U.S. Tactical Supply is hosing a Less Lethal Demo with the Oregon Department of Corrections on August 19th at the ODOC range in Salem, Oregon. They will be demoing the new SDI 40mm BIP rounds and the AAMI 6-round 40mm Launcher. The event is open to all Law Enforcement and Military Personnel. Refreshments will be provided at the event.
If you have any questions about the event, you can contact U.S. Tactical Supply by phone at 541-928-8645 or by e-mail at sales@ustacticalsupply.com.
Tags: U.S. Tactical Supply
Does a LE 40MM really need optics?
Why the change from 37MM to 40MM?
Cross-compatibility with military equipment?
Optics help greatly. For LE there are basically shoot and no shoot zones on the human body. The preferred targets are the arms and legs. The barrels of our launchers (SAGE) are rifled so the baton rounds are pretty accurate from 50 – 100 yards. The optics help with quickly being able to target a preferred strike zone at range.
I’m too sure about why people are switching to 40mm, though. The munitions data for the 40mm round versus the 37mm round on our launchers is pretty much the same. My understanding is the 40mm also has to be registered as a Destructive Device.
Hi 211 …
There are several less-lethal options/calibers …
40X46NATO
37/40 Smoothbore
37 ARWEN/SAGE
12GA
… there are more, but in the US those are about it.
40X46NATO and 37 ARWEN/SAGE are rifled and as such any launcher capable of discharging those are considered “Destructive Devices” and are treated as such by the BATFE.
Several companies now manufacture modern 40X46NATO (40mm) less lethal munitions. I am the US 40mm Specialist, Training and Development for Security Devices International (SDI). I was also the former national Sales Manager and Director of Training for SAGE.
SDI’s range of Blunt Impact Projectiles perform better than anything I have ever seen. Independent lab testing confirms this.
Reply to this, provide contact details or contact me through our office in Toronto and I can get some samples and data out to you.
Yes sn, optics are great.
Modern 40mm impact munitions from companies like Security Devices International make accurate shot placement possible.
Combine that fact with optics and acurate hits out to 80+ yards become a reality.
37mm lacks acuracy, rifled launchers chamberred in 40X46mm NATO combined with quality 40mm ammunition is the future for crowd management and less-lethal engagement of individuals.
1. Yes. Target areas for impact munitions are major muscle groups, at distance, and misses can be potentially lethal. They work a lot better with optics than with irons, particularly since you may be masked up when shooting (think gas delivery, a common use, where you need to get it through a barricade and to a certain place without intersecting anything non-shootable).
2. Its complicated. 37MM is the “legacy” round, but because there are such a wide range of available launchers, it has to be loaded a little weak to make sure that you aren’t going to blow anyone up. Some loads for 37MM are still black powder loads. The 37MM is often not rifled. 40MM is a better, more consistent package for LL munitions, although there are some agencies who prefer 37MM for crowd control because it is louder and generates smoke; it’s showier when you are trying to make a demonstration of force and convince the non-hard core crowd members to be somewhere else.