Rubber bullets (also called rubber baton rounds) are a type 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 or other permanent disabilities. Like other similar projectiles made from

plastic Plastics are a wide range of synthetic polymers, synthetic or Semisynthesis, semisynthetic materials composed primarily of Polymer, polymers. Their defining characteristic, Plasticity (physics), plasticity, allows them to be Injection moulding ...

, wax, and

wood Wood is a structural tissue/material found as xylem in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulosic fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin t ...

, rubber bullets may be used for short range practice and animal control, but are most commonly used in

riot control Riot control is a form of public order policing used by law enforcement, military, paramilitary or security forces to social control, control, disperse, and arrest people who are involved in a riot, unlawful Demonstration (people), demonstration ...

and to disperse

protest A protest (also called a demonstration, remonstration, or remonstrance) is a public act of objection, disapproval or dissent against political advantage. Protests can be thought of as acts of cooperation in which numerous people cooperate ...

s. Rubber bullets were invented by the British

Ministry of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...

for

purposes in

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

during

the Troubles The Troubles () were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted for about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it began in the late 1960s and is usually deemed t ...

, and were first used there in 1970.A Chronology of the Conflict - August 1970
Conflict Archive on the Internet (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 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 , commonly found in nature as quartz. In many parts of the world, silica is the major constituent of sand. Silica is one of the most complex and abundant f ...

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 in nature as the mineral barite, which is the main commercial source of ...

, while rubber makes up 20%. The measured hardness of the "rubber" pellets is 96.5 shore A. The hardness of the pellets explain why "exploded eyes" were so common in the 2019–2020 Chilean protests.

Uses

Riot control

The British

developed rubber rounds—the "Round, Anti-Riot, 1.5in Baton"—in 1970 for

purposes in

during

The Troubles The Troubles () were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted for about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it began in the late 1960s and is usually deemed t ...

. 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. The bullets were intended to be fired at the legs of rioters or the ground in front of rioters where it would bounce, losing some of its velocity, and then hit the intended target. However, rubber bullets were often fired by security forces directly at people from close range, resulting in a number of individuals being killed or wounded. Humans rights campaigner and co-founder of United Campaign Against Plastic Bullets Emma Groves was blinded by a rubber bullet in 1971. In 1975, they were replaced by

plastic bullet Plastic bullet can refer to: * Plastic baton round: a large, blunt, low-velocity projectile fired from a specialized gun, intended as a less-lethal weapon for riot control and an alternative to rubber bullets. * Plastic bullet: a conventionall ...

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,

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 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, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

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 shotguns and are available in a variety of types. One company, for example, makes both rubber buckshot rounds, containing fifteen 8.3mm diameter rubber balls per cartridge, and rubber baton rounds, containing a single 4.75 gram projectile. Israeli security forces used less-lethal weapons including rubber bullets in an operation on 28 February 2011 to demolish illegal structures in the

West Bank The West Bank is located on the western bank of the Jordan River and is the larger of the two Palestinian territories (the other being the Gaza Strip) that make up the State of Palestine. A landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...

settlement of Havat Gilad.

Self-defence

In some countries, less-lethal guns that fire rubber projectiles may be used by civilians for self-defence. * – Private security guards are allowed to carry less-lethal gas pistols with the ability to fire rubber bullets for the purpose of self defence. * – Rubber bullet guns can be owned in the country by private individuals ''for the purpose of self-defence.'' * – Since 1999, the civil population,

private security A private security company 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 Statistic ...

officers, and law control forces in Russia are permitted to use less-lethal weapons. A variety of handguns ( Osa, Makarych, Horhe, 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 calibres 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, are usually used for short-range indoor target practice or training, generally with

handgun A handgun is a firearm designed to be usable with only one hand. It is distinguished from a long gun, long barreled gun (i.e., carbine, rifle, shotgun, submachine gun, or machine gun) which typically is intended to be held by both hands and br ...

s. They are intended only for target shooting, unlike

paintball Paintball is a competitive sport, competitive team sport, team shooting sport in which players eliminate opponents from play by hitting them with spherical dye-filled gelatin capsules called Paintball equipment#Paintballs, paintballs that b ...

s or

airsoft Airsoft, also known as survival game () in Japan where it was popular, is a team sport, team-based shooting sport, shooting game in which participants eliminate opposing players out of play by shooting them with airsoft pellets, spherical plast ...

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.

References