Keeping Police Bullets from Killing

This odd-looking pistol attachment just might help police stop people without killing them, according to the manufacturer, Alternative Ballistics.

Marketed specifically to police agencies, “The Alternative” is a simple device. It’s nothing more than a plastic thing (“docking unit”) with a large metal ball (“projectile”) attached. The ball serves to catch a bullet in a hole and then sail downrange with said bullet embedded in itself.

In effect, the metal ball becomes the bullet, but when it hits someone, it basically knocks hell out of him rather than penetrating his body and shredding his insides.

This only works once. After that, the ball is downrange–hopefully lying next to a now-peaceful crook–and the plastic thing has flown off somewhere. Subsequent shots, if needed, will fire speeding bullets.

‘The metal sphere, made from a proprietary metal alloy, will reduce the speed of a bullet by up to 80 percent while spreading out the point of impact on a target. So when it makes impact there’s less chance of it piercing flesh and causing serious internal injuries. Still, it hits the target with enough force to knock a person down, just like a non-lethal bean-bag round would, but with far more accuracy.’ – Gizmodo

Something tells me this product isn’t going to be a big hit–pun intended–among police officers. But I could be wrong. Watch the video below to see if you agree.

Russ Chastain

Editor & Contributing Writer Russ Chastain is a lifelong hunter and shooter who has spent his life learning about hunting, shooting, guns, ammunition, gunsmithing, reloading, and bullet casting. He started toting his own gun in the woods at age nine and he's pursued deer with rifles since 1982, so his hunting knowledge has been growing for more than three and a half decades. His desire and ability to share this knowledge with others has also grown, and Russ has been professionally writing and editing original hunting & shooting content since 1998. Russ Chastain has a passion for sharing accurate, honest, interesting hunting & shooting knowledge and stories with people of all skill levels.