Sean Connery impression from Saturday Nite Live “I’ll take The Penis Mightier for one hundred, Trebek. If ya got a Penis Mightier you’re sittin on a gold mine.”
Dude, just give me two Uzis. They can fit in your jacket, you only need one hand each, and they’re very easy to reload. And they have a good safety lock so you don’t blow your kneecap off if you drop it.
The OP asked for something that used kinetic energy to do damage. I think that would disqualify computer viruses and anthrax.
The amazing variety of munitions available make the 12 gauge shotgun a versatile and adaptable personal firearm that is within the reach of nearly all persons. In the arena of military combat, I think the new (“future”) version of the M203 shows promise. This is a rifle/grenade launcher combination that fires “smart ammunition.” Current prototypes are based on several weapons platforms, but the basic premise is a combination of rifle and launcher connected to a computer-enhanced, digital weapons-control system. The system determines the optimum performance characteristics of the projectile to be fired from the grenade launcher and then programs the round to perform accordingly. The target acquistion system allows the operator to point the weapon around corners or over barricades to “take a look” without exposing those fragile human bits of anatomy. The electronics seem to be hardy enough for the battlefield, and training seems to be no problem for even the most accuracy-challenged troopers. There are lots more “gee whiz” features of this system, but suffice it to say that this is my vote for “nastiest man-portable weapon.”
A summary of some smaller anti-tank weapons.
That davy crocket looks pretty nasty…
So the Javelin replaced the Dragon.
I would say hollowpoint .50 cal rounds in a Desert Eagle Action Express would mess someone up really bad, or possibly a few Claymore mines.
red_dragon60: i really like your nick… of course, you DO know that the .50 cal rounds that are used in the Desert Eagle (.50 AE) are nothing like the .50 cal rounds used in the Ma Deuce and .50 cal sniper rifles (.50 BMG), right? Still, .50 AE ain’t nothin’ to sneeze at…
I remember seeing a Discovery channel show about the Davy Crockett a while back.
According the the show (read: no cite), the blast radius of the warhead’s explosion exceeded the useful range of the munition. Thus, the troops deploying it had to take cover in a slit trench after firing. Design flaw? Naaaaw.
Not the most powerful, but certainly one of the nastiest weapons I’ve ever heard of is a flechette gun. Flechettes are needle-like projectiles fired at high velocity that tear through flesh and fragment into many tiny pieces that barely show up on Xray and are almost impossible to dig out. Highly effective because they’ll cripple a soldier pretty fast, but he’ll take a while to die and scream a whole lot. In addition to the added psychological effect, that will occupy a few more soldiers to haul him away from the battlefield, and extensive medical resources try and heal him. I’m pretty sure flechettes are banned by international treaty for those reasons.
To avoid crossposting http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=159083
[ul]A nut cracker. :eek:[/ul]