Bola capturing apparatus

Apparatus for capturing fleeing animals or persons comprising:

• a gun having an elongated barrel attached to a stock;
• a pair of elongated tubular members attached to said gun, one on each side of said barrel and substantially parallel thereto, each tubular member having a forward end and a rearward end, the forward end of each tubular member being open;
• a guide assembly attached to said forward end of said gun barrel having a central tube coaxially aligned with said gun barrel and on each side of which are outwardly extending guides;
• a retainer assembly at said rearward end of each of said elongated tubular members and including a chamber in fluid communication, through a conduit and a port in said gun barrel, with the interior of said gun barrel just forward of the end of a shell when said shell is properly placed in said gun barrel;
• and
• a bola assembly comprising a central plug from each side of which extends a cord at the end of which is a weight member, said plug being insertable into said central tube of said guide assembly and each of said weight members being releasably engageable with a respective one of said retainer assemblies at said rearward ends of a corresponding one of said elongated tubular members, said cord then engaging a corresponding one of said guides, the firing of a shell in said gun barrel creating gases which are directed to said chambers to activate said retainer assemblies, releasing said weight members as said central plug is struck by a part of said shell and propelling said bola plug from said central tube and said bola weights from said elongated tubular members causing said bola cord to wrap around any fleeing animal or person in said bola assembly's path.