I owned a Gyrojet and about 18 rounds of ammo back in the 70's, until my mother put it into her unsecure storage locker, whence it was stolen. I fired about 6 rounds through it. It was incredibly quiet, making no more noise than one of the smaller Estes rocket engines. Totally unlike a firearm, thus unlikely to be identified as a threat by a live target. There was, however, a distinct pause between pulling the trigger and the departure of the round - you had to follow through and be very steady. The construction of the weapon was more like a child's toy gun than a real weapon - crude sights, poor balance, etc. I miss it, though - I have a weakness for white elephants. Marc de Piolenc "Trei, Peter" wrote:
Steven Furlong[SMTP:sfurlong@acmenet.net]
I did see a GyroJet pistol once. A rocket pistol, firing little rockets. Early 60s. Very expensive. And suffered from the fact that each little rocket had to accelerate up to speed. Lots of chance for the target to move.
Gyrojet rounds burned out in, IIRC, 20 feet, and they covered that first 20 feet in a small fraction of a second. I don't think target dodging is any more of an issue than with conventional bullets.
Another problem with the Gyrojet was accuracy. Since it left the barrel much more slowly than a traditional round, gyroscopic stabilization was at a minimum at the start of the shell's path. A slight wobble at this point would translate into a large deviation at the target.
Peter
-- Remember September 11, 2001 but don't forget July 4, 1776 Rather than make war on the American people and their liberties, ...Congress should be looking for ways to empower them to protect themselves when warranted. They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. - Benjamin Franklin