Standing offer

I said this a while back - "give me your "smart gun" and I'll make it work like a regular firearm in a hour".

OK. Looks like I might be able to hope for a test of my claim - all I need is for these folks to ship me a sample.

Armatix GmbH intends to market a "smart gun" here. Story at Alphecca. Their first model is a .22, but larger calibers are easy once you have a mechanism worked out.

A 2002 New Jersey law makes use of this mandatory for anyone in that People's Republik wanting to purchase a handgun within three years after the "smart" gun goes on the market.

Aside from the obvious conflict with the Second Amendment, this is a disaster waiting to happen. If the police are armed with these, look for some smart hacker to develop an area jammer that will disable all RF controlled "smart" guns within range. Following that, look for the police being targeted by criminals wanting to steal these guns, and modify them to shoot uncontrolled by the neat digital watch. If the gun is equipped with their "Target Response System", hackers could make themselves a "no shoot" zone. From their website:

The gun only functions if you are recognized and on target.

• If you are aiming away from the target area, the pistol is immediately deactivated.
• No misuse against people or objects around you.

Armatix target shooting with no compromise on safety!

I'm going to send a request for a sample to these folks. I'll let you know the response, if any - and if I do get hold of one, I'll be careful to document my investigation and success or lack thereof.

Here's what I sent on their contact page:

I am a consulting electrical engineer, federally licensed firearms dealer, gunsmith and blogger. I have a standing offer to anyone claiming a "smart gun" - give me a sample, and I'll hack it to work like a regular "dumb" gun.

If you feel up to the challenge, let me know and I'll send my FFL number and such. If I succeed, the procedure and results will be published in my blog http://beloitballistics.blogspot.com/
If I fail, I'll publish that fact, also.

I believe a "smart gun" is an impossibility given modern technology, and will only result in people taking needless risks or being endangered by system failures or hackers. Let's see if you can prove me wrong.

I've never made a YouTube video - this might be my big break!