Always someone smarter.....
I
knew I'd be flamed by someone who knows the real deal about every bullet type, style, weight, etc., because they read it on the Internet.....
I was responding to the OP with what "I" remembered from what the media put out yrs. ago about "The big bad Black Talon".
Am I a medical examiner or forensic pathologist who has performed the autopsies of fatal shooting victims.... NO.
But... I have been "rolling my own" for several yrs. now, & have played w/ several types of hollowpoints & powder in all types of media
wet phonebooks
ballistic jellatin
full swimming pools
wet clay
water jugs
cardboard (wet & dry)
wood panelling
sheetrock
trees
cars - (gas tank, windshield, doors, engine blocks)
& even the occassional
squrrill
gopher
rabbit
skunk
racoon
boar
deer
elk
cougar
black bear
pit bull (self defense)
I've dug more than 1 or 2 fully expanded Black Talons out of a few of the items listed above &
from my own personnal experiences I woudn't dig a fully expanded Talon out of a BG w/ AIDS even if my life depended on it!
I will thank you though, as your link was very informative, & I think most of what was said was true.
However.....
The forensic pathologist who performed the autopsies of the fatal shooting victims gave a detailed presentation about his findings at the 1994 IWBA Wound Ballistics Conference in Sacramento: "The 101 California Shooting: The Black Talon Bullet," Boyd Stevens, M.D., Medical Examiner, San Francisco, CA. He stated that the wound trauma produced by Black Talon was unremarkable, meaning the wounds were no different nor any more severe than wounds produced by typical JHP handgun bullets. Each of the victims incurred fatal injury because a bullet passed through a vital structure.
Dr. Stevens looked @ what.... 9 wounds? You're baising what I said was "un-true" based on what a forensic pathologist said after looking @ 9 wounds?!
The rest of your link says:
This is where the police only Winchester Ranger Talon (formerly Black Talon and Ranger SXT) bullet departs from conventional expanding hollowpoint bullets. Ranger Talon adds an additional wounding mechanism: cutting.
When Ranger Talon expands, its copper jacket peels back to form six sharp claws. These claws protrude outward just slightly beyond the smooth outer edges of the mushroom-shaped lead core shoulder.
Picture 6 fish hook sharp points attached by razorbades.
If you handload a 230gr. BT over 5.5gr. of Unique, the
claws don't "overexpand", & open up to .909
If a hollowpoint bullet is propelled too quickly, it will either overexpand and not penetrate deeply enough, or it will fragment. If the bullet fragments, it defeats the purpose of using an expanding bullet.
One of the things Winchester changed from old style Talon to new style Ranger, & FWIW - I've
NEVER seen a Black Talon that shed it's jacket or lost a claw!! 147gr 9mm., 124gr .357Sig, 180gr .357Mag, 250gr .44Mag, 230gr 45acp
These lacerations contribute little to overall wound severity.
What bullet wound insn't severe?!
However, if Ranger Talon happens to pass very close to a major cardiovascular structure, instead of merely shoving it aside as it passes by, one of the six claws might be in position to cut the wall of this structure to cause profuse bleeding.
Funny.... , isn't that kinda what I said? :barf:
This additional cutting mechanism gives Ranger Talon the potential to be approximately 3% to 5% more effective than other expanding bullets of the same caliber. In one out of every 20-30 shootings, Ranger Talon might make a difference.
Why LEO use them! Any bullet that gives even 01% advantage over a BG... I'll take it!!
In order for Ranger Talon's increased wounding potential to be realized, at least two conditions must be met: 1) the bullet's wound track must pass close enough to a major blood vessel to physically touch it, and 2) one of the talons must be in the right orientation to physically contact the wall of the blood vessel as the bullet rifles past. If one of these two conditions are not met, the wound will be no more severe than any other JHP expanding bullet.
This very slight advantage could be just enough to save the life of a police officer (or you!) who has to shoot a psychotic, enraged or chemically intoxicated attacker who is oblivious to being shot.
I own several of Winchester's BTs, both old style & new..... I'm keep'n mine!
