Black Talon Black Talon is a type of ammunition that was introduced by Winchester Ammunition in 1991 primarily for law enforcement and self - defense . This hollow - point ammunition became known for its bullet ' s unique construction and sharp petal shape after expansion following impact with tissue or other wet media . Black Talon ammunition was produced in the following calibers : 9mm Luger , 10mm Auto , . 40 S & W , . 45 ACP , . 357 Magnum , . 44 Magnum , . 300 Winchester Magnum , . 308 Winchester , . 338 Winchester Magnum , and . 30 - 06 Springfield . Overview . The Black Talon handgun bullet is a jacketed hollow - point bullet with perforations designed to expose sharp edges upon expansion . The bullet included a Lubalox coating , a proprietary oxide process . Though widely misreported to be Teflon , molybdenum disulfide , or wax , the ammo has an unusual black appearance compared to other copper - jacketed or lead bullets . The black appearance was due to the oxidized copper jacket . This Lubalox coating was to protect the barrel rifling , and did not give the bullet armor - piercing capabilities . This coating is still widely used on many of Winchester ' s rifle bullets today . The bullet was designed in 1991 under the supervision of Alan Corzine , who at that time was VP of research and development for Winchester . The round quickly developed a reputation as a very effective expanding bullet . The alleged armor - piercing notion is urban legend , and was a result of media hyperbole — rather than test or field data from actual shootings considering the short time it was on the market . Col Leonard J . Supenski of the Baltimore County police department said " It has the stopping power that police officers need and it is less likely to ricochet or go through the bad guy , " something that could be said of any reliably expanding hollow - point . Despite its unique design , the Black Talon was found to be comparable in performance to conventional hollow - points . Black Talon pistol loads are not loaded to higher working pressures or higher velocities " + P " loadings for like and different calibers . The first shooting which brought critical media attention to Black Talon was by Gian Luigi Ferri , who used Black Talon and other ammunition to shoot 15 people at a San Francisco law office in 1993 ; nine of whom died ( the 101 California Street shootings ) . Dr . Boyd Stevens , the San Francisco Medical Examiner who performed the autopsies , later reported at the 1994 International Wound Ballistics Association ' s conference in Sacramento that the wound trauma caused by Black Talons was unremarkable and that all victims died due to penetration of a vital structure . The rifle version did not share the handgun bullet ' s barbed petal design and was basically a solid copper hollow - point with a hollowed out rear shank containing a lead core in a steel liner to prevent jacket rupture thus maintaining necessary penetration in tough game . This ammunition line was renamed Fail Safe . Response . The ammunition was decried by those opposed to civilian ownership of handguns . Some medical personnel were concerned that the sharp barb like tips could potentially cause tears in the surgical gloves and hands of the medical workers , exposing them to greater risk of infection , however there are no documented reports of this actually happening . Most jacketed bullet designs that expand expose sharp edges or corners , yet this had not been raised as an issue by any medical group previously . The ammunition was used by the gunman of the 1993 Long Island Railroad mass murder for his Ruger P - 89 9mm pistol . In 1996 a lawsuit was subsequently filed by one of the victim ' s family members ( McCarthy v . Sturm , Ruger and Co . , Inc . , 916 F . Supp . 366 ( S . D . N . Y . , 1996 ) ) claiming that Olin Corp . should be liable for the shooting spree based on the design , manufacture , marketing , and sale of Black Talon ammunition . The claims against Olin were dismissed because it was held that the bullets were not defectively designed . In 1993 Winchester removed the ammunition from public sale , but at no time was Black Talon ammunition uniformly prohibited by law . Winchester ' s Ranger SXT line of ammunition is of the same basic design . Current status . Winchester discontinued the Black Talon line completely in 2000 . The “ Ranger SXT ” ammunition sold later by Winchester is very similar to the Black Talon though without the black Lubalox coating on the bullet . Among shooters , a running joke is that SXT stands for “ Same eXact Thing " , though the official branding is “ Supreme eXpansion Technology ” . However , there are differences in the anatomy of the bullets which become apparent when carefully examined side by side . The hollow point cavity dimensions and angles of the meplat were altered to enhance reliability of expansion , though the basic " reverse taper " design pioneered by the Black Talon was retained . This " reverse taper " refers to the bullet ' s jacket being thicker at the tip than toward the base , enhancing rigidity which allows the sharp petals to remain largely perpendicular to the wound path , unlike traditional designs where the expanding jacket petals would peel back almost completely behind the expanded lead mushroom . This difference is obvious after firing into ballistic gelatin . In 2007 Winchester updated their Ranger SXT line and renamed it " Ranger T - Series " . Besides further dimensional changes to the hollow point for reliable expansion , the distinctive perpendicular petals were made longer yet more rounded at the tips to retain stiffness . PDX1 . In 2009 Winchester - Olin released a new hollow point bullet in its Supreme Elite line of handgun ammunition called the Bonded PDX1 . It is similar to the Ranger SXT series and , therefore , the older Black Talon line in its structure , and is available in several calibers and loadings . The most obvious difference from the SXT is that the bonded design , meant to maintain structural integrity through difficult intermediate barriers like auto - glass , largely prevents the sharp petals from peeling away from the lead core and fully protruding into the wound track . The . 40 S & W PDX1 cartridge is the primary service ammunition of the . The PDX1 series is also available for purchase by civilian shooters .