NBC Used One Word to Describe Iconic Target Company's Product. Now, the Outlet Is Getting Sued

It may explode, but its maker is adamant about one thing: It isn't a bomb.

Tannerite Sports has filed a libel suit against NBC and WLEX-TV after the news outlets ran a segment claiming Tannerite rifle targets were "bombs."

The lawsuit alleges NBC made a slew of defamatory claims in a March 23 "Today Show" report, including:

• On March 23, 2015, Defendant NBCU released a defamatory “report” that falsely claimed that Plaintiff’s rifle targets are “bombs for sale.”
• In a related video, Defendant NBCU’s investigative reporter falsely asserted that “I am basically holding a bomb in my hand.”
• NBCU’s report contains one or more written false statements that were intended to impugn Plaintiff’s rifle targets and Plaintiff’s reputation in the hunting industry.
• On March 24, 2015, Defendant WLEX published an Internet article that falsely

  asserted that Plaintiff's rifle targets are "ready made bombs [that] are being sold in sporting goods stores . . . ."

The lawsuit goes on to assert that "[Tannerite] rifle targets are not bombs" and that the media outlets "had no evidence" to support their public, malicious claims.

Watch the segment in question below:

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Of course, Tannerite can certainly be used to wreak massive destruction: Last year, TheBlaze covered a viral video of a man blowing up his barn with 164 pounds of Tannerite, and the Today report cited the story of a woman who claimed she was injured when a friend fired on Tannerite targets inside a refrigerator, exploding the appliance and sending shrapnel flying.

But Bearing Arms broke down the composition of Tannerite, noting that its Oregonian inventor Daniel Tanner had "perfected and patented a non-flammable, non-incendiary, extremely stable binary explosive target mixture that leaves nothing behind but a cloud of water vapor and the sound of a concussive blast."

Bearing Arms continued:

Tannerite cannot be set off with a lit fuse, open flame, or electricity. It cannot be set off by dropping it or striking it. It will not go off if shot with a .22LR rifle, or any common handgun caliber.

Tannerite will go off only if struck by a high velocity rifle bullet moving in excess of 2,000 feet-per-second (FPS). It is not remotely a “bomb” as Jeff Rossen and NBC News claimed, and is perfectly safe and easy to use.

The "Today" report appealed to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives for increased regulation on Tannerite, but when the show's reporters reached out to the company that makes the product, they got the following response: "Only girly-men want to regulate Tannerite Rifle Targets."

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