Hornady is now selling their light-for-caliber, underpenetrating FTX bullet with a green, rather than red, rubber tip as the "Z-Max" anti-zombie load.
This is the single dumbest PR move from an ammo company since Winchester decided to name their new hollowpoints "Black Talon" instead of the "Blossoming Petal Home Protection Bullet". Seriously, how long would Glasers have been on the market if they'd been dubbed the "Explode In Your Guts For Messy Flesh Wounds Bullet" rather than the tranquil-sounding "Safety Slug"?
At least some hypothetical future workplace shooter can get a slam-dunk insanity plea by using this stuff and then claiming he thought his coworkers were trying to devour his brains.
Zombies CAN'T go away! I got no place left to go!
ReplyDeleteI'm still trying to figure out how, exactly, this is supposed to be specifically anti-zombie. Have they decided that low-penetration means it acts like a .22 and punctures the skull on the way in but not on the way out?
ReplyDeleteI just figured they were cashing in on Halloween + zombie craze in order to get a bit more cash.
Hmm. That should be a time-limited label (October only) for a low vel, soft recoil round with a flat nose -- making it ideal for intro'ing new shooters to the sport, and for shooting the zombie-themed pistol matches which should be everywhere for the next few weeks.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely a Halloween marketing scheme. Thirty years from now these boxes of ammo will be as high priced of a collectors item as 'Redline' Hot Wheels cars are now. For the same reason too; middle-aged men with plenty of money to spend on their hobby.
ReplyDeleteWV: undernes - the intern for the undertaker
I called Zombie Shark-jumping two days ago, when Cabelas put up their Center for Zombie Awareness.
ReplyDeleteI bet they laugh all the way to the bank.
ReplyDeleteDarrell,
ReplyDeleteOh, they'll sell every box they make. So did Winchester.
I think it's hilarious. C'mon Tam, seems like I've seen you "waste" your time on zombie humor, why is Hornady not allowed?
ReplyDeleteWould you prefer that they spend all of their marketing dollars on promoting another new 300 super ultra short belted magnum with teriyaki seasoning in the deer-seeking polymer flex tipped non-toxic bullet?
As for me, I WANT ammo companies to acknowledge the self-defense market, and to remember that shooting guns is FUN. Keep kicking them, Tam. They'll lose their sense of humor and go back to milking the Fudds.
Tasso,
ReplyDeleteDude, I didn't say whether I liked it or not, or whether I thought it was funny or not. You aren't so very hot at mind-reading, though, I'll tell you that. ;)
Personally, I thought "Black Talon" was a frickin' cool name for a bullet, too.
No, I can't read your mind -- but I can read you post. Was I supposed to infer from your opinion that it "the single dumbest PR move from an ammo company" since Black Talon, that you liked it? If you do like it, then why is it a dumb marketing move?
ReplyDeleteQuite obviously, "Black Talon" was a BRILLIANT marketing move -- we still remember it. Either we disagree on the meaning of "dumb" or we disagree on the meaning of "marketing".
I'm waiting for the first court case involving these.
ReplyDeleteTasso,
ReplyDeleteLots of things I think are cool are not necessarily sound business ideas.
"Quite obviously, "Black Talon" was a BRILLIANT marketing move -- we still remember it."
We still remember the Edsel, too. Quite obviously, Black Talon was not a good idea; good ideas don't get yanked quickly from the market.
@ Erin,
ReplyDeleteIf this were a Halloween gimmick, I would have thought they would color the tips pumpkin orange. Maybe with an Ichabod Crane type smile.
@ Tam,
We remember the Edsel, not because of the marketing, but because of the fun poked at the car in "Peggy Sue Got Married . ." and other jokes.
@ Tasso,
I think it would be plain responsible that anyone with a "no guns in my place" policy be required to post a warning: "Notice: You are entering a Disarmed Victim Zone. Mass shooting occur in Disarmed Victim Zones. You are required to assure that all future mass shooting victims are, in fact, disarmed."
But I don't think it would anyone's business.
@ Erin, again,
Come to think of it, orange with black stripes would make sense. Call the round a Hornady "Hornet". After Halloween, change the orange stripes to yellow.
Tam,
ReplyDeleteBlack Talon's were pulled from public marketing due to a lot of publicity surrounding a mass shooting event, and this was during Clinton, and the gun industry was running scared.
Great marketing, bad luck.
Tasso,
ReplyDelete"Black Talon's were pulled from public marketing due to a lot of publicity surrounding a mass shooting event..."
Exactly.
And I can't name another brand of JHPs used by a spree shooter or pulled from the market because they were used by one...
Write me up for a case each of .308 win, 7.62X39 and .40 Smith. And let me in on 20 Ga Buckshot loads too if they have 'em.
ReplyDeleteAs for underweight and under performing I might give you that in every caliber except 45-70 where they load to much higher pressures than any other manufacturer. The 45-70 325gr FTX is a pretty potent cartridge.
I got an email from Brownell's on Wednesday advertising their "Center for Zombie Awareness".
ReplyDeleteTwo years ago, I'd have been amused. Now, I'm thinking they're so late to the party, even tactical bacon on a titanium plate won't make it any more palatable...
If these ever show up in Alaska I'll be buying a few boxes just because.
ReplyDeleteOh, come on. The co-marketing with the bleeding zombie targets will be huge. I'd already buy a stack of zombie targets if they weren't on the rather spendy side for a gimmicky target that would just get shredded by LEOs practicing with slugs (as happens to every target, stand, and anything generally down range).
ReplyDeleteOn the practical app side, if zombies did exist, I would certianly opt for loadings with bullets on the HEAVY end of each calibre instead of the light end. It seems to me that you would want to have a bullet that you were SURE would penetrate a zombie skull and still have the truck to take care of business once it's in there. The heavier bullets also tend to work with supressors better and if noise attracted them, that would be a good thing. IF you had or could find a suppressor that is.
ReplyDeleteGranted, I'm not a ballistic genius or anything. I'm more of a gun nerd, but that's my thoughts on ammo selection for zombies. I wonder what thought went into bullet selection by Horandy when they designed the Zombie ammo (if any).
s
@Brad: Wouldn't the stripes make the bullets go *faster*? ;)
ReplyDelete