February, 2002

Due to the scheduling of the 2002 SHOT Show (02/02 ­ 05/2002) in Las Vegas, and the general sense of chaos which typically precedes it, I've been instructed to put 'pen to paper' far earlier than I would otherwise; I hate to be rushed.

Anyway I'm happy to attach much of a press release I've prepared (and which may yet be rewritten) which describes the new cartridge project to which I alluded last month. I've also learned that Peter Pi is working furiously to generate that data in answer to questions you might reasonably pose (speed, energy, pressures, price, etc.) and to which I don't yet (01/20/02) have any firm answers. Peter assures me that, come showtime, it will be 'soup' and ready to be served - far sooner than I imagine. Be assured we'll make all this available at the first opportunity.

"Enclosed (in a plastic envelope), please find several 'dummy' loads representing two new cartridge designs/designations: the .25NAA and the .32NAA. Both of these have been designed/developed in a collaborative effort between: internationally recognized and published ballistics expert, Ed Sanow; Peter Pi of Cor-Bon Bullet Co., manufacturers of premium grade high performance ammunition for self defense and law enforcement, including the Glaser Safety Slug, and North American Arms (with additional assistance offered by J.B. Wood and Hornady Manufacturing).

In essence, the .25NAA is a .25 caliber bullet seated in a 'necked-down' .32ACP case (a la .357SIG), designed to be fired from a slightly reconfigured .32ACP Guardian. Similarly, the .32ACP stems from a 'necked-down' .380ACP cartridge, designed to be fired from the .380ACP Guardian. It is our expectation (and has been our limited, preliminary experience), that each of these cartridges with certain bullets will deliver quantifiable ballistic results (velocity, transfer of energy, penetration, expansion, Fuller Index, etc.) superior to the original cartridge from which they were spawned. We further expect that the shooting characteristics of the firearm (felt recoil) will reflect the smaller caliber of the bullet being fired ­ in other words, 'better than' .380 results with 'less than' .32 feedback.

While we appreciate the challenges associated with the introduction of a new cartridge, we expect the 'system' will be very attractive to those shooters who are looking for the maximum performance from the minimum platform ­ an admittedly small but influential niche including law enforcement professionals, security details and other enthusiasts.

While these cartridges remain 'developmental', we thought we'd take advantage of the SHOT Show opportunity to bring this project to your attention. It is our expectation that copies of the ultimate shooting system (cartridges and firearms) will be available for your examination and use within the next 90 days. Additionally, we plan to provide the chronograph and raw wound ballistics data (bare gelatin, heavy clothes), macro photos of the recovered bullets and photos of gelatin wound profiles, etc. for your consideration. We would encourage you to conduct any tests of your own for purposes of corroborating our results/claims."

I hope this whets your appetite and that you'll share your reactions with me.
 
E-Mail Sandy about this Soapbox