Black Talons

They were *evil* because they are "black" and "talons" (Anyone remember the controversy around the "Black Rhino" ammo that came out shortly afterward?). From what I remember from an NRA publication when they first came out, they were the first ammo that was actually designed for the FBI ammunitions test. Winchester voluntarily took them off the market as "Black Talons" and reintroduced them as the "Ranger SXT"....or something like that. The ammo is somewhat a collectible, now, as I sold four boxes of 9mm at $20 each, two boxes of 44 Mag at $35 each, two boxes of 357 Mag at $30 each, and a box of 45ACP for $40. I still have one lonely box of 45ACP that I haven't tried to unload, yet. I think I still have a copy or two of the original "American Rifleman" article somewhere around the house.

You got a box of Black Talon for $5? Great investment.

That's a pretty decent price for a box of 20. Now you can turn it around and sell it to some schmuck that has to have them for $20 or more. You should see the vendors at the gun show with these...they get pretty offended when I scoff at the price tag when I look at it.

Greg

...so what's the big deal with these things anyways?

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Branding.

Their black so they have to be at least twice bad(bad as in good!) Plus if you shoot them at night the bg cant see them to Matrix dodge them. If none of that makes a difference to you then the fact that they are black should because black is more tacticool !

Those things are cop-killers!

Also, the name was obviously racist. Didn't some people call them Black Felons?

Great Price

I have three boxes left of the original four boxes (9m/m) that our
rangemaster issued us after qualifying. I gave one box to a very
special friend who collects old or odd ammo.

Yes, I remember Mr. David Keene of Black Rhino fame. He was
a smart cookie (engineer) at the Space and Rocket Center in
Huntsville, AL. However, I never got too inspect the feared
ammo that he was producing~!

Ala Dan said:

Yes, I remember Mr. David Keene of Black Rhino fame. He was
a smart cookie (engineer) at the Space and Rocket Center in
Huntsville, AL. However, I never got too inspect the feared
ammo that he was producing~!

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They were supposed to be fragmenting bullets, weren't they? I remember reports that they didn't do as claimed, so not much became of the "Black Rhino".

Greeting's Again All-

I think Mr. Keene's theory was that by using small lead shot, supported
in liquid teflon and inserted into a jacketed hollow cavity projectile, shot
at or above 1,000 fps; that perhaps it would penetrate Kevlar vest? At
least, I believe that is what I read some where.

Funny thing, we haven't heard from Mr. Keene or his so called
Signature Products in quite awhile~!

The Black Talon was designed to be thicker at the jacket tip which resulted in the expanded jacket "petals" having a sharp foreward pointing "talon" when expanded. This design was claimed in the press as being extreemly more deadly then a conventional bullet. The claim was they sawed their way through flesh and bone and were much too deadly and inhumane for the common man. The bullet was removed from the civilian market, uncoated, and later renamed the Ranger SXT and put back on the store shelves.

I seem to remember also seeing something about the medical field claiming the bullets razor sharp tip was a hazzard to doctors operating on gunshots and that extreem caution was needed when this bullet was though to be in the patient. My memory may be bad on this though.

The media catch phrase for them was "Buzz Saw".

Check out this thread:
http://www.thehighroad.org./showthread.php?t=172551&highlight=Black+Talons

Ol' Joe said:

seem to remember also seeing something about the medical field claiming the bullets razor sharp tip was a hazzard to doctors operating on gunshots and that extreem caution was needed when this bullet was though to be in the patient.

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I forgot all about that being in the media!

This is what a .45acp Black Talon looks like after being fired into a 55 gallon drum filled with water. I shot from a ladder down into the drum.

That's Purty!

Did Mythbusters get the idea from you?

You didn't notice their Tac black ,they have a tiny rail for a tiny light so they can find BG in dark. Later it was decided to outlaw them and to put light on pistol so BG wasn't at such a disadvanage in fight. Gotta love libs.

Some reporter got hold a medical examiner advising that you should
wear chain mail gloves to avoid being cut when removing Black Talon
bullets. That made Black Talons sound extra dangerous, but the same
medical examiner gave the same advice for dealing with broken glass,
knives, tools or non-Black Talon jacketed bullets as well. Great reportage.

Also, a video created to hype the call to ban the Black Talon showed
an animated bullet striking a body, mushrooming, then spinning like a
buzz saw. PUleeze! A bullet rotating at one turn in fourteen inches
of travel, is going to SLOW DOWN its rate of rotation after
mushrooming, not speed up. Magic of CGI.

And the antis put a racial spin on the word "Black."

Just BS from the folks who gave us the semi-automatic machine gun.

I still have 2 boxes of the 147gr 9mm Black Talons and 3 boxes of the 230 .45 Black Talons. If you look on the box of Black Talons the are SXT bullets, the color was changed and the Black Talon name removed. I have several boxes of the Ranger ammo, they are the same except for the name.

A side note, I saw a box of the .45 Black Talons sell for close to $50 on Gunbroker.....

If you run across the original BT or the Ranger SXT(black bullet) at a decent price you would be a fool not to buy the stuff. Even if you do not like the ammo it is a better investment than you can make on the stock market.

Chipperman,

I'm not sure when Mythbusters did the test but I shot this round at least 10 to 12 years ago.

Fella's;

Didn't Getz (sp) use Black Talon ammo during his NYC subway disagreement with those fine young men who wanted to free the captive contents of his wallet?

900F

"A side note, I saw a box of the .45 Black Talons sell for close to $50 on Gunbroker....."
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A couple of months ago at a gun show, I sold my last four boxes of Black Talon .45ACP for $35.00 per box.

I'd bought a bunch years ago, before the idiots in the Marxist Media went on a rant and Winchester dropped them ... in name only. I bought them for $10.00 per box.

My Colt's Govt. Model is loaded with Hydra Shoks. For self defense, I ain't too worried they are not Black Talons.

L.W.

Nice to hear the box of 357 mag...

and 45 acp I have are worth something...........Now, if I can only round up the loose rounds and put them back in the boxes......chris3

Here is a picture of the new Ranger box next to my old Black Talons.....
you can see they are both .45 230gr SXT...........