BLACK RHINOS, UNICORNS AND PINK ELEPHANTS
                              By Steve Jones
 
     If we were playing Jeopardy, the correct response to the title of this
article would be "What are things that don't exist?"  But we are not playing a
game, we are being subjected to one.
     On December 27th, the news media carried the story of a supposedly new and
deadly handgun ammunition.  Signature Products Corporation of Huntsville,
Alabama announced two new bullets described as "limbtearing flesh-ripping
killers" to the nation's press, claiming to be ready for market in early
January.
     The first, "Rhino-Ammo" is claimed to explode when they hit flesh into
thousands of razorlike fragments, which are "hurled into vital organs, lungs,
circulatory system componets, the heart and other tissues."  Coompany owner
David Keen claimed that "nearly instantaneous" death would result.  Keen
regaled the press with claims of "horrific wounds," and that any hit would put
a victim down "for good."  He claimed the round makes a 9" deep and 5" wide
wound in ballistic gelatin, which would translate to very fearsome injuries in
flesh.
     The second bullet "Black Rhino" was to be sold only to law enforcement
agencies.  It was claimed to have the properties necessary to penetrate bullet-
resistant vests typically used by police.  After that penetration, according
to Keen, it would fragment and perform similarly to "Rhino-Ammo".  It skirts
laws against armor-piercing handgun ammo because it is made of "carbon based
polymers".  That's salesman-speak for plastic.  Current law bans such bullets
by metal content.
     This all sounds pretty scary.  But anyone who knows anything about
ballastics was scratching his head from the beginning.  The properties that
cause a bullet to be able to penetrate armor and those that cause a bullet to
fragment, are virtually opposite.  And the level of damage claimed for Rhino-
Ammo seemed beyond the physical limits possible from a handgun load.
     The National Rifle Association came out with the statement that Rhino-Ammo
had "all the trappings of a hoax."  They pointed out that commercial ammunition
manufacture requires a federal license, which Signature Products did not have.
In other words, they are not an ammunition manufacturer.  Also, neither of the
rounds had been provided to anybody for testing.  All this for a product
reported to be ready to hit gun store shelves in less than a week.
     When the BATF went to the company to get samples of "Black Rhino" to test
its armor piercing capabilities, they were told that none were available.  On
the 29th ABC's Nightline did succeed in getting four rounds of "Rhino-Ammo".
Their tests showed an average penetration that was 3.5" deep and less than 2"
wide, a fraction of Keen's claims and very similar to other brands of defensive
ammunition which have been available for decades.  Nightline pronounced Rhino-
Ammo to be a "mythical unicorn."
     A casual review of the facts raises serious questions about just what this
whole thing was really all about.  Keen described himself to the New York Times
as a supporter of gun control.  He decided to launch this new product of his in
a manner that was virtually guaranteed to result in public outcry, rather than
announcing it to the gun press.  On the same day of the announcement anti-gun
politicians across the country seemed fully briefed and were eager to talk to
the press about this dangerous threat to society.
     Also on the same day "Black Rhino" was announced, notorious anti-gun
politician Rep. Charles Schumer (D-NY) told the press of his intent to
introduce legislation changing the law regarding armor-piercing ammo to cover
all ammunition capable of penetrating body armor.  Schumer knows that means
virtually very centerfire rifle hunting round on the market.  Practically every
major anti-gun group in the country had prepared remarks about Rhino Ammo ready
for the press on the day the ammo was announced.  It seems Keen told everybody
about his new bullet except those qualified to evaluate his claims.
     To cap it all off, Keen announced the next day, on December 28th, that he
had decided to indefinitely postpone production of "Black Rhino".  Within two
or three days, the entire stroy had blown by and the suspicions of a hoax went
virtually unreported by the press.  Schumer and Handgun Control Inc. got their
needed press coverage (a week before the Republicans came to town) and the
reporters moved on to other things.  Meanwhile, thanks to the duplicity of the
mainstream media, the general public has been left with some terrifying false
imagery that the gun control lobby can make use of next time they come after
your gun rights.
     We lost this round, pun intended.