Are the barbed darts on a dart-firing air taser safe?

Question

I recently bought a civilian C2 dart-firing air taser, 15 ft wires with probes. I bought a bunch of extra $25 air catridges and shot one at a target on the wall. I'm a little worried. The darts are like small fish hooks, barbs and everything. The part that went into the wall is about 1/2 inch long! I was almost curious to have a friend shoot me with one just to see what it's like; I had someone spray me directly in the face with pepper spray since I also carry that! So I was wondering how safe the barbs are? If one went into your stomach and the other one into your chest and landed between two ribs, would they puncture any internal organs?!!! With the barbs on them, would they rip out any of your internal organ tissue? Since many of your bones are less than 1/2 inch from the skin's surface, how likely would one of these darts be to chip a bone inside? I'm not so worried about the electric current or falling down, I'd use padding and a face/groin mask. I'm just worried about

Answer 1

They are safe. They make a small puncture mark and can easily be removed by gently pulling them out. There will be a small amount of blood but it is pretty much like getting a splinter.



I've been Tasered six or seven times now and haven't died yet.



If you do get hit in the eye you're going to need medical attention. Tasers are meant to be aimed at the torso not the face. Anything used improperly can be dangerous. We usually Taser one another in the back and have a couple people there to keep us from making a gorilla cookie on the floor.



Here ya go:

http://www.taser.com/research/Pages/PhysicianFAQs.aspx



Edit: If you get shot in the back it'll be the same as being hit in the front. Your muscles will "freeze up", won't work, and you'll fall down. If you really want to get hit in the chest then sure, I guess you could put on some safety goggles and a cup and go wild.



There is no need for a medic to pull one of these out. It's a small piece of metal. If you really feel a need to have a doctor do it then break the wire off of the probes and run down to the doctor's office, shell out your co-pay, sit in the waiting room and read a magazine, get called back to the officer, sit down and tell the doctor what you just did, watch his expression, then watch as he puts on a latex glove and simply pulls the probes out, then leave and go home. The doctor will then have a funny story to tell the wife and kids that night. If you'll get sprayed with OC Spray then you can handle the minor pain of yanking out these probes-I'm a OC Instructor-so trust me on that one.

Answer 2

The barbs are just there to hold the dart in the target's body. They won't do much lasting damage unless they hit your eye (very unlikely).

It's always a good idea to have something tried on yourself before you do it to someone else (Australian cops aren't allowed to carry pepper spray until they've had it used on them so they know exactly what they're inflicting on their subject). Even though I don't carry either, I've had myself pepper sprayed and tasered and suffered no lasting effects from either. The type of taser they used had a single dart with two barbed prongs that delivered the current. I was hit the first time in my right pectorial and I was more interested in the pain from the electrical current than from the barbs. We eased it out and I barely felt it. The second one got me in the stomach and that hurt even less. I think you should be more concerned about the electrical current than the barbs.

Answer 3

I was working as a paramedic and we had a call for a man acting crazy. When we arrived on scene the man was threatening the police officers. They warned him several times before they finally tazed him (funny sight to see).



No the department had just recieved the tazers and I had never actually seen one fired nor had I any training in it. The police asked me to "pull it out". I too agree that darts looked HUGE. Being that I was not trained inthe tazer or the removal of the darts I refused to just "pull it out". We ended up taking the man the the hospital for psychiatric problems and there a doctor just pulled them out. The doctor even said the darts are small and safe to simply pull out.

Answer 4

they wont do any major damage... but it is always recommended to have the probes removed by medical staff. One guy I know had one get into a bone, it was carefully removed and he's fine.



Since you are so interested in carrying these items and experiencing them yourself, why dont you just go to the police academy?

Answer 5

Ralph, Aussie cops no longer have to be pepper sprayed - well, not in W.A.anyway.

Answer 6

Of course. Everything about Tasers is completely safe. Also, Tasers have NUMEROUS health benefits.



I'm surprised people aren't lining up to be "treated" with Tasers.

Answer 7

no



they will puncture your skin



and the barbs make it hard to pull them out.

Answer 8

?????



If you're worried about causing harm, don't carry weapons.



Simple really!

Answer 9

100% eyeball and scrotum safe