'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

[dighton]

An infomercial would have been pulled by now.

The amazing Ginsu Safety Knife!

[Flyer]

Mike, I keep hitting the search engines, as you urge us to do. I use different search criteria, though.

I will say you did quite a media blitz in July. But one of the most interesting things I have found so far. . .

John Stuart, who has a “dozen patents” to his name, is the IAA Phoenix Chapter Chair and Board Member. He is an expert in telecommunications, but the range of his patents is amazing: from telecommunications to literally “out-of-this-world” advertising to undersea communications to the medical field. One of his first patents is a safety “bullet” when inserted into a firearm prevents firing real bullets until the safety bullet is removed. Unauthorized persons or children are not able to fire the weapon.

Source

Did you get the idea from Mr. Stuart and improve on it? Maybe your patent search just isn't complete yet? Heck, maybe Stuart stole your idea!

[Cloud William]

I left this thread to go bikeriding and I had a little time to think of the customers who would buy this item. The answer is no one.

I printed out some selected portions of this thread and took them to a local gun show on Saturday afternoon. There were a number of local gun dealers there with tables covered with new handguns, many temptingly priced. I spotted some guys who I've done business with before and stopped to talk with them for a while. I casually mentioned the safety-bullet, then watched the reaction. They looked at me kinda sideways, but pressed for the details. I told 'em all about how the thing is supposed to work, in both semi-autos and revolvers.

The responses were all of the "You have GOT to be kidding me" or "That is the DUMBEST damn thing I've ever heard!" variety. I pulled the folded pages of printed FreeRepublic thread from my pocket and unfolded them for all to peruse. They started passing the printout around, amid calls to guys over on the next aisles of "Hey, y'all! Come'n read this (expletive deleted).

Not one pistolero at the show seemed to warm to the idea, indeed, many asked that I pass along their suggestions concerning where the inventor might stick his "safety-bullet". This being a family-oriented forum, I believe I'll leave their exact words to the readers' imagination. Anyway, that's how the idea is playing down South. It ain't pretty.

[Freemeorkillme]

LOL.
Check http://www.greyhawkes.com/blacksword/Spartan%20Combat%20Arts%202001/1-Pages/History/Thermopylae.htm for this.

It was a stirring tale when first told by my Latin teacher forty years ago. The concept of "the line", so important to the Roman Army appears in the following account. Each account adds perspective. In this, we see a kill ratio of 1:10 to 1:20.

The Battle of Thermopylae

The Greeks realized that it was only a matter of time before the Persians came back. Darius died in 494 BCE, six years after Marathon. His son, Xerxes, would continue his work. The empire had already expanded as far south, north, and east as possible. The only way to go was west, and conquer Europe. The plan was formulated to invade Greece and Greek Sicily before raiding the rich Italian peninsula.

Xerxes started a large buildup of his army and supplies. He sent slaves to cut a canal through the peninsula at Mount Athos so that his fleet would not meet the same fate as his father’s ships. He had a bridge built across the Hellespont for the army to march across. This was done by lining up boats and connecting them with a bridge. The first attempt was destroyed in a storm, which cost the engineers their lives. The second attempt was successful.

Among the Persians was Demaratus. He had been a king of Sparta until he was exiled on false charges. He had served as an advisor to Xerxes in military matters in Asia Minor, but Xerxes did not seem to believe his advice when it came to the Greeks. Xerxes questioned Demaratus about the Greeks. Xerxes wondered if the Greeks would fight or surrender, considering their small number when compared to the might of Persia. Demaratus informed the King that the Spartans would give battle even if they had only a thousand men to take the field. Xerxes questioned this, asking if the Spartans were such men that they could expect to take on ten men each. Demaratus replied "One-against-one, they are as good as anyone in the world. But when they fight together, they are the best of all. For though they are free men, they are not entirely free. They accept the Law as their master. And they respect this master more than your subjects respect you. Whatever the Law commands, they do. And this command never changes: It forbids them to flee in battle, whatever the number of their foes. He requires them to stand firm – to conquer or die."

The Greeks were well aware that the Persians were building up a massive army. Many of the Greek city-states allied with the Persians to prevent their own destruction, especially those closest to Persia such as Thessaly and Macedonia. Athens got a bit of luck when they discovered a new vein of silver. Instead of dividing the profits with their citizens, Thermistocles convinced the assembly to invest the money in building up the navy. They were able to build and man two hundred additional triremes with the money.

