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There are some products that make you scratch your head and wonder who the heck thought this was a good idea. We’ve seen examples of less than lethal projectiles before, designed for use by police officers who want to be able to stop a person without actually shooting them with the intention of killing them. Generally this is a niche that is filled by things like the Taser, but Wasp Weapons System is a device designed to quickly fit over the muzzle of a firearm and be shot at a person you don’t really quite intend to kill just yet . . .

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There’s two parts to this system. The first is the barrel extension, which is about six inches long and threads directly to the barrel. The second is a large rubber projectile that slots over the barrel extension and is launched when you pull the trigger and fire a live round.

Problem #1: that’s expensive. If the plan is to have this issued as standard equipment to cops then you’re looking at the price of a new threaded barrel in addition to the price of the kit, since GLOCK doesn’t play that game.

Problem #2: ain’t nobody got time for that. You can have this thing threaded on from the beginning of your shift, but that defeats the compact nature of handguns and is massively annoying. The other option is that you can thread it on when needed, but there’s already another product called The Alternative which performs the same function with much less setup time. And cost. And space used. And annoyance.

Problem #3 is follow up shots. There’s a real tendency among those who use guns in self defense to continue shooting — especially among cops. Firing a single round in practice is easy, but firing a single round in reality can be much harder. You’re already employing a deadly weapon. It makes far more sense to use something like a Taser or a dedicated less lethal shotgun with the time it takes to prep this contraption.

In short, I’m not a fan.

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54 COMMENTS

    • Probably a mortgage refinance and raiding of a kids college fund. This thing is just plain stupid.

      Looks like this thing was created in a basement (google the company address) by a Realtor.

    • Their site says Florida but I figure New Jersey or New York figures in there someway.
      Wouldn’t a can of simple Wasp Spray be better than using Wasp weapon?

      • Boy, that is sure what I was wondering, along with the obvious question of whether anyone has actually fired this rig, ever. That looks like an explosion, first time out, possibly fatal.

    • yup i’ve seen this one he fires the gun, big poof of black smoke, ends of gun curled up and face is all black…..beep beep….

  4. You wouldn’t want your lethal weapon tied up being a less than lethal weapon. You want them separate. You want your plan B ready to go.

    • It’s okay, this isn’t a less lethal weapon. It’s a “less leathal” one, according to the company’s display. And it converts “immediatly” back (presumably to fully “leathal”). Hope they spend more time on product development than they did on spell-checking.

      • ” Hope they spend more time on product development than they did on spell-checking.”

        Geeze, you’re right. That’s not gonna help them, but in this case, a rapid product death will be a kindness.

  6. Isn’t it general knowledge to NOT fire your gun if the barrel is obstructed? Wouldn’t this be considered an obstruction?

      • Sure. But what does it “teach” people to do?

        Answer: It’s okay and even desirable to stick things in the muzzle of a firearm.

        And lest they assume folks won’t take that “mindset” and run with it in other contexts, we have years of recorded human history of people doing dumba$$ stuff with things outside “designed intention” to prove that assumption false.

      • I would not assume that! It looks as though the metal rod is designed to sit directly on the bullet, which is very likely going to grenade the gun upon firing. Every gizmo I have ever seen to plunk something like this downrange has used BLANKS! This is describing using it with live ammo! Absolutely NUTS!

        • I think the metal rod is just part of the display, to show the muzzle extension and the rubber dingus in relation to each other “in use”*. The dingus has a hole in it that fits over the muzzle tube.

          * I put “in use” in quotes, because nobody, anywhere, will ever actually use this device.

  7. They need to ditch the blue rubber hot air balloon missile and replace it with a big red boxing glove.

  8. The bullet drop on that would be interesting to see. Effective range of, what? 5 yards?

    Gimmick. And it’ll sell, because common sense and law enforcement regulations parted ways long ago.

  9. Looks like an impractical system attempting to accomplish a capability that’s been available to LE for decades with bean bag rounds and similar 12 gauge less lethal rounds that are relatively inexpensive and require no custom firearm to deliver the blunt force trauma.

  10. Just drop an anvil on the bad guy or paint a tunnel on the nearest brick wall, they always fall for that!
    That’s all folks!

  13. I’ll agree with you, don’t like it, too many operational problems.

    Just a little problem with your text. I think in the majority of cases, police shoot with the INTENTION to stop the threat, not kill. Maybe there are some cases where the intent is to kill, but then that leaves the realm of legal law enforcement. Killing the subject is just the unfortunate consequence in many cases.

  14. less leathal.

    leathal.

    Also, immediatly.

    Seriously, run a spellchecker before you print out your banners for SHOT show, guys.

  16. Not a good idea. I have never been a fan of less-than lethal weapons having any similarity to lethal weapons. In a stressful scenario, muscle memory, training, and instinct usually take over. If, for example, a Taser operates dissimilar to a firearm, the person operating it is better able to stop themselves from accidentally using lethal force when they intended to use less-than lethal force. Unfortunately, many police departments issue Tasers that operate like their service pistol, i.e., pistol grips, triggers, etc., and I believe this has led to very public incidents where police mistakenly shot assailants they were trying to subdue.

  17. So why are they developing a weapon specifically for WASPs? I thought ISIS and central american drug gangs were our primary threat now?

    • No kidding. Those little buggers are annoying and multiplying, needing all sorts of hate rained down on them. The wasps, too.

  18. Remember the fly swatter gun? http://www.basspro.com/Bass-Pro-Shops-FlyShooter-The-Original-Bug-Gun/product/65860/

    No idea how to insert an image here, but they are still available. Probably would work as well as anything “less than lethal.” The “perp” might die laughing, of course….

    I’m not going to carry any such thing myself. If the BG comes at me, and my life is on the line, I’m only going to have one response… 9mm to center mass, as many times as is necessary to stop the threat.

    As for cops, I’d really like them to have some common sense and accountability – being held to the same standards and laws as everyone else. Then whatever weapons they carried would be no more or less significant than what anyone else uses. It’s the brain of the individual that makes the difference, not the tool.

  20. Retarded. “The Alternative” is also retarded. I bet some lefty non-profit group of goofballs concerned about police shootings will help fund this. Actually, I’M concerned by police shootings but this is not the answer.

  21. As a LEO firearms/use of force instructor, STUPID idea. One thing with your #1 issue though; Glock does play that game. You can now buy complete factory Glock pistols, factory Glock uppers, and OEM barrels, all threaded.

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