A US gun enthusiast has developed a 鈥渟afety bullet鈥� designed to prevent firearm accidents by deliberately jamming a gun.
The plastic bullet is stored in the firing chamber of the gun. If the gun鈥檚 trigger is pulled accidentally, the bullet鈥檚 plastic coating is pierced. This causes it to expand and jam the weapon, preventing the gun from firing again until the gun is dismantled and cleared out.
Inventor Mike Worley, from Florida, says the safety bullet could still quickly be ejected from the chamber if the gun is genuinely needed. He hopes the bullet will prevent injuries and deaths caused by gun accidents and has applied to patent the idea.
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But some firearm experts are unconvinced. Terry Gander, editor of the weapons industry magazine Jane鈥檚 Infantry Weapons told New Scientist: 鈥淚f stored for any length of time it could deteriorate and malfunction.鈥� This could also lead to accidents, he says.
Gander adds that keeping a gun unloaded would be a better way of preventing injuries. 鈥淚f you don鈥檛 want it to fire don鈥檛 load it,鈥� he says.
But Worley disagrees, saying that the bullet material 鈥渓oses 1% of its strength in 20 years. Its fast, easy, safe and simple and it will not rot鈥�.
The material, Delrin, was initially manufactured by DuPont in the 1950s as a metal substitute. It is used today as a lightweight but durable plastic in electronic office equipment and cars. It is mechanically strong but can be degraded by non-neutral pH solutions.