[TheForge] Sighting in Rifles

[Grant Marcoux]

Andy:  This Rec Guns thread MAY be a case of a "factoid".....a statement
that takes on the appearance of a fact through frequent repetition.

The KTW and S&W Nyclads were introduced at a time when the hazards of lead
vapors were just being recognized.  Most of the lead vapor generated comes
from the contact of the hot powder gases with the bullet's base.  This is
why revolvers lead so much at the forcing cone when lead bullets are
fired...the lead vapors are hottest there.  Someone came up with a way to
clad an entire bullet with a lubricant (Teflon and nylon) that would not
deteriorate over time, or be readily acted upon by powder gases.  These
bullets were also found to increase feeding reliability in auto pistols.

Someone or a group of different someones came up with the idea that these
bullets could defeat cops "bulletproof" garments because their slippery
surfaces would part the Kevlar fibers in the vest more readily than a
"regular" bullet.

Back in those days, (1970s & early 80s)standards for Bullet Resistant
Garments (BRGs) were looser in terms of standardization of threat levels,
Kevlar thread counts and methods of constructing the BRG.  Word got out that
some brands of vests were failing the tests with regularity, and even the
tests were not standardized until the US DOJ contracted HP White
laboratories to test BRGs.  It was in this environment that the "Cop Killer
Bullet" stories began.  These stories were echoed in the TV programs of the
day as well, even though there has not a single LEO killed by a KTW "cop
killer bullet".

As a result, the evil, green KTW "cop killer bullets" were discontinued in
the face of political pressure.  What the general public  did not know was
that no wearable (concealed) BRG of the day was "bulletproof."  In fact,
some lots of the early BRGs would not stop a .22 HV reliably! Most vests of
the time would not stop a 115 FMJ 9mm once the velocity reached 1100 fps,
none would stop a standard .30 carbine round or a 7.62 Tokarev, much less
ANY full-power rifle round, jacketed or soft-point.  None of these rounds
were Teflon coated...gilding metal bullet jackets are MUCH harder than the
Teflon.

So the anti-bullet crowd could crow over the victory over "cop killer
bullets" while counting on the public at large to be ignorant of the real
issue.  And as the Earth cooled...the KTW myth was born





-----Original Message-----
From: theforge-bounces at mailman.qth.net
[mailto:theforge-bounces at mailman.qth.net]On Behalf Of Andrew Vida
Sent: Monday, June 18, 2007 7:46 AM
To: Sponsored by ABANA
Subject: Re: [TheForge] Sighting in Rifles




Grant Marcoux wrote:
> Andy:  I must respectfully disagree. Actually, the KTW was designed to
> reduce airborne lead contamination and to be a less costly alternative to
> gilding metal jacketed bullets.  S&W introduced the Nyclad (nylon coated)
> pistol ammo for the same reason.

	Well, then a pretty large contingent of the shooting community has been
under this misconception for a very long time.  This had been discussed
at length in rec.guns at least 15 years ago... maybe I left the thread
prematurely.  Still, I find it hard to believe that the people over
there got sucked that far into an urban legend.


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