From: dennis@bluemoon.rn.com (Dennis Carney)
Subject: PROponent -- Article "DEAR PRO..."
Organization: Blue Moon BBS ((614) 868-998[024])
Date: Sat, 05 Sep 92 01:11:54 EDT

DEAR PRO...

Reference: July PROponent;   "These so-called 'cop killer' bullets
have never killed a cop and indeed were developed for police to
kill criminals protected by so-called 'bullet proof' vests."

       Please remind the editors to make sure of facts before
printing.  The KTW bullets were designed to penetrate auto
windshields and doors better. They were not intended to penetrate
soft armor, in fact the teflon reduces penetration on soft armor.
This comes from one of the three men who created the rounds (Dr.
Paul Kopsch).

     Grant Delorean

       [Editor: I must admit that Grant caught me with my pants
down. The facts with regard to teflon coated (KTW - named for the
inventors Kopsch, Turcus, & Ward) bullets came from two main
sources: The NRA Pamphlet "Twelve Tall Tales" and a police article
I read years ago.  Since I could not find the old article, I wrote
the PROponent piece as I remembered it.  I do remember that the
article which came out about the time of the "cop killer bullet"
controversy had a main thrust that these bullets enabled SWAT teams
to shoot suspects through soft armor and other cover (auto
windshields, car bodies etc.)  For this reason the bullets were
considered very useful by SWAT units.  I do remember the statement
being made that the KTWs were "developed" to penetrate soft armor,
but after all these years I certainly could be mistaken.  Another
possibility is that I remembered it right, but the original article
was wrong.  In any case, if the inventor says it was developed to
penetrate auto windshields and doors, that settles it for everyone.
Nobody (except, perhaps, Sarah Brady) is going to tell the
inventors they didn't know why they did it.
       Another point here is that no one knows exactly what a "cop
killer" bullet is.  It is just another catch-phrase like "Saturday
night special".  Needless to say, there are many rounds, coated or
otherwise that can penetrate soft armor.  I have been told that
there are a number of specialized bullets (not KTW) which have been
specifically developed to penetrate soft armor.  I am sure the
other side calls them all "cop killers".  This just shows how
difficult it is to deal with issues where the gun-control advocates
are always blowing smoke.  Trying to nail down facts is often like
trying to nail Jello to the wall.
       I do have strong reservations, however about the statement
that "teflon reduces penetration on soft armor."  Tests I witnessed
on telephone books with coated and uncoated bullets showed much
greater penetration of coated bullets.  Chairman Ron Herman
(wearing his munitionist hat) also expressed serious doubts about
this assertion.  While it may indeed be true that under certain
specified conditions the coating will inhibit penetration, no
experts I talked to felt that this was true as a general statement.
       However, one fact that did emerge from all this was the
importance of the KTW in penetrating windshields. Prior to its
development, police were trained to "double tap" on auto glass.
The reason was that while the first shot would break or even
shatter the glass, at the same time it would also deflect the
bullet.  The KTW has the effect of making the first shot much more
likely to count.
       Grant is correct, however, that the editors should be more
careful about facts before shooting off their mouths.  In the
future I will try to check facts more closely, so at least I can
point to someone else's mistake as my source.]

       Frank Jacoby, co-editor

...

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    dennis@bluemoon.rn.com
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