NCCDA FACT SHEET : "Cop Killer Bullets"
By Charles Lochmuller, Ph.D.
The issue of "cop-killer bullets " arose in 1982 when NBC-TV turned a
specialized ammunition developed by police for police into a sensational, nationwide
and prime-time spectacle with that title. To this day, one hears that "NRA wants
people to sell cop-killer bullets!" and the issue arises in almost every legislative
session in one form or another. The reality is that NRA worked for 4 years with the
Justice Dept. and Congress to produce H.R. 3121 which restricts sales of specialty
ammo to police and military. Here are the facts:
Teflon-coated Bullets -The KTW bullet was developed by a Lorain Cty. Ohio coroner, Dr.
Paul Kopsch, Lorain Police Sgt. Daniel Turcus, Jr. and Dr. Kopsch’s Special
Investigator, Donald Ward. They sought to provide law enforcement with common-caliber
handgun ammunition capable of penetrating hard materials - auto windshields and doors,
cinder block and block walls. Previous efforts to produce such a bullet by major
manufacturers at law enforcement request had been only marginally successful.
· The KTW commercialized bullet, as made in 1981, was a brass, which is much harder
than lead. To prevent unusual wear on the police firearms by the harder alloy, the
inventors coated the bullets with Teflonâ. Hardness was always a problem. The
earliest prototypes were case-hardened steel.
· Contrary to the media claims, the Teflonâ does not improve penetration through the
woven body armor commonly worn by police on duty. The U. S. Justice Department
reported that the Teflonâ had " little or no effect on the penetrating qualities of
the projectile" when fired at soft body armor. No law enforcement officer has ever
been killed with Teflonâ-coated Bullets, or similar bullets, and KTW was never
offered for sale to the general public. In fact, there are no records indicating that
any police officer has ever been killed as a result of a handgun bullet of any
description penetrating properly worn soft body armor.
·Then came "Black Talon" ammunition. This ammunition was developed by Olin under their
brand-name Winchester in direct response to a need for ammunition for defense use by
civilian law enforcement and otherwise ordinary citizens which would not penetrate
deeply in modern constructed buildings and especially would not penetrate woven body
armor. It was rapidly adopted by law enforcement nationwide and, while quite
expensive, became quite popular with citizens concerned not only for their own defense
but the improved safety to others. Black Talonâ and other similar hollowpoint bullets
are designed to reliably expand on contact with soft targets and expend all energy
there. Less advanced non-hollowpoint bullets will penetrate doors, walls and such
obstacles to a much greater degree. Black Talonâ would have been a safer ammunition
for law enforcement and ordinary citizens alike but soon became the victim of another
false "cop-killer" claim. So intense was the incorrect campaign against this
ammunition that Olin withdrew it from the retail market continuing to sell it to the
large law enforcement market until the improved and even better performing SXT
ammunition was ready for sale.
·And then came the "Rhino Hoax"! A former Defense Department contractor -Signature
Products - claimed to have developed two new armor-piercing and devastating forms of
handgun ammunition. One version was pre-fragmented ( a bullet that is already many
small pieces that shatters into those fragments on impact} and the other was claimed
to be remarkably armor piercing. For some reason, Signature Products sent Rep.
Charles Schumer {D-NY} and Handgun Control Inc. advanced press releases telling of how
these new bullets would perform and how one would defeat the "ballistic armor" used by
police. These are the facts:
· Martin Fackler, MD quickly characterized the claims of Signature Products as
ludicrous. Dr. Fackler is the President of the International Wound Ballistics
Association and Retired Director of the US Army Wound Ballistics Laboratory. He
pointed out that the testing of projectiles for penetration of armor is a complicated
process and that the Signature claims were not supported by any evidence. Others
point out that the fragmented bullet was a clear copy of the well-known Glaser Safety
Slug but that Rhino did not work as well.
· ABC News sought the help of the H. P. White Laboratory in testing
the Rhino Ammunition. This laboratory is the of the premier labs for such tests in the
U. S. and is recommended by both FBI and BATF. The results appeared on ABC’s
Nightline and the truth was exposed. The Rhino bullets performed in an inferior
fashion to the ordinary full-metal-jacket .45 cal Army bullets in all tests. Even
gun-hating Representative Charles Schumer was moved to call the CEO of Signature
Products Inc. -one David Keen - a "charlatan". Mr. Keen admits that he is a
gun-control supporter and is a member of Handgun Control Inc.
· In early Jan '95 BATF announced that it approved of the sale of Rhino Ammunition to
the public after finding it to be no more"impressive" than common ammunition. It has
never been offered for sale.
· JPG pictures of the KTW bullets and packaging are on the Web as follows:
KTW picture 1
KTW picture 2
KTW picture 3
KTW picture 4
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Copyright 1996, all rights reserved by
North Carolina Constitution Defense Association
PO Box 428
Efland, NC 27243
http://www.webnexus.com/users/ncrkba/nccda_bullet.html
