Dart gun

The modern dart gun was invented in the 1950s by New Zealander Colin Murdoch. During his involvement in a research project on Himalayan tahr in the Southern Alps, he considered that administering a dose of sedative from afar was safer for humans and more humane for animals than current methods of capture. To that end, Murdoch went on to develop a range of rifles, darts, and pistols. The first modern remote drug-delivery system was invented by scientists at the University of Georgia in the 1950s, and was the direct predecessor to the Cap-Chur equipment used worldwide for decades. In 1953, a study on antler growth was conducted in which seven free-ranging bucks were tranquilized -- three died from overdose, three were successfully sedated, and one was minimally affected. In the early 1960s, a team in Kenya headed by Toni Harthoorn discovered that various species, despite being of roughly equal size (for example, the rhinoceros and the buffalo), needed very different doses and spectra of drugs to safely immobilize them. Since 1967, hollow bullets with sedatives for immobilization of wild animals began to be used in the USSR. In the first half of the 1970s, experimental 9×53mmR cartridges for immobilization of wild animals for 9mm "Los" bolt-action carbine and "flying dart" for 16 gauge shotguns were made and tested. In the mid-1970s, "flying dart" for 12 gauge shotguns and experimental cartridges for immobilization of wild animals for the SPSh-44 pistol were made and tested. In the second half of the 1980s, the standard tranquillizer gun in the USSR was a single-shot IZh-18M shotgun (a dart with a dose of sedative was fired with a blank cartridge). In 1979, Murdoch received a call from a police marksman on the Armed Offenders Squad about a man who had taken his wife hostage. Murdoch gave the officer instructions on where to dart the offender and at what setting to have the weapon's velocity. ==Characteristics==

The dart, usually .50 caliber (12.7 mm), is a ballistic syringe loaded with a solution and tipped with a hypodermic needle. The dart is propelled from the gun by compressed gas, and it is stabilized in flight by a tailpiece consisting of a tuft of fibrous material. The needle may be plain or collared, with a barb-like ring to improve retention of the needle and syringe to assure that the full dose is administered. Methods of driving injection upon impact include: gas compression, spring compression, explosive charge, or gas evolution reaction. In one example, compressed air or butane in the rear of the dart pressurizes the solution, while the needle is capped to hold the fluid in place. Upon striking the target, the cap is pierced by the needle as it punctures the animal's skin. With the pressure released, the compressed gas pushes the solution out of the syringe and into the target. == Agents ==

Tranquilizers Several immobilizing drugs have been devised for use in tranquillizer darts. If an animal is calm or in a position where it cannot attack, a slow-acting sedative will be used. These include: • Azaperone • Detomidine • Midazolam • Fentanyl and carfentanil • Haloperidol • Etorphine • Diazepam • Xylazine • Sodium thiopental If an animal is out of control, a fast-acting sedative will be used. These take between 2 and 8 minutes to take effect and include: • Etorphine hydrochloride • Ketamine Antibiotics Antibiotics used in antibiotic darts vary by species. Deer: • Enrofloxacin • Oxytetracycline • Trimethoprim Fox: • Amoxicillin • Augmentin • Clindamycin • Enrofloxacin ==Use on animals==

A dart gun may be used to sedate a dangerous target from a safe distance, such as in the cases of dog catchers, wildlife officers, and circus animal trainers; to medicate a target, such as in the case of farmers and ranchers; or be used for both purposes, such as in the case of zookeepers, wildlife veterinarians, and farm veterinarians. ==Use on humans==

Police and prison use Tranquilizer darts are not generally included in police less-than-lethal arsenals because a target that is aware that it is going to lose consciousness can retaliate, a suspect could have a concealed weapon, a target can have a deadly allergic reaction to the sedative, and because effective use requires an estimate of the target's weight—too little sedative will have no effect, and too much sedative will result in death, which can lead to a lawsuit or being convicted of manslaughter or second-degree murder if the target is a human. "If you shot somebody that was small, it could kill them. If you shot somebody who was big or had drugs in their system, it might not do anything." says Newett, of the Justice Department. Harold C. Palmer, president of the Palmer Chemical and Equipment Company, said he only knew of one case of a tranquilizer dart being used against a criminal. This was in 1961 in a prison in Athens, Georgia. A 220-pound prisoner went berserk and the guard shot him with a tranquilizer dart. Six minutes later, the prisoner lost consciousness. Criminal use Tranquilizer darts are generally not used in kidnappings, rape, or theft because they would easily be detected in a public place such as a bar or restaurant. As "drugged beverages are so much easier to conceal," explains Dr. Theodore Davantzis. The only person who has been suspected to have used one criminally is Barry Morphew, who is suspected to have chased his wife around the house after shooting her with a tranquilizer dart. An autopsy later confirmed the presence of sedative drugs in her body, although it remains unclear whether the drugs were the cause of her death. ==References==