American Handgunner July/August 1977

GLASER SAFETY SLUG POLICE-ONLY MANSTOPPERBy COL. REX APPELGATEuntil last year, few police, firearms andballistic experts had any knowledgeof the existence of The Glaser Safety Slug.Its a different situation now, and althoughthis is currently a limited production, littleadvertised, police handgun round, its popularityin law enforcement circles is rapidlyescalating. A recent U.S. governmentevaluation, comparative demonstrationsagainst conventional police rounds, andword of mouth reports amongst policeagencies is "spreading the word" throughoutthe entire law enforcement community.The only existent piece of Glaser literatureaccurately describes the situation,Cutawa rendering of the GlaserSafety Slug shows features contributingto its high Rll rating: A.20% glass-Teflon nose. 6. Thin.copper jacket. C. Number 12 .chilled shot suspended in D. aliquid Teflon solution. Its light(96 grain) weight allow very highvelocities.mAberdeen, all existent written material onhandgun, ammunition ballistics and effectivenesson the human animal was compiledand studied. US. military, civil andpolice handgun wound data was studied,and noted handgun and ballistic expertswere invited to add to the pre-testing input.During the test program, 20% gelatinblocks were used as human tissue simulants,flash X-ray and high speed 16 mmcameras capable of filming 20,000 framesa second, and velocity chronographs wereall employed. In an entirely new approachto ammunition evaluation, a three dimensionalcomputer man was utilized. Thecomputer man consisted of a humancadaver divided into 150,000 parallelopipeds,called computer cells. These cellswere distinguished by their location andtype of tissue etc. A team of medical doctorsrated each cell with relation to the incapacitationwhen hit by a projectile.Allowances were made in the computerfor hit distribution, velocity, weight, depthof penetration and temporary wound cavitvdeformation. The combination of allthese factors enabled, for the first time, areliable measure of the amount of damagequote: "The Glaser Safety Slug gives the a given bullet type, traveling at a certainofficer the edge." In this case and as the velocity, would cause in different areas ofliterature implies, the main emphasis is the human body. During the test programplaced on the public safety-anti ricochet 142 different rounds of commerciallyfactor. However, equally and perhaps available police ammunition, of the varimoreimportant to the individual officer is ous brands, bullet types and calibers werethe fact that it makes him "safer" in an ac- fired from two and four inch police handtualfirefight with armed criminals. The guns. The summarized result of this procapabilityto deliver instant and in- gram was distributed to law enforcementcapacitating shock from his service hand- agencies in 1975.gun, or backup, with a single head or body The most important factor thathit is always present.emerged at the end of the testing was, thatThis round first came to national law bullet incapacitation (stopping power)enforcement attention through the aus- was definitely related to the diameter andpices of the US. Department of Justice. In shape of the temporary wound cavity at1972 this department sponsored a survey the time of impact, in relation to depth ofcovering the effectiveness of police hard- penetration. It was only possible to makeware, including lethal weapons. Based on this determination by the combined use ofa computerized representation of 13,000 high speed photography, and X-ray photopolice agencies, large and small, the sur- techniques in ordnance gelatin blocks,vey revealed that: 99% of all police duty followed by a computer analysis. Each ofhandguns were revolvers, 66% of the the 142 test bullets was judged and asstatepolice officers favored the .357 mag- signed a relative stopping power rating.num, 94% of all other departments had The various commercial rounds wereofficers armed with the .38 Special re- rated by brand name and caliber on a devolver,and that complaints relative to am- creasing scale. The highest rating of 54.9munition had mainly to do with the inef- was assigned to a Speer, .44 magnum 200fectiveness, lack of penetration and stop- gr. bullet travelling at a measured velocityping power of the 158 gr. lead round nose of 1277 fps. The lowest round on the in-.38 Special cartridge. The survey data, capacitation table was the MBA .38 Spepluspublic and departmental controversy cial Shortsop, 64 gr. bean bag type roundover the effectiveness and types of ammu- with a velocity of 671 fps and a rating ofnition that should be issued, resulted in a 0.4. "Off beat" rounds such as the MBA,government financed and sponsored test- the KTW, and the Glaser were included ining program to determine the true facts the program because they were being soldand provide a data base for police selec- and used in limited quantities to law entionof service ammunition.forcement and their capabilities were un-The National Bureau of Standards was known to police agencies, in general. Therequested to prepare and supervise a test- top rated .44 magnum round was recogingprogram thatwas conducted by the US nized as one infrequently used by policeArmv Ballistic Research Laboratory at but was included in the program to enable~berdeen Proving Grounds, ~aryland. better comparative values to be placed. ItPrior to the beginning of the program at (Continued on page 16)AMERICAN HANDGUNNER JULY/AUGUST 1977