Washington Man Makes Vest-Piercing Bullets

A man who has spent the past seven years selling ammunition designed to penetrate a bullet-resistant vest and blow a huge hole in the person wearing it has found himself caught up in a national controversy over the so-called “Black Rhino” bullet.

The public uproar over an Alabama man’s plan to manufacture a devastating new armor-piercing bullet that fragments into hundreds of pieces on impact could lead the bullet-maker in Olympia, Wash., to stop manufacturing his own version of the highpowered ammunition.

But Joe Zambone insisted Monday that he cannot understand why everybody is so upset about Huntsville, Ala., resident David Keen’s intentions. A week ago Keen announced that he planned to start producing the high-velocity bullets, which some police officers say will jeopardize their lives.

Keen isn’t trying to do anything that Zambone hasn’t already been doing for years, Zambone said.

Zambone, 54, said he has been selling his equally powerful “MagSafe Agent” bullet since 1987.

He said he has been able to produce his bullets in relative peace because he has kept his mouth shut about what he does - until now. Keen, meanwhile, was pressured last week into delaying production of his bullets because of law enforcement fears that “Black Rhino” rounds would fall into the hands of criminals.

“I don’t go around thumping a drum about it,” Zambone said.

Zambone said he sells his unusually highpowered bullets only to law enforcement officers and a handful of others who have legitimate reasons to have them.

He broke his silence Monday after a reserve police officer publicly complained about sales of the “MagSafe Agent.”

“It is designed to perform exactly as the ‘Black Rhino,’ ” said Shawn Dodson.

Dodson, in addition to being a reserve police officer, is a consultant with the International Wound Ballistics Association, which tests the firepower of bullets and advises surgeons on how to deal with the damage they cause.

Dodson, a Lockheed engineer living in Bremerton, Wash., said he is concerned about the “MagSafe Agent” because it has become available to the general public.

“I’ve seen them at gun shops and at gun shows,” he said. “I have gotten real (angry) at seeing them at the gun shows.”

Dodson said he believes somebody needs to evaluate the bullets, which are legal, and determine whether their sale needs to be regulated.

Ken Jakobsen, president of the Seattle Police Officers Guild, said he is not convinced regulations will protect officers from being confronted by someone using ammunition such as the “Black Rhino” or the “MagSafe Agent.”

“Speaking as a realist, if they make it, you can buy it,” Jakobsen said. “No matter how many safeguards they put out, it will probably be accessible some way.”

Zambone, whose tiny, family-run company sells only about 100,000 rounds of ammunition a year, said he already is careful to make certain the high-velocity bullets, which make up about 10 percent of his business, don’t fall into the wrong hands.

They were designed specifically for use by undercover narcotics agents in New York City, he said.

“There are bad guys on the streets who are wearing bullet-proof vests, and every so often the undercover police were coming up against those guys. The undercover officers can’t be out there carrying howitzers, so I tried to design a bullet that would stop anyone they came up against,” Zambone said.

“This stuff works. And one of the good things about them is that they don’t ricochet or shoot through people, endangering bystanders.”

Zambone said he has never publicly advertised the handmade bullets, which sell for about $3 a round.