rubber bullet

Israelies shoot them at unarmed Palestinians, American cops shoot them at political protesters, British soldiers shot them at the Northern Irish citizens. So, what's the deal with rubber bullets anyway?

The non-metal bullets first appeared around 1880 when Singapore police fired saw off broom handles at rioters. British colonists in the area brought the idea home where the crude wood was replaced by rubber so as not to penetrate the skin.

There are roughly 75 types of rubber bullets. Ideally they should be fired at the lower half of the body to avoid permanent injury to hippies.

In general, they are used to disperse large crowds.

Also called less than lethal ammunition. These stingers can be launched from a specially made weapon or an ordinary firearm modified to shoot these extremely light projectiles. Think airsoft on steroids. Was most recently used in various globalization protests all over the world. In the current on going war on terrorism, these bullets will not see any action.

Aim for center of mass as the light projectile but high velocity has enough energy to actually kill a person if hit in a vital area such in the head area.

There also are very light .357" rubber or plastic bullets available which can be handloaded onto .38 special cartridges and fired from normal .38 special or .357 mag revolvers. Only the primer's explosion is used to propel these projectiles and no additional powder need be used, also called primer powered. Good for stunning or killing rats or as practice ammo.