A combined Greek army marched north to try to head off the Persian army in Thessaly at the Pass of Tempe, but they determined that the plain was too wide and it would be too difficult to defend against the Persian cavalry and superior numbers. They decided to pull their armies back.

Representatives from all of the Greek city-states that had not allied with Persia met at Corinth to determine the strategy. The city-states from Peloponnesia, including Sparta, wanted to form a defensive line at the isthmus near Corinth. The city-states east and north of this line wanted a defensive line further north. Thermistocles argued that if Athens fell then the Persians would use their navy to go around the defensive line. He argued that an army at Thermopylae would bottle up the Persians and eliminate the effectiveness of their numbers. Thermopylae was at a narrow stretch of land only 50 feet wide from the cliffs to the sea. Thermopylae took its name from the hot springs there that tourists would come to visit. The narrow pass would not be wide enough for the massive Persian army to out flank them, and it would prevent the use of the Persian Calvary. The Greek navy would protect the army’s flank from the Persian navy. Thermistocles even went to the step of putting the command of the army and navy under Spartan command if King Leonidas would lead the combined army.

Leonidas went back to Sparta to ask for dispensation for the Spartan army to miss the approaching religious holiday, Carneia. The Ephors refused the dispensation. They did not agree that the line should be so far north, but favored a defensive line at Corinth. Furthermore, they received an oracle from Delphi that either Sparta would mourn the loss of a King, or find their city sacked. Under Spartan Law, King Leonidas was allowed to march with his Royal Bodyguard of 300 soldiers without needing dispensation. He planned to march out with his 300 and meet up with allies. They would block the pass until the holiday was over and the rest of the Spartan army would meet them. He realized that it was essentially a suicide mission. The 300 were chosen from men who already had a male heir so that no family lines would die out. As he started the march his wife, Gorgo, met him and asked what she should do. He told her "To marry good men and bear good children."

The Spartans met up with allies along the way to increase their numbers to 7000 soldiers (estimates vary from 4,000 to 8,000). At Thermopylae there was an ancient wall built by the Phoecians to prevent raids from Thessaly, but it was now fallen apart. Leonidas immediately went about rebuilding the wall. He also sent a contingent of local Greeks to protect a goat path that went around the position. He was concerned that if the Persians found out about the track then they would be able to come around behind them and outflank them.

The Persians saw the wall being rebuilt but were not concerned by such a small force. They were more concerned with regrouping their army. The Persian army was so large (estimates vary, but about 200,000-250,000 is most agreed upon) that it took 5 days for the back to catch up with the front. They were literally drinking rivers dry. A spy was sent to see the defenses of the Greeks. The spy could not see past the wall, but was surprised to see the Spartans in front of the wall, combing their hair and doing gymnastics.

An envoy went to the Spartans to warn them to surrender. They explained that there were so many Persian archers that when the fired their arrows blotted out the sun. Leonidas responded "How pleasant then, if we’re going to fight them in the shade." Xerxes waited for five days expecting that the small Greek army would turn in flight as they saw the size of the Persian army opposing them. But the Greeks did not flee.

The first day of battle was mid August 480 BC. It started with the Medes attacking the Greeks in the Pass. The Greeks were able to defeat the Medes either by weapon, or by pushing them off the cliff into the sea. When there seemed to be a stalemate the Spartans would start to run back as if fleeing in fear. The enemy would run after them only to find the Spartans wheeling around and slaughtering more. At the back of the Persian line the commanders were whipping their men to storm forward. The Mede line grew thin and Xerxes sent in a second army, the Cissians, who did not fare any better than the Medes. Three times Xerxes is said to have jumped to his feet for concern over his army. As the first day ended the Greeks were still in the pass and many Persians were dead.

On the second day Xerxes sent another envoy to the Spartans. He told them that Xerxes had great respect for their courage and ability. If they put down their weapons and march away then Xerxes will let them live, and would place them at the head of the Persian army, as it’s first unit. When the envoy asked what answer he should give Xerxes Leonidas told him "Molon labe"-- come and take them. Xerxes proceeded to send in the 10,000 Immortals, his best troops commanded by his brother, Hydarnes. Like the Spartans, they were professional disciplined soldiers. But they did not have the armor and weapons to match the Greeks. Again, the results were the same, at the end of the day the Greeks still held the pass, but Xerxes had lost a brother and many of the Immortals. Now the whole Persian army was demoralized to see the crack Immortals defeated.

