![Rubber bullet](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/07/Rubber_bullet.jpg)
Rubber bullets (also called rubber baton rounds) are a type of
baton round
Baton rounds, also known as kinetic impact projectiles (KIPs), are a less lethal alternative to traditional bullets. Baton rounds are designed to impact rather than to penetrate and are typically used for riot control.
Common types of baton round ...
. Despite the name, rubber bullets typically have either a metal core with a rubber coating, or are a homogeneous admixture with rubber being a minority component. Although they are considered a less lethal alternative to metal projectiles, rubber bullets can still cause fatal injuries as well as other
serious injuries such as blindness and permanent disability.
Like other similar projectiles made from
plastic
Plastics are a wide range of synthetic or semi-synthetic materials that use polymers as a main ingredient. Their plasticity makes it possible for plastics to be moulded, extruded or pressed into solid objects of various shapes. This adaptab ...
,
wax
Waxes are a diverse class of organic compounds that are lipophilic, malleable solids near ambient temperatures. They include higher alkanes and lipids, typically with melting points above about 40 °C (104 °F), melting to giv ...
, and
wood
Wood is a porous and fibrous structural tissue found in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulose fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin th ...
, rubber bullets may be used for short range practice and animal control, but are most commonly used in
riot control
Riot control measures are used by law enforcement, military, paramilitary or security forces to control, disperse, and arrest people who are involved in a riot, unlawful demonstration or unlawful protest.
If a riot is spontaneous and irration ...
and to disperse
protest
A protest (also called a demonstration, remonstration or remonstrance) is a public expression of objection, disapproval or dissent towards an idea or action, typically a political one.
Protests can be thought of as acts of coopera ...
s.
Rubber bullets were invented by the British
Ministry of Defence
{{unsourced, date=February 2021
A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...
for
riot control
Riot control measures are used by law enforcement, military, paramilitary or security forces to control, disperse, and arrest people who are involved in a riot, unlawful demonstration or unlawful protest.
If a riot is spontaneous and irration ...
purposes in
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
during
the Troubles
The Troubles ( ga, Na Trioblóidí) were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it is sometimes described as an "i ...
, and were first used there in 1970.
[A Chronology of the Conflict - August 1970]
Conflict Archive on the Internet
CAIN (Conflict Archive on the Internet) is a database containing information about Conflict and Politics in Northern Ireland from 1968 to the present. The project began in 1996, with the website launching in 1997. The project is based within Ul ...
(CAIN).
Rubber projectiles have largely been replaced by other materials, as rubber tends to bounce uncontrollably.
Composition and physical properties
Analysis of the composition of the "rubber" pellets used by
Chilean police
Investigations Police of Chile (, PDI) are the civilian police of Chile. Founded in 1933, it is one of two Chilean police bodies, along with the law enforcement police: Carabineros de Chile. The PDI is the principal law enforcement arm of the Pub ...
shows that 80% of the pellets is made up of hard substances, chiefly
silica
Silicon dioxide, also known as silica, is an oxide of silicon with the chemical formula , most commonly found in nature as quartz and in various living organisms. In many parts of the world, silica is the major constituent of sand. Silica is one ...
and
barium sulfate
Barium sulfate (or sulphate) is the inorganic compound with the chemical formula Ba SO4. It is a white crystalline solid that is odorless and insoluble in water. It occurs as the mineral barite, which is the main commercial source of barium an ...
, while rubber makes up 20%. The measured hardness of the "rubber" pellets is 96.5
shore A
The Shore durometer is a device for measuring the hardness of a material, typically of polymers.
Higher numbers on the scale indicate a greater resistance to indentation and thus harder materials. Lower numbers indicate less resistance and soft ...
.
The hardness of the pellets explain why "exploded eyes" are
so common in the 2019–2020 Chilean protests.
