to a magazine. I still have to wait for cooler weather so I can start with a cold barrel and then progress to a hot barrel and see if the POI changed. It wouldn't do any good to tell what I did since I haven't proved it yet.

By the way, I was treated the same way as some of the posters are treating this inventor. Half the owners wouldn't believe there was anything wrong with their charming little rifle and the non-owners told me I was wasting my time working with the piece of %$&*.