[Guest]

Gents,

A number of years ago (OK, a lot of years ago!) I purchased two 50 rounds boxes of the Geco ammo. This was sold under the name of "Blitz Action Trauma" here and the box bore a black bat.
The round was developed after the Munich Olympic terrorist attack on the Isreali contingent.
The bullet itself is a 86 gr soft copper JHP, but is drilled through the bullet and capped with a plastic nose cap. Sort of a RN/HP?
Marshall and Sanow talked about it in their book "Stopping Power". I can't remember what performance was (somewhere 1400-1500 fps) and no overpenetration.
Steve, Jim, or anyone have any stats on this stuff? It may not even be in production any more. The boxes are sealed in Saran Wrap and look new.

Inquiring minds...are gonna drive Steve crazy...

Wes

 

[jimhigginbotham]

I remember the load but I never had much experience with it. One big PD I know of confiscated over 1,000 rounds of it from a biker gang and they shot it up in various tests but I wasn't there.

Seems that I somehow got the impression that it was rather erratic in its terminal performance.

I would say it would make a great collectors item for sure!

Sorry I cannot be more help.
Jim

 

[Guest]

Jim,

Thanks for the reply and info...

Confiscated 1K of this stuff? Ouch, last I saw it sold for $100 a box. Will have to find my exerts from Stopping Power and see what it say's...

Wouldn't carry the stuff, but collector value has be be increasing.

All the best,

Wes

 

[Josh Smith]

Wes,

I'm moving this to Caliber Discussion sir.

Josh <><

 

[jimhigginbotham]

Wes;
This was back in the 80's and I think it ran about $1 a round but money was probably no object because they confiscated a couple of M2 .50s and a 61mm mortar along with it...these guys were ready to take gang warfare to a new level.

I am sure it really bothered them that that other stuff was illegal

Onward!
Jim

 

[abninftr]

The BAT round was still being produced as late as the late 1990s. I would have to check to see if it is still in production, but I don't think BATFE or Customs is letting it into the USA.

There was a domestically made self-defence version (identical to the BAT round) produced by a small company in Scranton, PA, but my understanding is the firm went "toes up" ten years ago.

 

[Guest]

Gents,

Thanks for your input.

Jim, and we worry about gang bangers with sawed off 10/22's? Sounds like these lads were part survivalist and biker.

The rounds did cost me a buck each back then. Still, I had to have the latest...and then never used them.

If still in production I highly doubt that the Dept of State is allowing them to be imported.

Wes

 

[jimhigginbotham]

Wes;
The story I got was that these guys were preparing for a turf war with a rival gang. You just have to wonder about guys who are apparently willing to set of mortars or even .50 AP within the limits of a major metropolitan area.

Then again it might have been some weird underworld form of Detente. In any case an undercover operation exposed the thing before the top blew. My hat is off to the guys who managed to bring all of these folks in...I don't recall there was any shooting during the arrest.

10-4 on the BAT, I am not sure what the status is but if memory serves (and that has been the start of many a misadventure right there ), they were made of some homogenous allowy like a brass or bronze or some such and that probably does not meet the importation requirements.

Best regards!
Jim

 

[mueller]

I cannot remember where I saw it, but I believe that the (early generations) BAT/GECO round had a problem with longevity and gave erratic performance after a period of time, a fair amount of misfires/hangfires and less than stellar velocity with older lots.

I am going to dig around in my file cabinets/magazine piles/industry circulars and see if I can pin it down

Regards, Mueller

 

[abninftr]

Jim, the BAT round used/s pure copper for the projectile. Well, as pure as they make it, that is.

 

[jimhigginbotham]

Thanks guys, that sounds about right to me. I could not remember the material just that it was homogenous with some sort of plastic plug. I think the plastic had something to do with the inconsistency but I don't really recall the details.
Jim

 

[rusty]

Several years back, Masaad Ayoob commented on their use in South America. I remember thinking that the lethality rate was way out of line with the U.S.'s.

( I suspected at the time that cultural differences had more to do with lethality than ballistics - and that the cops down there had less inclination to stop shooting til felons were really down for good. )

 

[jimhigginbotham]

Rusty;
Yeah, those bullets to the back of the head play hob with the statistical comparisons

Onward,
Jim