Resticted (Illegal) Ammunition

[Mr_Rogers]

Certain ammunition manufacturers, in this case we will use Winchester Ranger ammunition as an example, manufacture ammunition that is sold to LE agencies only.

Certain ammunition, I understand, is prohibited from possession by "civilians" by certain federal law and state laws. This would include anti-body-armor ammunition.

Question, is there any ammunition made that is not sold to the general public by the manufacturer but that, apart from that restriction, is legal for a member of the general public to possess.

I ask because I saw a box of Winchester Ranger ammunition for sale at a public auction. It was included in a box of miscellaneous reloading supplies that went for a fairly high price. I wondered whether the winning bidder was after the reloading supplies or that box of ammunition.

 

[M1911Owner]

Winchester Ranger is legal for commoners to own. I have some. You can buy it at http://www.proload.com/search.aspx?SearchTerm=ranger

 

[Gottahaveone]

Here is a quote from www.ammunitiontogo.com concerning the Winchester Ranger Talon ammo.

"It says alot that Winchester will not sell this ammo to the general public, they will only sell this ammo to law enforcement and military agencies directly. That is a Winchester rule, NOT a law, so don't worry you can have it. We get this ammo from police department trade-ins and a little from law enforcement distributors. It is completely legal for you to own, buy and sell this ammo."

I've been into defensive armament for far more years than I'll own up to, and this is the only manufactures restriction that I am aware of. Hope this helps...

 

[Mr_Rogers]

Thanks very much. Question answered. I made the mistake of going by the Winchester web-site. I looked at the ammo and because it was black I thought that may have been some sort of anti-armor finish that would actually be illegal.

 

[Bobarino]

first, Rangers are perfectly legal. its just a jacketed hollow point. its the remake of the infamous "black talon" round with a more PC name. the "for law enforcement" on the box is a marketing ploy.

there are still some kinds on armor piercing ammo floating around out there that are legal to posses. .30-06 black tip comes to mind. new manufacture stuff (if it is even still made) isn't available to the public. there's a hot type of 5.7x28 that we can't have. there are still some .50 BMG AP and API rounds floating around out there as seen here: http://www.cheaperthandirt.com/50bmg_cdc.htm you can still buy 5.56 green tip/M855 which isn't defined as armor piercing but has a steel "penetrator core". thats about all i can think of at the moment. i'm sure someone knows more about it than me.

i don't think there is such a thing as "anti-body armor" ammo. just about any centerfire rifle round will defeat 99% of the body armor out there.

Bobby

 

[M1911Owner]

because it was black

Mine isn't black. The old "Black Talons" were of course black. Have they changed back to black for the Rangers?

 

[Mr_Rogers]

M1911Owner

The ammunition box was complete and full. It showed some signs of wear and tear at the corners as though it had been stored and moved around. I nearly bid on it because I thought it may have had some collector value if it was some sort of pre-ban ammo but then I considered I don't need the possibility of a court case.

All the cartridges matched and they were head-stamped Winchester so I am pretty sure that the box and ammunition were original. The box was labeled "Law Enforcement Only". The cartridges had standard brass cases loaded with a black coated 147 grain hollow-point bullet that had what looked like a teflon coating.

 

[M1911Owner]

Oh, it was the expensive box of ammo at the public auction that was black, not the Ranger ammo on the Winchester web site. Now I understand. What you were looking at was Black Talon ammunition, the forerunner of Ranger. The Black Talons are collectors' items, and sell for collectors' prices.

 

[zxcvbob]

AFAIK, only New Jersey outlaws... pretty much any handgun ammo that would be effective.

(so use very large calibers that don't need to expand, or very high powered cartridges with light bullets to create a lot of shock)

 

[Mr_Rogers]

M1911Owner,
Sorry if I confused you. As you say, it looks as though the ammunition was the original Black Talon but it was in a box marked Ranger so it may have been produced during the product transition. Or possibly somebody just changed the box.

Still, missed again. I really didn't need the rest of the box of reloading supplies that mainly consisted reloading dies for calibers I don't own. May have had go to out and buy some new toys so that I could use the reloading dies.

PS I did buy a bottle of Hoppe's No. 9 in a glass bottle and in a complete, good condition, original cardboard box. They don't package perfume like that any more.