[
]
Uses
Riot control
The British Ministry of Defence
{{unsourced, date=February 2021
A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...
developed rubber rounds—the "Round, Anti-Riot, 1.5in Baton"—in 1970 for riot control
Riot control measures are used by law enforcement, military, paramilitary or security forces to control, disperse, and arrest people who are involved in a riot, unlawful demonstration or unlawful protest.
If a riot is spontaneous and irration ...
purposes in Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
during The Troubles
The Troubles ( ga, Na Trioblóidí) were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it is sometimes described as an "i ...
. A low power propelling charge gave them a muzzle velocity of about and maximum range of about ."The round is generally deployed in low trajectories or skip fired in the general direction (non-target specific) of the intended targets," causing pain but not injury, but is also intended to be direct fired at the discretion of the operator. From 1970 to 1975, about 55,000 rubber bullets were fired by the British Army in Northern Ireland.[ Often they were fired directly at people from close range, which resulted in several people being killed and injured by rubber bullets.][ Humans rights campaigner and co-founder of ]United Campaign Against Plastic Bullets
United Campaign Against Plastic Bullets is an organisation based in Belfast, Northern Ireland that opposes the use of plastic bullets by the British army and the Northern Ireland police.
Following the death of John Downes, killed by a plastic bu ...
Emma Groves
Emma Groves (1920 – 2 April 2007) was a human rights activist, a leading campaigner for banning the use of plastic bullets, and a co-founder of the United Campaign Against Plastic Bullets in Northern Ireland. She began her campaign after she ...
was blinded by a rubber bullet in 1971. In 1975, they were replaced by plastic bullet
A plastic bullet or plastic baton round (PBR) is a non-lethal projectile fired from a specialised gun. Although designed as a non-lethal weapon, they have caused a number of deaths when used incorrectly.
Plastic bullets are generally used for ...
s. In Northern Ireland over 35 years (1970–2005), about 125,000 rubber and plastic bullets were fired—an average of ten per day—causing 17 deaths.
The baton round was made available to British police forces outside Northern Ireland from 2001. In 2013 however, Ministry of Defence
{{unsourced, date=February 2021
A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...
papers declassified from 1977 revealed it was aware rubber bullets were more dangerous than was publicly disclosed. The documents contained legal advice for the MoD
Mod, MOD or mods may refer to:
Places
* Modesto City–County Airport, Stanislaus County, California, US
Arts, entertainment, and media Music
* Mods (band), a Norwegian rock band
* M.O.D. (Method of Destruction), a band from New York City, US ...
to seek a settlement over a child who had been blinded in 1972, rather than go to court which would expose problems with the bullets and make it harder to fight future related cases. The papers stated that further tests would reveal serious problems with the bullets, including that they were tested "in a shorter time than was ideal", that they "could be lethal" and that they "could and did cause serious injuries".
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
i rubber bullets are produced in two main types. The older type, the standard rubber bullet, is a steel sphere coated in a thin layer of rubber, weighing 14 grams, while the newly improved rubber bullet, introduced in 1989, is a rubber-coated metal cylinder 1.7 cm in diameter, weighing 15.4grams. Of the lethal injuries from this projectile, most are suffered to the head.[
Smaller rubber bullets are used in ]riot shotgun
A riot shotgun is a shotgun designed or modified for use as a primarily defensive weapon, by the use of a short barrel and sometimes a larger magazine capacity than shotguns marketed for hunting. The riot shotgun is used by military personnel f ...
s and are available in a variety of types. One company, for example, makes both rubber buckshot rounds, containing 15 8.3mm diameter rubber balls per cartridge, and rubber baton rounds, containing a single 4.75-gram projectile.
Self-defense
In some countries, less-lethal guns that fire rubber projectiles may be used by civilians for self-defense.
* – The civil population and private security guards are allowed to carry less-lethal gas pistols with the ability to fire rubber bullets.
* – Rubber bullet guns are one of the few firearms that can be owned in the country by private individuals.
* – Since 1999, the civil population, private security
A private security company (PSC) is a business entity which provides armed or unarmed security services and expertise to clients in the private or public sectors.
