The Real Story on "Cop Killer" Teflon-Coated Bullets

     During a recent hunting trip, the conversation turned
to the topic of Teflon-coated bullets.  Various explanations
were offered, but what can you tell me about the practice?

     Answer:  In 1966, the coroner of Lorain County, Ohio,
Dr. Paul Kopsch, Sgt. Daniel Turcus, Jr., of the Lorain
Police Dept., and Dr. Kopsch's special investigator, Donald
Ward, decided that armor-piercing handgun cartridges could
be sold to those police departments or officers that either
lacked rifles or might be interested in testing
special-purpose handgun ammunition.

      Major factories had produced such ammunition for the
police for years, but interest was minimal, accounting for
low sales and little attempt at improvement.  Kopsch, Turcus
and Ward easily succeeded in making a round that
out-penetrated the tame old factory offerings.

     Their original KTW bullet centered around a
case-hardened steel core.  Even at standard velocities, this
core would obviously hold its shape and drill through
automobiles, cinder blocks and other materials likely to
defeat conventional police handgun loads.  This was
literally the core of the solution, but presented
difficulties.

     The hard core would not take rifling and would ruin the
bore. A gilding-metal jacket with full teflon coating took
care of this.  The round gave good penetration but poor
accuracy at long range.  Then a ballistic engineer at the
H.P. White Laboratories suggested that a new alloy called
Kennertium W-10 be tried, instead of the steel then used, to
add the ballistic stability needed for increased accuracy at
long range.

     W-10 is a sintered tungsten alloy that is heavier than
lead and harder than most steel alloys.  The new material
worked, but it was expensive.

     The expense didn't worry the developers much, since the
specialty bullets would not be shot in quantity.  In 1969,
the prices for the 200-gr. W-10 cored, Teflon-coated .38
Spl. rounds were about six times those of conventional
metal-pointed "armor-piercers" of standard make. Sales were
low in volume, though relatively high in profit.

     By the early 1970s, supply of Kennertium became
erratic, and KTW reverted to much lighter steel and, later,
brass cores, both of which reduced the maximum range to
about a third of that of the former type.


     KTW made a plus of the reduced range by noting that
long range was not necessary in this type of round and, in
fact, would increase danger to bystanders in metropolitan
areas.  The high prices and low sales volume continued; so
did the distinctive pea-green teflon coating which now
formed the only protection for the bore.

     The claim was made by the media that the teflon also
lubricated the point of impact and increased penetration
dramatically.  That claim, in reference to soft body armor,
was convincingly refuted by government test, with the
Justice Dept. saying it "has little or no effect on the
penetrating qualities of the projectile" and the Treasury
Dept. labeling it as "little more than a cosmetic additive." 
But the fact that Teflon protects the bore from the ill
effects of the hard Bullet core is incontrovertible.

     By the end of 1981, KTW was offering its products in
most handgun calibers.  Sales were still limited to police
agencies or police officers ordering through federally
licensed dealers, and were still limited in volume.

     Then, in January 1982, a dramatic change occurred.  KTW
got national, prime-time television coverage in NBC's "Cop
Killer Bullets."  Law enforcement officials had pled with
NBC to drop the sensational coverage of the virtually
unknown bullets lest they come to the attention of
criminals.  NBC not only refused, but rebroadcast the show
six months later.  Then the print media joined in.

     Of course, KTW's restricted sales policies forbade a
rash of sales to criminals, but many police departments had
to answer frantic questions from officers and the public
concerning the implied threat.  The departments didn't have
data, and some set out to buy and test KTW's to see just
what the threat was. 

     Other small bulletmakers saw the light and soon a
number of KTW competitors appeared to share in police
testing budgets.  Hard cores were the rule, high velocities
and pointed bullets were preferable, but Teflon was
considered unnecessary.

     Some anti-gun members of Congress saw the light, too. 
Here was an opportunity to get all sorts of free personal
publicity in all sorts of media.  All they had to do was
introduce a bill with a catchy title to outlaw the import,
manufacture of sale of...of what?  The title, having been
stolen from NBC, was easy:  "A bill to stop the
proliferation of 'cop-killer' bullets."
     "Cop-Killer" was the most exciting label to come along
since "Saturday Night Special"and just as vague.  Its
"definition" was simply:  Any bullet that when fired from a
5" barrelled handgun is capable of penetrating the
equivalent of 18 layers of Kevlar.

     Technical experts of the FBI, BATF, Secret Service and
police forensic labs throughout the country felt this
definition to be impractical and unenforceable, but none of
them could think of a good one.

     A four-year campaign to outlaw so-called
"armor-piercing" or "cop-killer" bullets began. During that
time NRA-ILA successfully fought off several bills that
would have had grave implications for American gun owners
and dealers.

     August 1986 saw passage of H.R. 3121, which while
symbolically offensive, greatly narrowed the definition of
proscribed bullets (earlier bills threatened to outlaw up to
85% of big game ammunition), and contained no criminal
penalties for dealer or private possession, transfer or use
of such bullets.  An exception was made for misuse in a
violent federal crime.

     The law defined offending bullets as "a projectile or
projectile core which may be used in a handgun" and
constructed entirely (except for trace elements) of tungsten
alloys, steel, iron, brass, bronze, beryllium copper or
depleted uranium or a combination of those metals.

     Further, the Secretary of the Treasury may exempt a
projectile covered in the "armor-piercing" definition, but
may not expand the law to include projectiles not expressly
included in the established definition. - W.F.P.
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