A warning before you read any further: some of you will laugh out loud when you read this. Others won't. Before you begin to write me an irate note damming me for being tasteless, crass and unfeeling and my deeply offending you, I understand, and assure you that's not my intent. And I warned you..it's a story about a product that's certainly not for everyone. OK, here we go..... Occasionally, something seems so far outside acceptable social boundaries that you swear you'll never mention it. This was one of those ideas. And it is decidedly "out there" on the furthest edge of taste. Some will consider it well beyond that boundary. It's not as poorly considered as internet hunting. That idea boiled the outdoor world's blood before disappearing. But when I saw this one, my first reaction was "we think liquor makes us witty, too." Terrific-sounding ideas conceived over adult beverages don't always survive the light of day. The creators of this one admit it arrived late one night in 2010- over adult beverages. It will provoke immediate reactions from each of us. Because it reaches to core of a problem all civilized people struggle with: dealing with radical terrorism. Terrorists don't show -or expect- mercy. That puts most of us at a disadvantage. Rational people are reluctant to either reply in kind or escalate our responses to the point we're consider too-dangerous to attack. The inventors of this product have removed those filters. They're using humor, but make no mistake about it, the thin-veneer of civility is completely OFF with this idea.

Jihawg Ammo -"there's pig in the paint" and "Put some Ham in MoHAMmed" are only two of their in-your-face phrases. Jim Shepherd/OWDN photo.

The new product? Jihawg Ammo. Billed as "Freedom's First Choice in Defensive Ammunition". This ammunition is tipped with an ingredient that's not a super-secret polymer or the key to a radical expansion capability. They're tipped with a patent pending "Porcine Coating." The pink paint on the tip of every round is infused with pork. No, I'm not kidding. The boxes state it clearly" There's PIG in the paint." A cartoon character (Hamuel Adams) on their website (www.jihawg.com) tells readers Jihawg ammo provides two layers of deterrent against terrorists: the "pig in the paint" making it "unclean" for Jihadists and the fact "it's still ammo, made in the U.S.A, specifically equipped for your protection against hate". Call it comedic/marketing genius or a complete absence of taste, Jihawg may be both. But it's resonating with some. Rather than "pulling a Rushdie" and getting the inventor on a death list, I won't use his name, but I talked with him a long time about the idea.

The secret of Jihawg Ammo: pork-based pink paint. Think kryptonite for Superman, garlic for Dracula, or "Dear God, are they serious?" Jim Shepherd/OWDN photo.

He had no problem admitting some people were seriously offended at the idea. But, he said, "people are buying lots of ammo." "And I'm not apologizing for the idea," he continued, "some are uncomfortable talking about radical Islam, but not everyone is so worried about being 'politically correct' as to lose any edge against a terrorist threat." "Some of us," he said, "don't want to forget 9/11 or try to fool ourselves into thinking that we can play nice with Islamic terrorists. They don't make any secret of their goal- eliminating us." And that's as far into social commentary as I'm going. Here is very basic question I wanted him to answer: before I plunk down about $25 bucks (plus shipping) for a box of handgun ammo, does it work? He sent me some samples. After shooting some photos, I took the Jihad ammo to the range (in a plain brown box). I fired a 12-round magazine of 115 gr FMJ 9mm through a compact pistol and 20 rounds of 147gr-FMJ .308 Winchester through a DRD Tactical takedown rifle- my only .308. Both performed with no problems- including leaving residue from the "porcine coating". Like any decent ammunition, it shot as well as I am capable of shooting it. All rounds went on target, and groupings were respectable. I'm an average shooter. But they would have hit their targets in the vitals. So Hamuel Adams isn't lying on the website, "it's still ammo, made in the U.S.A." As far as I can tell, Jihawg is available only on website. The Jihawg samples I fired are priced at $24.95 for a box of 50 9mm and $23.95 for a box of 20 .308 Win. That's more expensive than some remanufactured ammo, but there isn't any other ammo -including all the "Zombie" products some of you also hated - with their "special ingredient".