Company to Sell Splaying Bullets Only to Officers

WASHINGTON —  One of the nation’s leading firearms manufacturers said Monday that it will no longer sell to the general public a popular brand of the high-powered hollow-point bullets that have become a rallying point for gun control advocates.

The move was an apparently unprecedented decision by Winchester, which has never before withdrawn a product for any reason besides manufacturing defects, a spokesman said Monday.

The company’s decision to limit sales of the Black Talon bullet to law enforcement shows how politically sensitive the issue of crime has become.

“This action is being taken because Black Talon ammunition is becoming a focal point for broader issues that are well beyond the control of Winchester Ammunition,” said a statement by Mike Jordan, company spokesman. “The controversy also threatens the good name of Winchester, which has stood for the safe and responsible use of ammunition and firearms.”

The Black Talon, which expands on impact, exposing sharp edges to maximize damage, has come under attack because of its purported devastating effect on human flesh and its potential to injure emergency room doctors when they remove it.

It is one of three bullets that gun control proponents, congressional leaders and the Clinton Administration have targeted as possibly too dangerous for public sale.