Comments

1. #1 milkshake

   January 7, 2008

   The dart kits always contain a strong antidote – not only to wake up the animal but also to treat the field researchers, should they become immobilised by accident…

   The used opiates – carfentanyl or etorphine – are incredibly potent, 10000 and 40000 times more potent than morphine. Reportedly an etorphine solution used for darting elephants and rhinos is so strong that spilled on your fingers it will put you promptly into sleep that becomes permanent unless an antidote is administered within a minute.

2. #2 Berlzebub

   January 8, 2008

   I know Officer Stephens’ credentials may seem a bit over the top, but there may be a reason for that. Considering the various items that you showed being used, someone would need a broad range of weapons experience to be able to instruct anyone in their use. The basic premise, point and shoot, is the same, but shooting a pistol is much different than shooting a rifle.

   Plus, he’s a former Marine. Having one as a father, I know how proud they can be of their military “accomplishments”.

3. #3 Andrew

   January 8, 2008

   Berlze – valid point. i was mostly amused with this piece of it “He is certified in the use of M16, M249SAW, Mark 19, M60, 50 Cal. M2, M203, Glock Armor, and Anti-Tank Guided Missiles.”

4. #4 Nomen Nescio

   January 8, 2008

   for a former Marine (is there in reality any such thing as a former Marine?) who’s served in a front-line unit, actually, that range of experience isn’t very remarkable. given that he was a small arms instructor, no less, i’d suspect he may have left a few models off that list. most of ‘em, naturally, he’s unlikely to ever touch again unless he gets called back up, but it certainly makes for an interesting resume.

   the Glock Armorer certification simply means he’s done a fair amount of pistol shooting as a civilian, and wanted to learn how to maintain his own gun. Glock subsidizes training specifically so the shooting world will be lousy with folks who know how to work on their products, if no other ones.

   (shoot, now i’m trying to think of fictional war stories where knowing how to use anti-tank missiles “came in handy” during an animal control job… Heinlein might’ve had fun writing such a one, i think. it’s the sort of thing i might enjoy reading, myself.)

5. #5 Berlzebub

   January 9, 2008

   @ Andrew:

   Like Nomen pointed out, since he was a “small arms instructor”, those aren’t really remarkable. IIRC, small arms is anything that can be carried by a person.

   @ Nomen Nescio:

   I read a book, several years ago, about time travel hunting. A guide would take you back in time to hunt a T-Rex or something as dangerous. I can’t remember the title, but the book was okay. The funniest part was the very subtle insinuation that it was the time travel hunting that was responsible for the extinction of the dinosaurs. Since people could travel back to the same point in time, to hunt, it seemed to those observing it later that a sudden mass extinction occured.

   The irritating thing about it was that they had the technology for time travel, but all of their hunting rifles were still standard gunpowder propellent driven. You’d think that, by the time they got the necessary technology, not to mention the required power sources, for time travel, that they’d have developed a “small arms” rail gun.

6. #6 Andrew

   January 9, 2008

   I thought that in the US military, “small arms” referred to weapons under 20 mm in caliber?

7. #7 Benny

   January 9, 2008

   Anti-tank guided missiles are actually my preferred method for hunting whale sharks. So there you go.

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   July 2, 2012

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