- To begin, traditional firearms don't work every time you press the trigger. If you shoot enough, you know this. Whether it's the gun the magazine, the ammunition or the user, malfunctions happen. Smart guns introduce electrical systems to the equation. Even without any testing or research, it can be inferred that there will be more issues. This is exactly the case. Smart weapons have a spotty history of reliability at best and have yet to be proven in real world scenarios.
- To mitigate firearms failures, guns must be cleaned and maintained. The process is fairly simple, but necessary. It doesn't take a rocket scientist. But how on earth am I supposed to maintain any type of electrical system that might be added to a gun? Call an electrician?
- How much will this technology cost? If they're more than traditional firearms, the battle is already lost.
- Many smart guns use some sort of IR detection technology in order to recognize an authorized user. The device, many times a watch, must be in relatively close proximity to the firearm in order to function. If I need my gun in the middle of the night, I'm not going to stop to put my watch on.
- Those of us who train with our firearms know that there are many circumstances where we may need to fire from an awkward position. Off hand shooting is a prime example. If my primary shooting hand is injured, a smart gun would become useless.
- Are these things waterproof?? It's been raining all weekend. If I had a smart gun, would it have been functional? What about in the snow? Some smart guns even use fingerprint technology. It's November. Anyone ever hear of gloves? Own an iPhone? The fingerprint scanner ever not work? My hands sweat. Does this mean that I won't be able to defend myself if my heart rate increases or the temp goes above 75?
- What if I'm in a situation where my gun needs to be used by someone else? If I'm down, not home, or for any reason unable to effectively use a gun, I want a weapon that can be used by another trained individual for protection. There is no smart gun that allows that.
- I use my phone everyday and it still goes dead from time to time. If I forget to charge something that I use all the time, it's safe to assume that I would forget to charge something that I am not use to charging.
- Now this may seem far fetched to some of you, and it was to me at first, but we all know electronics are able to be hacked. There are cowards in this world that sit around behind a computer 24/7 thinking of ways to wreak havoc on civilization. Do you really think that the chance to hack a gun won't entice them?