Black Talon - Response

Response

The ammunition was targeted by those opposed to civilian ownership of handguns. Some medical personnel were concerned that the sharp barb like tips could potentially cause tears in the surgical gloves and hands of the medical workers, exposing them to greater risk of infection, however there are no documented reports of this actually happening. Most jacketed bullet designs that expand expose sharp edges or corners, yet this had not been raised as an issue by any medical group previously.

The ammunition was used by the gunman of the 1993 Long Island Railroad mass murder for his Ruger P-89 9mm pistol. In 1996 a lawsuit was subsequently filed by one of the victim's family members (McCarthy v. Sturm, Ruger and Co., Inc., 916 F.Supp. 366 (S.D.N.Y., 1996)) claiming that Olin Corp. should be liable for the shooting spree based on the design, manufacture, marketing, and sale of Black Talon ammunition. The claims against Olin were dismissed because it was held that the bullets were not defectively designed.

In 1993 Winchester removed the ammunition from public sale, but at no time was Black Talon ammunition uniformly prohibited by law. Winchester's Ranger SXT line of ammunition is of the same basic design.