Date: Fri, 03 Feb 1995 18:57:34 -0800 To: From: rexind@slc.com (Dwight Rexin) Subject: Black Talon article in The Oregonian newspaper 1/29/95 Folks, Just got through last Sunday's paper here in Portland Oregon. They picked up a story from the Newhouse News Service bylined by one Joe Hallinan headlined "Black Talon: much ado about little" sub-headed "The bullet is still available in stores, but the FBI has decided it's no more deadly than any other ammunition on the shelves". Includes a photo of Eldorado Starfire, Black Talon, and Winchester SXT ammo boxes captioned "Winchester dropped the Black Talon bullet (center) after the uproar about its supposed capabilities, but now it markets a similar round, the SXT (right), and PMC produces the Starfire. The fired rounds show little of the promised "blossoming"". There's also a large text quote of William E. Stone who authored the FBI report on ammunition and who is a professor of criminal justice at Southwest Texas State University. "The Black Talon didn't do anything different from any of the other bullets, and a few of the others did it slightly better. It is certainly not significantly different from any of a dozen rounds that could be available." Rep. Thomas M. Barrett, D-Wis., who along with Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan, D-N.Y. had introduced legislation to either ban or levy a 10,000 percent tax on Black Talon and similar ammunition is quoted as being astounded that Black Talon is still being sold from Winchester inventory even though it's production has ceased. Barret said last week he would re-introduce his restrictive bill in the House. Winchester spokesman Mike Jordan declined to say how many Black Talons it produced before stopping their manufacture and is quoted as saying "As far as we're concerned, the less publicity about it the better". Dr. Stephen Hargarten of Milwaukee, spokesman for the American College of Emergency Physicians stated that to the best of his knowledge no emergency room physicians or medical care providers had ever been cut by the Black Talon round while treating a patient. Dr. John McCabe, president of the college had complained that Black Talon's sharp edges posed great risk to health care providers of suffering cuts and being exposed to AIDS or other infectious diseases. Stone, the author of the FBI report found that the average "wounding value" of handgun ammunition in general inproved by 63 percent from 1989 to 1992. "There is a dramatic increase," said Stone, the report's author. Stopping production of the Black Talon, he added, had no impact on this trend. "It was meaningless". Josh Sugarmann, executive director of the Violence Policy Center, a gun research and advocacy group in Washington is quoted as saying "I think the Black Talon had the misfortune to have a really scary name." Sugarmann said that Black Talon's performance was quite similar to other rounds with more mundane names, such as the XST, which is also made by Winchester, and the PMC Starfire. "The Black Talon focused attention, sort of, on the fact that you're finding a new generation of hollowpoints", said Sugarmann. There's more but I'm not up to typing it. The article takes up nearly 50% of a standard newprint page and the picture ran at about 4"x10". National news page A10. If anyone knows how to obtain a copy of Mr. Stone's report for the FBI (Federal Tax dollars should make this public information) please let me know via my e-mail account rexind@slc.com. Thanks.