'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

[vannrox]

I hope that the bullet is color coded.

[umgud]

Anybody who needs one of these probably doesn't have proper control of their weapons. I know what is or isn't chambered in every weapon I own. And in case I forget, all are locked in a safe except for my carry weapon, which has real bullits chambered at all times. And when I handle any of my weapons, they are treated as loaded, whether they are or not.

[vannrox]

[Ralph the Hun]

Yippie. Ask the nice intruder for a "time out" while you go and get the tool to get this thingy out of your barrel because you forgot empty the chamber before you tried to shoot him.

Anyone want to guess what this will do to the rifling of your barrel if its "stuck" there?

[Larry Lucido]

So how would it work in a revolver? I guess you load it into the next chamber (careful, make sure you know which way your model revolves). Then, when you have a real emergency, you pop open the cylinder, carefully remove the "safety" round without dumping the rest of them, reclose the cylinder and hope that when you squeeze the trigger it rotates to a live round.

Yea, that will work!

[r9etb]

Actually, this is a remarkably stupid invention. Why? Because the moron put gunpowder in it.

If you're going to put something non-lethal in the chamber, why not just an inert cartridge? For a semi-auto, no amount of trigger pulling is going to allow the next round to fire. And of course neither round will protect the victim if they eject that round and pull the trigger again.

For a revolver it might help for that first round. But then the next bullet cranks around. And if you fire that shot into a jammed barrel....

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

Well, yeah, basic gun education helps, but try telling that to some pusbag governor like Parris Glendening.

[two23]

How about just plain ole making DAMN sure your loaded weapons are not easily accessable to kids???
Was this a problem back in the colonial days? Did kids mess around with Pa's loaded musket??? Or do parents fail their kids by not taking them to the range and letting them see first hand what a bullet can do to even a juice can?
I show mine:
Here's where the bullet went in---nice and clean, huh?
Then turn the can around and say:
man--look at that "exit wound".

[KeyLargo]

Yep, I'll get me one of them there Safe-Teee bullets as soon as the the bad guys start using em!

Oh, wait! How about we just turn in all our guns!

Oh, never mind the Canuks already did that.

[Sweet_Sunflower29]

He said: "I think the safety bullet is a step in the right direction...This is a simple device that takes safety to the next level."

Another "saftey minded" consumer who overlooks and quietly avoids the most obvious safety precaution...

A solid, well-based firearm education...For children and adults alike.

[Clinging Bitterly]

Safety bullet, huh?
Sounds like a problem wrapped within a solution looking for a problem - or something like that.
I suppose there's a narrow set of circumstances where something like that might be useful, but I prefer a weapon that's not stored away for some reason to be ready to fire.

If that gets on the market it'll be interesting to see how long it takes it's maker to get sued, and what it will be for. There are some interesting possibilities here.

Dave in Eugene

[TYVets]

A special tool to remove it?

Then you only need remmber the 5 digit combination to open it up.

[Dan from Michigan]

What a stupid assed invention.

I can picture it now..BOOM!!!"I thought the gun had the safety bullet in it..."

Guns are loaded at all times. Period.

[Uncle George]

I invented a "SAFE" automobile on the same theme. It has an empty gas tank with a locked keyless gascap.

[WFTR]

I don't want to live in a nation of smart guns and stupid people. That kind of nation will always be coarse, violent, and dangerous. I want to live in a nation of wise people and reliable guns.

10 Year Anniversary of Gun Ownership
Bill

[GoldenIceLion]

YUP.........what color,something that is so bright it might ignite "The Bullet".......LOL. This is true thou...all weapons should be cared for as if THEY ARE all loaded...
Safety courses are a mandatory thing,especially if you are a hunter.Just make sure that when you Lock and Load.......this DAMN thing ain't no where in the weapon...This guy should really reconsider on the pros and cons of this Safety??Bullet.

[mvpel]

In the novel "The American Zone," by L. Neil Smith, in an alternate liberty-minded universe, any gun (including a kid's gun) that has a chamber loaded indicator shows a little red dot when the chamber is EMPTY - as in, "WARNING: THIS GUN IS TEMPORARILY USELESS FOR SELF-DEFENSE!"

[Doctor Stochastic]

About as safe as putting a condom over a 45 acp.

[2nd_Amendment_Defender]

You got it alright. Smart guns for stupid people. (gag)

[Age of Reason]

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

Can you use the same special tool to remove it from where the criminal shoved your gun when it failed to fire?