Anti - Riot Tangle Gun 7 The Anti - Riot Tangle Gun 7 , also known as the tangle pistol , was a crowd - control defense weapon manufactured by Merr - Sonn Munitions for the Galactic Empire , though it eventually became available on the black market in the Ringali Shell region of the Core Worlds . The gun fired a pellet that , when exposed to air , explosively expanded into a multi – meter – wide webbed net that enveloped its victim and then shrank , thus immobilizing the target . The webbing sometimes contracted too tightly , causing the victim to suffocate and die . General Airen Cracken included an entry for the weapon in his field guide for the Rebel Alliance . Description . The Anti - Riot Tangle Gun 7 , sometimes referred to simply as the tangle pistol , was a crowd - control defense weapon that shot a naorstrachem pellet mixed with a shrinking agent . When exposed to air , the pellet explosively expanded into a webbed net several meters in width . The net automatically contracted as soon as it came into contact with a warm surface , such as a living body . It then wrapped around the target and tightened , trapping the target almost instantly . However , a problem with tangle gun s like the Tangle Gun 7 was that the webbing often contracted too much , resulting in the target being suffocated — and sometimes killed — by the intense pressure of the webbing . The tangle gun carried a load of fifteen pellets and had a short range of three - to - ten meters , a medium range of eleven - to - nineteen meters , and a long range of twenty - to - twenty - five meters . The size of a blaster carbine and lightweight , the tangle gun had a light polycarbonate furniture and a short , wide - mouthed barrel . The tangle gun was also composed of an additional polymer material , non - ferrous metal , and Codoan Copper . The reload cartridge of the tangle gun was located at the top rear just above the handle . Regularly priced at 300 – to – 500 credits , the weapon was considered a specialized item that was not available everywhere and was even considered to be illegal on most planets . History . The tangle gun was produced by Merr - Sonn Munitions , Inc . for use by the Galactic Empire , though schematics of the weapon were also available to independent weaponsmith s and munitions traders . Manufactured to meet the Empire ' s need for a more humane crowd - control weapon than a blaster , the Anti - Riot Tangle Gun 7 was often used when non - lethal force was needed . However , once Imperial policy adopted a more brutal approach , the Empire ceased using the weapon . During the Galactic Civil War , General Airen Cracken included the tangle gun in " Cracken ' s Rebel Field Guide " , a report he authored for the Rebel Alliance documenting various Imperial munitions . The field guide ' s section on the tangle gun featured an illustration of the weapon , along with a depiction of a Duros caught in the gun ' s webbing . The tangle gun was also listed in the fiftieth - anniversary issue of " Galladinium ' s Galactic Datalog of Fantastic Technology " , which purveyed fine merchandise to an upscale clientele during the war . The datalog listed the tangle gun at a price of 300 credits . In the year 0 ABY , during the missions of the privateer starship " Far Orbit " in the Ringali Shell area of the Core Worlds , the tangle gun was available on that region ' s black market . It started off at a price of 300 credits but jumped to 6 , 000 credits once the Empire became aware of the " Far Orbit " activities . The privateer vessel retreated from the Ringali Shell following a defeat against Imperial forces ; upon the ship ' s return sometime later , the tangle gun ' s black - market value had risen to 9 , 000 credits . Behind the scenes . The Anti - Riot Tangle Gun 7 was introduced in " Cracken ' s Rebel Field Guide " , a June 1991 reference book written by Christopher Kubasik for West End Games ' " " . The weapon first appeared in the 2003 LucasArts – Sony Online Entertainment MMORPG " Star Wars Galaxies : An Empire Divided " , prior to its closure in 2011 . In the game , the was simply identified as a " , " and it could be by and later by using a number of different and , including , , and . Various " Star Wars Galaxies " reference guides provide differing statistics for the tangle gun . " " ( 2003 ) , " " ( 2004 ) , and " " ( 2004 ) identify the tangle gun as a stun weapon with a maximum range of forty - eight meters , while " " and " " ( 2005 ) identify it as a weapon with a range of thirty - five meters . Given the ambiguity of these statistics , this article uses the twenty - five - meter figure provided in " Cracken ' s Rebel Field Guide " . In another inconsistency , the Fantasy Flight Games " " sourcebook " Far Horizons " , which was released in 2014 , refers to the tangle gun as a rifle .