IC 35-47-5-11
"Armor-piercing handgun ammunition" defined; related offenses
Sec. 11. (a) As used in this section, "armor-piercing handgun ammunition" means a cartridge that:
(1) can be fired in a handgun; and
(2) will, upon firing, expel a projectile that has a metal core and an outer coating of plastic.
(b) A person who knowingly or intentionally:
(1) manufactures;
(2) possesses;
(3) transfers possession of; or
(4) offers to transfer possession of;
armor-piercing handgun ammunition commits a Class C felony.
(c) This section does not apply to nylon coated ammunition, plastic shot capsules, or ammunition designed to be used in rifles or shotguns.
(d) This section does not apply to a law enforcement officer who is acting in the course of the officer's official duties or to a person who manufactures or imports for sale or sells armor-piercing handgun ammunition to a law enforcement agency.
Does steel core == armor piercing?
"Cop killers" or so they were called were Black Talons. To save you the history lesson on true BT ammo lets just say who ever told you steel core ammo was illegal is FOS. If it were you couldnt buy M855. Besides I think Black Talons were only made in pistol calibers anyway.
So if you had handgun SLAP handgun ammo, that would be illegal?
Shoot, there goes my .50BMG handgun dream .
In a handgun, no. (As far as INDIANA law is concerned.)
"a projectile that has a metal core and an outer coating of plastic."
As far as federal law is concerned, yes.
Black Talon isn't "armor piercing" and was never plastic or teflon coated and was never banned. Winchester stopped making it because of all the anti-gun news media publicity and public confusion on the matter. (And by "armor piercing handgun ammunition" we're talking about soft body armor, not the hardened steel armor plating used on armored vehicles.) The armor piercing handgun bullet controversy was over the KTW bullet (made by North American Ordnance Corp.) that was teflon coated and puportedly could penetrate *many* layers of kevlar.
Green tip M855 (SS109 bullet) has a steel "penetrator" tip and is not classified as armor piercing regardless of what signs at the gun show say -- the core is not made entirely of steel, it's mostly lead. The ATF has specifically exempted the 5.56 NATO M855 and the .30-06 M2 ball ammo from the armor piercing list (There's so much M2 out there that they could never hope to get it all back), but 7.62 NATO AP and the very cheap steel core 7.62x39 are on the list -- thanks to some idiot who made an AK pistol -- yes he knew what would happen. (There's also still a bunch of steel core 7.62x39 ammo out there). AP rifle ammo (the kind that will penetrate steel armor) is not illegal to own or buy.
The federal law that governs "armor piercing" ammo, is for ammo that can be fired from a handgun (there's not a kevlar vest in the world that will stop a rifle bullet, even the ones that are lead core.)
7.62 NATO AP and SLAP are on the list.
More info here:
rec.guns FAQ: II.G.1. Federal Law and AP Ammunition
"Cop killers" or so they were called were Black Talons.
Banana clips are illegal too.....
Banana clips are illegal too.....
Banana clips are illegal too.....
thank you sir for that info. guess you do learn something new everyday. Rep for you.GG, with respect, the so-called "cop killer bullet" of the 1980s was the old KTW round. The Black Talon was not around until the 90s.
When the antis started with the old KTW bullet they were educated criminals that police wear vests. They accomplished absolutely nothing.
The Black Talon was confused with the KTW because of the name (black, it was be eeevil), the expansion of the bullet caused alleged concern by the operating surgeons (the petals cut the gloves), and the misinformation of the police and anti-gun groups who claimed that the Black Talon bullet penetrated police armour in order to obtain bigger budgets.
Here is an old KTW round:
Note that in the 1990s the feeble Federal Nyclad was also mislabeled as "armour piercing" as the media somehow spread the notion that the coating of the bullet (the Nyclad was blue coated to help prevent lead dust at indoor ranges) caused the bullet to be armour piercing. This stupidity was codified into Indiana law.
Note that the Indiana statute was written for the old KTW round, not the cool new stuff like the Cyclones that the feds use or the THV round.