Tag Gun Barbs
The Story of of Air Tasers
Tasers have come a long way in the last 4 decades. The earliest of projectile firing stun guns was created in the late 1960’s by a NASA scientist named Jack Cover. Jack created a small hand held tubular device that used gunpowder to blast 2 projectiles about 15 feet. These projectiles resembled heavy darts with reverse barbs connected to thin insulated wires shot out of a flashlight. The entire unit was dubbed the Taser TF-76. This prototype, and the next few that followed, were simply used to force obedience by delivering a jolt large enough to achieve “pain compliance”. So Jack Cover began a company to manufacture these devices, and it is believed that that T.A.S.E.R. was an acronym inspired from the popular kid's novel Tom Swift and his Electric Rifle. This weapon with it’s cylindrical shape was not created to look like a pistol, but because it was powered by an explosive gunpowder charge, it had to be classified by the feds. After much debate, the ATF sadly categorized it in with sawed-off shotguns as a Title 2 weapon available only to law enforcement. This made marketing to the average consumer impossible and the first few models and production soon died out.
Then in 1993, two Arizona brothers set out to make a new type of stun gun, that would be legal to carry. They called Jack Cover who had an idea, to use compressed air or nitrogen deploy the darts. They quickly brought in Jack Cover as an employee, and began to design the 2nd generation of Taser. This model was called the Air Taser 34000 and was basically the same as the old TF-76, with 2 new key features: it used compressed air to propel the projectiles, and when deployed, it dispersed Anti Felon ID Tags for easy tracking by law enforcement agencies.
As word spread though the law enforcement community, the Air Taser Company was invited by the Czech police to provide a live demonstration in Prague. The show turned out to be a total failure as repeated police officers were able “fight through the pain” and take down the person deploying the Air Taser 34000. Upon returning home defeated and embarrassed, the team began to develop a more reliable technology. They realized that the stun gun jolts of the model 34000 did not neuromuscularly incapacitate an assailant, especially if that assailant was strong of mind. They worked on a new pattern of electrical disbursement, that would deliver uncontrollable muscle spasms, to render even the most aggressive, drug crazed attacker completely helpless. The Advanced Taser M18 and M26 models were born. After that, thousands of international law enforcement agencies readily accepted this new technology,implementing the non-lethal tool as an alternative to using deadly force. In addition to the AFID confetti, a computer dataport was added to track usage in the field. The X26 debuted in 2003 and was the first Taser model to feature the patented “shaped pulse technology.” The X26 was created 60% smaller and lighter than the M26, but packed a greater wallop! As popularity of the Taser grew, demand for more non-intimidating consumer friendly models led to the development of the Taser C2 which looks more like a shaver than a weapon. Recent developments in Taser technology include a wireless missile that can be shotgun deployed, up to 100 feet away!!
About the Author
Richard Fan is a practicing emergency/trauma physican assistant in a busy Southern California ER, and an medical officer on the national disaster response team, DMAT CA-1. Routinely treating victims of assault, rape, and robbery, he has developed a passion and expertise in Personal Safety Thru Smart Technology. Learn more about Tasers, Pepper Sprays, and more at SmartLifeStore.com
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