3.4.a "Black Rhino ammunition, made from space age plastics, which can penetrate bulletproof vests and then fragment..."
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This article is from the talk.politics.guns Official Pro-Gun FAQ, by Ken Barnes (kebarnes@cc.memphis.edu) with numerous contributions by others.
3.4.a "Black Rhino ammunition, made from space age plastics, which can penetrate bulletproof vests and then fragment..."
See
Newsweek, Dec. 19, 1994
New York Times, Dec. 27, 1994, A10; Dec. 28, 1994, A8;
Dec. 29, 1994, A16
and
Wall Street Journal, Dec. 29, 1994, B2
and
Code of Federal Regulations, title 27, chapter I, section 178.92 (b)
[cited by lawyers as 27 CFR I, S 178.92 (b)]
In summary: "Gun control" supporter David Keen, chief executive of
Signature Products, a Huntsville, AL based defense contractor, staged
a publicity stunt late in 1994 by claiming his company was about to
market "Rhino" ammunition, capable of causing "nearly instantaneous"
death, "a horrific wound," with "no way to stop the bleeding"; as well
as an armor-piercing version, dubbed "Black Rhino" (suggestive of
Winchester's "Black Talon," a brand name of non-armor-piercing handgun
ammunition which was voluntarily withdrawn from public sale after
"gun control" groups seized upon the name's publicity value) which Keen
claimed would penetrate bullet-resistant vests and then "disintegrate"
into "lethal shrapnel" "hurled into vital organs" just like the non-
armor-piercing version.
The initial story ran as a line or two in_Newsweek_magazine's
"Periscope" column the week of December 19th (written by Newsweek's
Peter Kotell), but the "Rhino" was first given national prominence in
a story written by Associated Press reporter Robert Dvorchak, which
was released on the AP wire the day after Christmas, when many
businesses and government agencies (like the Bureau of Alcohol,
Tobacco, and Firearms) would be closed, making fact-checking the
story and its sensationalistic claims difficult. The Associated Press,
for its part, promoted the story to editors with a notation that it was
of special interest. Bob Walker, a lobbyist for Handgun Control, Inc.
was quoted in the Dvorchak story, along with the alleged manufacturer,
who Dvorchak wrote "acknowledges taking calls from worried police".
Pro 'gun control' legislators like U.S. Rep. Charles Schumer (D - N.Y.)
and Sen. Daniel Moynihan (D - N.Y.) quickly proposed extending the
earlier "cop-killer bullet" ban (see 3.4) to include Keen's "Rhino"
ammunition. National Rifle Association lobbyist Tanya Metaksa issued
a statement saying "This has all the trappings of a hoax. What we have
is an outbreak of mob journalism centering on the dubious claims of
a would-be manufacturer."
The claims could hardly have been_more_dubious to people familiar
with firearms and the science of ballistics. Pre-fragmented ammunition
for handguns, such as the Glaser Safety Slug, has been available for
many years and is sold in part on the basis that it is less likely to
penetrate walls or ricochet from hard surfaces, lessening the danger
to people in adjoining rooms or apartments from discharge of a firearm
indoors, as in a home-defense situation. This type of bullet typically
makes a large, shallow wound, since the fragments produced are each
a small fraction of the total bullet weight, and much of the inertia
and energy of the bullet is expended as the bullet fragments, (something
like Indy cars flinging parts everywhere, carrying away the energy of
hitting the wall) resulting in limited penetration. Additionally, the
binder or matrix containing the fragments makes the bullet lighter,
and less dense, than if it was made of solid metal. The effectiveness
of fragmenting ammunition in rapidly stopping an attacker is generally
considered to be less than for non-fragmenting ammunition, like
hollowpoints.
The claims made for "Black Rhino" ammunition were even more
preposterous, since the very characteristics which make a bullet capable
of defeating soft body armor (that it be made of hard, non-deformable
metal, preferably pointed, and that it have as high a kinetic energy
as possible) are the exact opposite of the characteristics which would
allow it to fragment. After Keen's inflated and sensationalistic claims
were demonstrated false in independent tests by ABC-TV's_Nightline,"and
it was revealed that Keen did not even have a license to manufacture
ammunition (or armor-piercing ammunition, which is a separate license)
as required by federal law, the company announced that it would not
be marketing "Black Rhinos" after all. Signature Products, after
attempting to sell its manufacturing rights for $500,000 (with an
ad in_American Firearms Industry_magazine) is currently marketing
"Rhino Ammo" under the name "Razor Ammo". That press reports about
the "Black Rhino" would be so blatantly inaccurate is not particularly
surprising, considering that Winchester's Black Talon (a hollowpoint
designed to expand on impact, so as not to overpenetrate) has itself
on occasion been misreported as an armor-piercing round. While all
armor-piercing rounds are required by (somewhat melodramatic) federal
regulations to_be_black at the tip, not all "Black Bullets Of Death"
are armor-piercing. (The Glaser Safety Slug, in its marketing savvy,
is tipped with blue plastic.)
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