Why are shotguns almost exclusively used for less lethal rounds, what’s mechanically stopping a beanbag round AR15?
Posted by JoeBidensProstate@reddit | Firearms | View on Reddit | 43 comments
Background_Mode4972@reddit
.22 caliber bean bags moving at 3270fps aren’t going to be non-lethal..
JoeBidensProstate@reddit (OP)
so I suppose lowering the amount of powder, would make it so the gun wouldn’t even be able to cycle
Background_Mode4972@reddit
You’d be shooting a single bean. No bag….
Congrats you’ve invented the rifled musket.
DraagaxGaming@reddit
was wondering if anyone commented that lol
Broke_Bak_Jak@reddit
Mechanically? Nothing is stopping it being done. As far as effectiveness though, there’d be virtually none. A full auto pepper ball gun would be far better option.
JoeBidensProstate@reddit (OP)
I wonder if we’ll ever be able to develop stun round like in Star Wars
weredragon357@reddit
I seem to remember a taser round for shotgun, although that might have been a prototype
DragonCenturion@reddit
Taser X-REP. We had them in Iraq. It was fun watching them be used. We had the single taser cartridge and the taser net.
g-rocklobster@reddit
u/GaGuRoShoMo has the right answer:
To elaborate, how do you see a "beanbag" round for an AR-15, which would be a approximately the size two kernels of corn and contain, maybe, 8 "beans" being even remotely enough to stop someone? Ignore cycling - just being anything more than a slight "sting" to the individual? u/DwarfHoarder is right - it's no different than an airsoft round or a paintball.
freakinunoriginal@reddit
Slightly off-topic, but both Ukraine and Russia have been field-crafting multi-pellet 5.45x39 rounds for use against drones; they take 4 to 7 pellets (I've heard it described as "buckshot" but it's probably more likely BB/BBB birdshot, since #4 buck is 6mm) and stick them in some heat-shrink tubing, to replace the bullet. Of course they're not trying to make that less-lethal since they want it to damage a drone out to about 100 yards.
JoeBidensProstate@reddit (OP)
Presumably a volume of fire thing, sure one may not hurt but getting hit with like a dozen in the span of a 5 seconds, that might knock you down
g-rocklobster@reddit
Then you get into the cycling issue.. There would be no way you can have it powerful enough to cycle and still be less lethal. Again, physics.
NinjaBuddha13@reddit
The only viable option for this would be an adaptation of a rifle grenade, but this would be particularly difficult to utilize, especially when compared to a shotgun. Might be able to get the mass of the grenade portion to be balanced with specially loaded blanks so that the gas system doesnt need to be shut off for it to function, and maybe even get it to cycle. But you'd still have to manually affix a fresh beanbag "grenade" every shot. Conversely, a pump action shotgun can have a full tube of beanbag rounds that dont require abnormal operation to function correctly and dont require special tuning of the gun.
ga-co@reddit
Wouldn’t the rifling be a problem?
JoeBidensProstate@reddit (OP)
Smoothbore? Some shotguns are rifled right?
PaysOutAllNight@reddit
Yes. Those made for shooting slugs are rifled.
ga-co@reddit
I guess those aren’t used for less than lethal rounds though?
freakinunoriginal@reddit
Rubber bullets that specifically have an obturating band (so the rubber doesn't get shredded by the rifling) might work, but I'm not aware of any 12ga shells designed for that, just 37mm.
ga-co@reddit
The only “shotguns” (term used loosely) I know of with rifling are guns like the Judge and Governor that shoot shotgun rounds. Calling those shotguns is quite a stretch.
PaysOutAllNight@reddit
Slug barrels are rifled.
PbCuSurgeon@reddit
An AR would fire the bean, and no bag.
mountainman84@reddit
Right. Rubber bullets make more sense than beans. Rubber bullets are the beanbag round equivalent for smaller bore weapons.
Feisty-Tadpole-5127@reddit
If they did id call it the bean flicker that's all I know
Prudent_Reindeer9627@reddit
5.56 is so tiny to put anything less lethal in it, and not much can be less lethal when it's going over 3000fps. If you make it go substantially lower then it's no longer an AR since it won't cycle.
cowboy3gunisfun@reddit
UOPaul@reddit
Because the bean bag would rip a bigger hole in a person than the small bullet would.
Ridge_Hunter@reddit
Have you ever fired a bean bag round from a shotgun? There’s a pretty good chance that if you’re qualifying in a line of 20 people shooting them there’s one or two barrel obstructions…they’re terrible
They’re also barely less than lethal…you hit someone in the right spot with one and it’s suddenly lethal force…and I know what you’re probably thinking, ok so just don’t aim for anything important, right? Until you realize how poorly they fly through the air and barely ever hit where you’re aiming
Starfireaw11@reddit
As a kid, I bet you couldn't manage that toy that had you putting the different shaped blocks through the holes, could you?
DrunkensAndDragons@reddit
Theres paintball rounds, simunitions. Cant fit a lot of beans in a .22” space. Also pointy skinny bullets would penetrate. Low velocity wouldnt cycle.
heyjimb@reddit
Buddy who was at a few riots says LAPD needs belt fed Shotguns on turrets to pass out the go home rounds like candy.
GaGuRoShoMo@reddit
Physics.
NinjaBuddha13@reddit
The most correct answers are often the shortest.
ColtBTD@reddit
NinjaBuddha13@reddit
Permission to say "cock"
CLAAARRRKKKSSOOONNNNN!!!
SamFisher8857@reddit
Big low speed projectiles vs small high speed projectiles. Imagine getting punched in the chest by a lightweight pro boxer vs a small projectile the size of a pencil hitting you at 3,000 feet per second.
SomeCar@reddit
I would imagine a horsefly hitting you would hurt more than a tiny beanbag with no ass behind it.
brittc777@reddit
The bag would be the size of a .22 bullet
Devil4314@reddit
Big round going slow is less likely to kill than small round going fast. Also rifling. They do have simunitions that hurt like hell though, idk why they arent used in police more other than that cops would 100% aim for peoples eyes. Also its kinda hard to accidentally grab the big yellow shotgun.
RH762@reddit
Volume of the shell capacity. 12ga has a lot more volume to physically hold a beanbag and the barrel diameter to allow it to pass through.
squirtbottle@reddit
Would be a really tiny bean bag.
DwarfHoarder@reddit
Because a .22 caliber rifle shooting less lethal rounds would basically just be an airsoft rifle.
No-Performance37@reddit
This can’t be a serious question.
Impossible_Wait_8326@reddit
A 22 caliber bean bag with not enough power to cycle the bolt maybe?