Dragon's Breath

  A Dragon's Breath usually refers to a zirconium-based pyrotechnic shotgun round. When the round is fired, sparks shoot out for about 20 feet.^[1].

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While it has few tactical uses, the visual effect it produces is impressive, similar to that of a short-ranged flamethrower. The pyrotechnic shell is expensive compared to other shells, costing at around 6 US dollars per shell.

It cannot be used in a semi-automatic shotgun, because it is a very low-power round: it does not produce enough recoil energy to cycle the next shot, causing the weapon to jam. An additional reason for use only in a manually-operated weapon is the fact that the round shoots flame for 3-5 seconds: this would cause a hazard if a shell still emitting flame were to be ejected from an automatic shotgun.

Legality

Dragon's Breath rounds are banned in many locations, due to their inherent fire hazard. Even in areas where the round may be shipped, an extra fee for hazardous materials may be charged^[2].

The law in the State of Illinois states that a dragon's breath round is any round that "contains exothermic pyrophoric mesh metal as the projectile and is designed for the purpose of throwing or spewing a flame or fireball to simulate a flame-thrower."^[3] This shotgun round is banned for use by anyone who is not authorized to possess, manufacture, or sell by the law. The wording is very similar for Florida as well^[4].

References