A traitor, Ephialtes, told Xerxes about the goat path. Xerxes had the traitor lead the Immortals around the path. He expected that the Immortals would be in position behind the army by noon the next day. Leonidas found out that the track was discovered. He dispatched most of the Greek troops to go back and wait for the next battle. The Thebians refused to leave and were given the position to protect the goat path. The Spartans would not withdraw. By this time many of the 300 Spartans were already injured or dead. Leonidas sent several back as messengers to save their lives. A couple of the older ones sensed what Leonidas was doing and refused to go, saying that they were a soldier and not a messenger. Two of the Spartans had lost their vision due to infection. One insisted on fighting anyway and was led blind into the battle. The other was led back to Sparta and soon regained his vision, but was treated by some as a coward. He proved his valor in the battle of Plataea, but was considered too reckless at that battle. Spartans believed that a man’s valor should keep him solid in the line, neither allowing him to run back as a coward, nor leave the line forward in recklessness. Either action would leave a hole in the line and endanger the other Spartans.

On the third day the remaining Spartans attacked with the aim to do as much damage as they could. Leonidas was killed and there was a fight to retrieve his body. The Spartans finally retrieved his body and retreated to a small hillock nearby. The Immortals found the Thebians unprepared on the path and quickly killed them. They came through the gate to surround the Spartans. Xerxes did not wish to risk further casualties and ordered his archers forward. Volleys of arrows finally killed the Spartans.

After the battle the body of Leonidas was identified. He was decapitated and his head put on a stake. The bodies of the Persian dead were quickly buried to hide the fact that so many were killed by such a small group. In all, about 1,000 - 2,000 Greeks died, while the Persians lost more than 20,000.

posted by PhilDragoo to the following thread http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/733353/posts

[Freemeorkillme]

much like the voice safety-deactivate firearm. The very brave new world.

[Dan from Michigan]

LOL. I can only imagine. I've bookmarked this thread. I'll be sending this one to a local dealer I know....it'll probably be then over at the range there used as targets....

[Abundy]

too many kicks to the head

Of course now I think I want to go 5 rounds with him....anyone that brags about it can't have actually walked the walk.

[Cap'n Crunch]

There were so many blunders in that Miami FBI shoot out....I don't know if one of them did it or not. I know one agent was taking on Platt & Maddox (sp?) with a .38 snubby. I call that fiasco: "How not to make a felony traffic stop, starring the FBI." Great training tape for new people.

When I first got on they were telling us about the cops who got killed that had the spent shells in their hands, so it goes back at least 17 years.

Next time I bump into our old range officer I'll ask him if he remembers which dept. it was.

[Cap'n Crunch]

Yep, then the media and the Hollyweird celebs jump on the bandwagon. Not a bad way for a "high school graduate with a badge" (as our EX-mayor used to say) to make a living LOL.

[SSN558]

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

Best to leave them in place and buy a new barrel. I shot some 1954 vintage ammo in my .45 a couple years ago, and the bullet lodged half way down the barrel, jamming the whole gun rock solid. The gunsmith that installed the new barrel asked me if I would like for him to fix the old barrel. I told him, "no I think I'll keep it this way as a souvnier of my stupidity."

[SSN558]

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

Best to leave them in place and buy a new barrel. I shot some 1954 vintage ammo in my .45 a couple years ago, and the bullet lodged half way down the barrel, jamming the whole gun rock solid. The gunsmith that installed the new barrel asked me if I would like for him to fix the old barrel. I told him, "no I think I'll keep it this way as a souvnier of my stupidity."

[Shooter 2.5]

I've had a .45 Colt bullet stuck in a Blackhawk that was in the forcing cone. I used a bunch of .38 brass stacked on top of each other and pushed the bullet out by hitting against a wall.
I also had two or three bullet stuck within a couple of months in my carry pistol. I think I had a run where I ran out of powder and forgot. It isn't a big deal unless you ignore that pop instead of bang. Brushing the barrel after the bullet's removed with a wooden dowel is a good idea.

A friend must have run out of powder when he was using his Dillon and he added a larger capacity tube to the measure. It stands about six inches higher than the correct one. I tried to tell him that the new tube may force more powder to the measure in spite of the baffles but he wouldn't listen to me.

