Mini-Muzzleloader Hits The Street In Minnesota.
A Minneapolis gun shop has just debuted a new, affordable and easily concealed gun that has the potential to pose a serious tactical threat to officers.
The double-barreled weapon, which retails for $100, is about the size of a credit card and has the potential to deliver quick, damaging wounds to the eyes and face.
Each barrel fires seven standard steel BBs delivered when one of two electric triggers are activated.
Mark Koscielski, owner of Koscielski’s Guns and Ammo, manufacturers the gun in suburban Blaine, Minn. with a partner, Patrick Teel. Koscielski calls the gun “the ultimate self-defense weapon,” but the fact that it’s a muzzle-loader -- the user has to pour a measured amount of gunpowder into each barrel, manually insert a total of 14 BBs (seven in each barrel), and tamp in a small wad of paper —- has some firearms dealers discounting the self-defense angle as “a joke.”
“Us guys here would consider something like that useless,” said Mike O’Brien, of Joe’s Sporting Goods in St. Paul. “A .177 caliber BB is ballistically a joke, OK? I’m sure it could cause injury and damage, but as a self-defense weapon, no. Not to anyone familiar with firearms.”
In support of the self-defense claim, Teel says, “This is no more deadly than a .22, but the difference is you have multiple wounds, which means you’ll try to get away quicker, and it will cause more pain.”
“They are very effective at five to 10 feet,” Teel continues, “They’re absolutely useless at 20 feet.”
The new guns don’t count as firearms under federal regulations because they’re muzzleloaders, say Koscielski and Teel. It’s illegal to carry one in Minnesota without a permit for a concealed handgun, they said, and they both pledged not to sell them to anyone without valid identification and either a carry permit or a purchase permit.
Thirty-seven states have laws that require officials to issue concealed carry permits to qualified applicants and nine others have laws that give officials some discretion over whether someone gets a permit. Only Kansas,Illinois, Nebraska and Wisconsin lack a law allowing some form of concealed carrying of guns.
Koscielski conceded that gun opponents are likely to criticize the new devices, but he said they’re legal, will set off metal detectors and are readily identifiable.
Police1 advises that you stay alert for these new weapons, particularly if you’re an officer in the Minneapolis area, and take them seriously if found. Also, remain vigilant in watching the hands of anyone you approach.
These small-sized guns serve as a reminder that someone who appears unarmed, may in fact, be secreting a weapon that can deliver a debilitating blow that opens you to further attack. Although slow to load and packed with small caliber ammo, in the wrong hands, these weapons can pose a serious tactical threat.
