Sandbox
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Ranger is definately brass cased, and also my favorite SD ammo. I only carry it in my glock (.40 cal), but it is awesome.
Ever actually seen one of the rounds after it mushrooms? We fired a few into a pond and dug them out of the mud. It was impressive to say the least. The "petals" are quite sharp and will cut you when digging them out (ask me how I know).
I wish I still had the expanded rounds so I could post a picture, but they were lost in my last move.
Edited to add:
Here is what wikipedia has to say about the ranger SXT line:
In early 1992 Winchester introduced the "Black Talon", a newly designed hollow-point handgun bullet which used a specially designed, reverse tapered jacket. The jacket was cut at the hollow to intentionally weaken it, and these cuts allowed the jacket to open into six petals upon impact. The thick jacket material kept the tips of the jacket from bending as easily as a normal thickness jacket. The slits that weakened the jacket left triangular shapes in the tip of the jacket, and these triangular sections of jacket would end up pointing out after expansion, leading to the "Talon" name. The bullets were coated with a black colored, paint-like lubricant called "Lubalox," and loaded into nickel-plated brass cases, which made them visually stand out from other ammunition. While actual performance of the Black Talon rounds was not significantly better than any other comparable high performance hollow-point ammunition, the reverse taper jacket did provide reliable expansion under a wide range of conditions, and many police departments adopted the round.
Winchester's "Black Talon" product name was eventually used against them. After a high profile shooting at 101 California Street, San Francisco in 1993, media response against Winchester was swift. "This bullet kills you better", says one report; "its six razorlike claws unfold on impact, expanding to nearly three times the bullet's diameter".[9][10] A concern was raised by the American College of Emergency Physicians, that the sharp edges of the jacket could penetrate surgical gloves, and increase the risk of blood borne infections being transmitted to medical personnel treating the gunshot wound. While possible, there are no recorded cases of such an infection occurring in relation to the Black Talon bullets.[11]
Winchester responded to the media attacks on the Black Talon line by pulling it from their civilian marketing channels, and selling it only through Winchester law enforcement distributors. They also discontinued applying the black Lubalox coating and renamed the line "Ranger SXT". The new jacket's rounded edges had no functional effect on the terminal performance, but addressed the ACEP's concerns about possible dangers to medical personnel.[12][13][14]
Even though Winchester voluntarily pulled Black Talon from the civilian market, they were subsequently sued for another 1993 shooting, this one in New York, involving Black Talon ammunition. The suit claimed "negligent manufacture, advertising and marketing of a product that was unreasonably designed and ultrahazardous." However, the court found that "The very purpose of the Black Talon bullet is to kill or cause severe wounding. Here, plaintiffs concede that the Black Talons performed precisely as intended by the manufacturer".[15] Since the bullet was designed to cause rapid incapacitation, and since it performed as expected, the lawsuit was dismissed.
Due to rumor, many people believe that the black coating was Teflon, and that it was intended to allow the bullet to penetrate body armor. This was perpetuated by the movie Ronin, in which the character Sam states that the bullet he was shot with was sprayed with Teflon and that is why it penetrated his vest. Additionally, many people believe that Black Talon rounds were "made illegal" but this is untrue. Winchester voluntarily pulled the round from the market, and the only place that it is illegal to possess the round is in jurisdictions where all hollow point bullets are prohibited by law.
I'm sort of afraid to try pistol caliber ammo with "rubber" plugs because of my poor experiences with powerball. Seems like my pistols don't like it for some reason, so I'll stay away from the new TAP ammo. I do however carry hornady TAP in my 1911 when I carry it.
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Non-Standard Ammo (Read 2377 times)
