Are Lehigh Extreme Penetrators bullets legal in a handgun?

[Zaydok Allen]

I was recently bullet shopping for reloading projects, and I was about to purchase a box of Lehigh Defense Extreme Defense bullets to load for 10mm. I also recently purchased some Extreme Penetrators for use in a Sig P220.

As I asked about the bullet weight, because it wasn't clearly labeled on the box, one of the store clerks said "You want to be careful about loading those for a handgun. It's illegal to carry armor penetrating ammo in a handgun."

Ok, well, I have to admit that I was totally ignorant. I have never purchased "armor penetrating ammo" before. My interest was more or less interest in a hot round that could be used effectively against black bear sized animals.

I thought about this and emailed Lehigh to see if they had any words of wisdom. I have not received a response. I asked the clerk if he was thinking of the Penetrator line, but he was not explicit.

I think he is confused as the Extreme Penetrators are not labeled as armor piercing, do not have a steel or tungsten core, and are cnc machined from solid copper, as many handgun hunting cartridges are. I also don't see how a solid copper defense bullet could be considered armor piercing.

Any thoughts? I didn't buy the bullets because they weren't in a weight that interested me. I also don't see how Underwood ammo could load Extreme Penetrators and sell them without expressly stating they are not legal in a handgun.

So that was all hogwash, correct?

 

[Bottom Gun]

Just a bunch of nonsense from a misinformed/uninformed clerk. Just buy them and load them. The Lehigh Penetrator and the Xtreme Defense bullets are excellent projectiles.

 

[herrwalther]

Just a bunch of nonsense from a misinformed/uninformed clerk. Just buy them and load them. The Lehigh Penetrator and the Xtreme Defense bullets are excellent projectiles.

This. Take everything heard in a gun store with a grain of salt. There are tons of people who have no idea what they are talking about. A clerk being no exception to the rule.

 

[Zaydok Allen]

Yeah, that's what I thought. If one thinks about it, his statement makes no logical sense with what is available on the market.

 

[Frank Ettin]

I'm shutting this down before it becomes even more of a morass.

As of now we have no authoritative, "take-it-to-the-bank" information one way or the other. And I suspect that if we keep this open we'll just get more of the same.

If anyone has anything solid, send me a PM, and I'll consider re-opening the thread so it can be posted.