JP>John, I had hoped my words would make it clear that I was not accusing
JP>you of DELIBERATELY or KNOWINGLY breeaking any laws, I was wondering if
JP>you might be UNKNOWINGLY getting into dangerous territory.
JP>And you are certainly right, it was pure conjecture on my part, based
JP>solely on the velocity you were reporting, not on any personal knowledge
JP>of how such a thermo-plastic filled bullet jacket would behave on impact
JP>with a kevlar vest.
JP>My intention was to simply raise a friendly warning flag.
The federal law banning so-called "armor piercing handgun
bullets" (which the NRA helped to write) bans bullets based on
COMPOSITION, and *not* on the basis of velocity, or actual
ability to pierce ballistic armor.   Even if someone made a
handgun bullet *capable* of penetrating body armor, it would not
be illegal unless it contained the verboten metals.
Fact: many handgun bullets in certain calibers are quite
capable of penetrating the lower levels of body armor, and
handguns that shoot rifle ammo (Contenders for instance) can do
it with almost any bullet in those calibers.
The materials listed in that law include bronze and steel, and
probably others of which I am not aware.  However, thermoplastic
or any plastic or such composites are not included.
The absence of a ban on composite materials in that law was used
as fuel in the media-created uproar of the infamous "Black Rhino"
bullet.  It *was* partially made of composite, and therefore
legal, but was a total fraud since it didn't penetrate body armor
anyway.
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 þ SLMR 2.1a þ Bill Gates is a college drop out.
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