Message no. 1

From:	"Paul J. Adam" <shadowrn@********.DEMON.CO.UK>
Subject:	Re: (OT talking about exotic ammo) was Re: Brand Names and
Date:	Fri, 8 Aug 1997 20:33:26 +0100

In message <970808144051_294894015@*******.mail.aol.com>, Duncan
McNeill-Burton <Dreadnaut1@***.COM> writes
>Actually, the "Cop Killer" bullets are teflon jacketed with a hardened tip,
>designed to slam through the strike plate of a bullet resistant vest, while
>the teflon allowed it to slide through the weave of the kevlar fibers...

And once again errors creep in :)


Coating a bullet with PTFE (Du Pont brand name 'Teflon') does nothing
for its ability to penetrate body armour: it's like saying smearing
Vaseline on a knife makes it stab deeper.

Polyaramid fibre (Du Pont brand name 'Kevlar') is, though, more easily
penetrated by bullets with hardened and sharply-angled tips, fired at
very high velocity. If you watch Lethal Weapon 3, the "Cop Killer"
bullets shown there are French "Arcane" rounds, and are indeed quite
effective at defeating body armour or other cover.

The downside of firing a hardened bullet at high velocity is excessive
barrel wear: so you coat the bullet in PTFE to reduce wear and tear on
the gun it's fired from.

The Teflon does little for armour-piercing ability, but it does mean the
gun lasts longer :)

--
There are four kinds of homicide: felonious, excusable, justifiable and
praiseworthy...

Paul J. Adam paul@********.demon.co.uk