[Crowcreek]

'I ran out of powder and forgot. It isn't a big deal unless you ignore that pop instead of bang'

This point is important enough to repeat --

If your pistol, rifle, or 'gun' doesn't sound right when it goes off -- DON'T SHOOT THE NEXT SHOT ! It might blow up in your hands . . .(possible squib load / barrel obstruction)

[SafetyBullet-Inventor]

Ralph,

called Berry and ask them. They have tested a couple of hundred rounds so far nada. No harm of any kind comes to the gun in any way. The plastic that is forced against the wall of the firing chamber is delron and that is a lot softer than the steel in the gun.

Ya, I thought of that to. I tried to design something I would want to use.

Mike Worley Inventor of the safety bullet

call Berry's at 1-800-269-7373 ask Gilbert he owns the place and is building the SB for me.

[SafetyBullet-Inventor]

Your right if there is anyway for this thing to leave the barrel when activated it could be dangerous. One of the reasons we use a primer is to push the locking pin through the plastic expanding it out hard against the firing chamber. It is all held captive in the SB by a grove that has been pressed in the shell casing.. What little engergy that is expanded is quickly disapated by the metal expander.

I thought of that to. Give me a fax # and I will fax you a copy of the renderings so you can see what I am talking about.

Mike Worley Inventor of the Safety Bullet

[SafetyBullet-Inventor]

If you like I can give you the # to his phone booth!

Mike

[Cloud William]

Mike, have you submitted a sample of this thing to BATF for evaluation?

I only ask because of an e-mail response I received from someone. He wrote as follows:

****************************

It sounds like the pin that it projects into the barrel is retained by the cartridge case. That sounds a lot like the captive piston rounds that contain their own propellent gases. Such rounds are deemed to be suppressors by BATF (Small Arms Review, Vol. 5, No. 9, p. 48). Wouldn't that be a surprise if each purchaser were required to pay a $200 tax, get fingerprinted, get CLEO signoff, and wait several months to take delivery?

If the "safety bullets" are not found to be subject to NFA, what do you want to bet someone will glue a relatively light bullet to the front of the case, setting it up for the pin to strike when fired? Sounds like a field-expedient self-suppressing captive piston round, no?

**********************

I've seen a picture of the captive-piston pistol rounds that he refers to. Very rarely seen, because the things are mainly used in covert military operations. Highly specialized stuff. H&K's underwater pistol (P11) might use a similar cartridge design, I'm not sure.

I found the second part of the above e-mail very interesting. If someone could modify your safety-bullet to prevent the case from expanding, they could make a dandy pistol round that's quieter than a .22 CB Cap. Hmmm...

[Crowcreek]

If the $200 tax applies to this gizzy, it would be a fairly expensive alternative to just leaving the firearm unloaded . . .

'Safety-bullet' would be a good mousetrap for JAMMING a firearm which might be triggered by 'unauthorized' persons -- but simply loading the 'safety bullet' would be admitting that you are KNOWINGLY making the firearm available to children, or other unauthorized users. And there's supposed to be REAL AMMO behind the 'safety bullet' ??!

One might use the 'safety bullet' in a situation where the firearm may be used against the owner, after being 'snatched' away, for example. But I can't think of a single reason for introducing a self-locking firearm into a situation where it might be used against it's owner . . .

Complex drills get people killed. 'All guns are loaded' is meant to simplify life for those who wonder: " Is it loaded?" Now they can wonder: " Is it one 'safety bullet'?, Two?, Live round up the pipe?, Condition three w/ 'safety bullet' in the mag?, and so on.

Remember the 'Glock box' drill? The box was more complicated than the pistol! Dropped, with a loaded Glock inside, it would shoot! So they changed the 'trigger post' so the pistol's trigger had to be PULLED to get the pistol into the box! You can figure out what happened then . . .

[SafetyBullet-Inventor]

I faxed them a copy of the renderings and part of the Patent Application that explains how it works. Not a word from them .I also sent a copy of the same info to FBI and every goverment agency that I could find. I sent a copy to the Consumer Protection People and to NTSB. The wrote me back that it is not under their jurisdiction.

If you have a # or a name I'll contact them. So far have found no objections to it except what has been voiced here and most are not willing to send a fax # to take a good hard look at what this is all about and how it works. I did show this to the local PD, state PD and sherrifs office they all agree that its a great idea for the market that its intended to.

IF you do the research you will find that there are quite a few people that have loaded guns lieing around. I know its against everything I was taught to. The proff is in the #s that are getting injured. If you would like the sites on this read back a little I listed a few. There are a lot.


Mikw Worley Inventor of the Safety Bullet

[SafetyBullet-Inventor]

Another slam?

I thought by now you'd run out of them. Or is this a retread.

Mike