AFTE Store - The Design, Composition, Exterior Ballistic-, Terminal Ballistic – And Wound Ballistic Properties Of Contemporary Frangible Ammunition

A new generation of frangible ammunition is gaining popularity on law enforcement and other indoor shooting ranges because of its totally lead-free construction. It is also being used in police “shoot-houses” and has been considered for use in entry (raid) situations because of its reduced range and frangible nature when striking ‘hard’ objects such as walls, windows, doors, etc. Other proposed uses include prisons, banks and other commercial institutions employing armed security forces as well as certain other specialized security applications. At least four manufacturers are now supplying frangible ammunition (as defined in this paper) in a number of popular calibers each with their own special compositional and design features. As these products become more popular, then can be expected to show up in case work where the first surprise will be that they cannot be associated with the gun that fired them in the usual manner. The second surprise is that these bullets are not necessarily frangible. There are several other revelations awaiting the criminalist when shooting incidents involving this ‘new’ type of ammunition arrive in the laboratory.