Overview
Private security companies are defined by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Stat ...
officers, and law control forces in Russia are permitted to use less-lethal weapons. A variety of handguns ( Osa, Makarych
The "Makarych" (russian: "Макарыч") is a family of Russian non-lethal gas pistols with the ability to fire ammunition with rubber bullets.
It was developed jointly by the ZAO TSSZ "Kolchuga" and FGUP Izhevsk Mechanical Plant and is b ...
, Horhe
The Horhe (russian: Хорхе) is a family of Russian non-lethal pistols, based on Ukrainian Fort 12 and Fort 17 pistols, Horhe are produced since 2006 by joint-stock company Klimovsk Specialized Ammunition Plant.
Design details
The main par ...
, etc.) are carried with specially weakened construction and barrel with internal lugs, making use of full-power loads and/or firing hard projectiles impossible, while rubber bullets just compress when passing the lug and so may be fired. Most common calibers are 9 mm and 10 mm with muzzle velocity sometimes almost matching normal handguns and bullets as light as 0.7 g.
* – Security guards may use less-lethal gas pistols with the ability to fire ammunition with rubber bullets.
Recreation
Rubber bullets, powered only by primer
Primer may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Films
* ''Primer'' (film), a 2004 feature film written and directed by Shane Carruth
* ''Primer'' (video), a documentary about the funk band Living Colour
Literature
* Primer (textbook), a t ...
, are usually used for short-range indoor target practice or training, generally with handgun
A handgun is a short- barrelled gun, typically a firearm, that is designed to be usable with only one hand. It is distinguished from a long gun (i.e. rifle, shotgun or machine gun, etc.), which needs to be held by both hands and also braced ...
s. They are intended only for target shooting, unlike paintball
Paintball is a competitive team shooting sport in which players eliminate opponents from play by hitting them with spherical dye-filled gelatin capsules called paintballs that break upon impact. Paintballs are usually shot using low-energy a ...
s or airsoft
Airsoft is a team game in which participants eliminate opposing players by tag (game), tagging them out of play with airsoft pellets, spherical plastic projectiles shot with mock air gun, air weapons(usually powered by an electronic motor) call ...
pellets, which are intended for use on suitably protected live targets. Rubber bullets, if used with a suitable backstop, can be recovered undamaged after firing, and reused many times.
See also
* Bean bag round
A bean bag round, also known by its trademarked name flexible baton round, is a type of baton round, fired from a shotgun, and used for less lethal apprehension of suspects.
Description
The bean bag round consists of a small fabric "pillow" fi ...
* Plastic bullet
A plastic bullet or plastic baton round (PBR) is a non-lethal projectile fired from a specialised gun. Although designed as a non-lethal weapon, they have caused a number of deaths when used incorrectly.
Plastic bullets are generally used for ...
* Ring airfoil projectile
The M234 Riot Control Launcher is an M16 series rifle or M4 series carbine attachment firing a M755 Grenade round. The M234 mounts on the muzzle, bayonet lug and front sight post of the M16. It fires either the M734 64 mm Kinetic Riot Cont ...
* Sponge grenade
A sponge grenade is a riot control weapon, intended to be non-lethal, which is fired from a 40 mm grenade launcher to cause confusion, or otherwise temporarily disable its target. As a single blunt force object, it is best used when aimed a ...
* Wax bullet
A wax bullet is a non-lethal projectile made of wax material — often paraffin wax or some mixture of waxes and other substances that produce the desired consistency — that mimics the external ballistics but not the terminal effects of real bu ...
* Wooden bullet
Wooden bullets are wooden projectiles designed to be fired from a gun. They are intended to be used as less lethal weapons for crowd control by enforcing pain compliance at a distance. They have been known to raise large welts or bruises on thei ...
References
{{reflist
Bullets
Non-lethal projectiles
Riot control weapons
British inventions
Rubber products
Paramilitary cartridges