NEW MAGIC BULLET? AMMO TO FIGHT TERROR TESTED.

Byline: Gregory J. Wilcox Staff Writer

LEONA VALLEY - In the barrage of new security questions raised by the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11 one of the most perplexing is how to make the skies safe to fly.

Ken Elliott thinks he has an answer. As airlines and the federal government prepare for the probability of armed air marshals protecting commercial aircraft, Elliott's North Hollywood company is testing a bullet that brings down the bad guys, but not the planes.

``What was originally designed to aid duck hunters may now become one of the newest weapons in the worldwide fight against terrorism,'' boasted Elliott, president of the Bismuth Cartridge Co. ``We feel this is the ideal ammunition for use in high-risk environments.''

Made from bismuth, the bullets have the same stopping power and ballistic characteristics as lead, but disintegrate into the consistency of fine talcum powder when they hit a solid surface of some substance, like an airplane fuselage, concrete floor or metal target.

And because bismuth is nontoxic, the residue won't poison the environment, either.

Combine those qualities with the ammunition's frangibility and Elliott said it is well-suited for close-quarters combat, like what could occur on a hijacked aircraft; shooting ranges or law enforcement and military training.

That latter could be especially lucrative, because cops, soldiers and special agents fire tens of millions of training rounds a year. A box of 50 bismuth rounds retails for about $29 and the ammunition is available in a variety of calibers.

The ammunition might also be suitable for guards at nuclear, biological or chemical plants, Elliott said.

In a preliminary aircraft test at a Leona Valley ranch, Elliott fired about a dozen bismuth rounds at a section of fuselage he picked up at a Mojave salvage yard.

``It went pretty good. We shot them the way they should be shot in an aircraft. I was pleased with the result,'' he said.

The bullets dimpled the fuselage's aluminum skin, but didn't break it. The windows also stayed intact, he said.

Additional testing is planned and the company will try to refine the bullet to see whether it can be made to break apart even faster, before the company goes to the Federal Aviation Administration, which runs the air marshal program.

Agency officials are understandably reticent to discuss the program in detail, declining to say how big the force is, what flights are patrolled or discuss tactics and weapons.

It is open to new ideas, though, and the FAA would be willing to take a look at what Bismuth has developed, said spokesman Jerry Snyder.

``There are a number of issues and remedies that the civilian population has to offer the government. This is another that may work out and certainly (Bismuth) can follow the protocols for that,'' Snyder said.

Bismuth-based ammunition was developed in the early 1990s as an alternative to steel pellets after the federal government banned environmentally unfriendly lead shot for hunting water fowl.

Shortly thereafter, publishing magnate Robert E. Peterson, an avid big- game hunter, acquired the patents for making the shotgun shells and Bismuth started working on the pistol bullets about 18 months ago. A rifle bullet is also planned.

Its attractiveness for shooting applications first surfaced in a rather unusual place; the periodic table of the elements, where bismuth resides next to lead. This means both materials have similar weights, although they behave quite differently.

Lead bullets splatter and can ricochet, sometimes spraying shooters with what is known as back splash, which can cause injuries.

``One of the problems that we had is ... that bismuth is crystalline, it wants to come apart,'' Elliott said.

The company's patented process solved this problem, though, and the bismuth bullet performs almost identically to lead in terms of accuracy and recoil.

For example, a bismuth bullet fired into a human body stays intact and retains the distinct markings that can be used in a ballistics investigation.

The material is also expensive, about $4 a pound versus 50 cents a pound for lead.

Other kinds of frangible ammunition are on the market, but bismuth rounds are getting high marks for their accuracy, which could open up the lucrative law enforcement market and military markets.

The Immigration and Naturalization Service, which orders ammunition in lots of a million rounds, is in the midst of testing Bismuth's .40-caliber bullet at a facility in Pennsylvania and is pleased with the results.

A test to measure the frangibility is being developed but the agency is impressed enough with the ammunition's accuracy that it's been recommended for training purposes, said the official in charge of the evaluation.

The accuracy was tested by alternating a bismuth round with an INS duty round in a clip and shooting at targets 25 yards away with a weapon cradled in a rest.

``The thing that really amazed me was the point of aim and the point of impact,'' said the INS official, who asked that his name not be used. ``The pattern was just the same. We've tested a lot of frangible ammunition before and it was never this close. The accuracy was never there.''

CAPTION(S):

2 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) Ken Elliot, president of Bismuth Cartridge Co. of North Hollywood displays a bullet suited for close-quarters combat.

(2) This tiny piece of copper is all that is left of a bullet after it has imploded against a steel backstop behind this paper target.

John McCoy/Staff Photographer