A wax bullet is a

non-lethal Non-lethal weapons, also called nonlethal weapons, less-lethal weapons, less-than-lethal weapons, non-deadly weapons, compliance weapons, or pain-inducing weapons are weapons intended to be less likely to kill a living target than convention ...

projectile A projectile is an object that is propelled by the application of an external force and then moves freely under the influence of gravity and air resistance. Although any objects in motion through space are projectiles, they are commonly found ...

made of

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 give lo ...

material — often

paraffin wax Paraffin wax (or petroleum wax) is a soft colorless solid derived from petroleum, coal, or oil shale that consists of a mixture of hydrocarbon molecules containing between 20 and 40 carbon atoms. It is solid at room temperature and melting poi ...

or some mixture of waxes and other substances that produce the desired consistency — that mimics the

external ballistics External ballistics or exterior ballistics is the part of ballistics that deals with the behavior of a projectile in flight. The projectile may be powered or un-powered, guided or unguided, spin or fin stabilized, flying through an atmosphere or ...

but not the terminal effects of real

bullet A bullet is a kinetic projectile, a component of firearm ammunition that is shot from a gun barrel. They are made of a variety of materials, such as copper, lead, steel, polymer, rubber and even wax; and are made in various shapes and constru ...

s. Due to the low weight and density, wax bullets are typically used in a primed

centerfire Two rounds of .357 Magnum, a centerfire cartridge; notice the circular primer in the center A center-fire (or centerfire) is a type of metallic cartridge used in firearms, where the primer is located at the center of the base of its casing (i. ...

cartridge with little to no

propellant A propellant (or propellent) is a mass that is expelled or expanded in such a way as to create a thrust or another motive force in accordance with Newton's third law of motion, and "propel" a vehicle, projectile, or fluid payload. In vehicle ...

powder A powder is a dry solid composed of many very fine particles that may flow freely when shaken or tilted. Powders are a special sub-class of granular materials, although the terms ''powder'' and ''granular'' are sometimes used to distinguish se ...

s, as often the primer ignition alone can provide all the necessary energy needed to propel the wax bullet out. Due to the lack of propellants, wax bullet cartridges do not provide enough

recoil Recoil (often called knockback, kickback or simply kick) is the rearward thrust generated when a gun is being discharged. In technical terms, the recoil is a result of conservation of momentum, for according to Newton's third law the force requ ...

/ blowback energy to cycle

self-loading firearm A self-loading firearm is a repeating firearm that can use some of the excess energy released from propellant combustion to cycle its action and facilitate loading of subsequent rounds of ammunition into the chamber, without needing the user to do ...

s, so they are most commonly used in

revolver A revolver is a repeating handgun with at least one barrel and a revolving cylinder containing multiple chambers (each holding a single cartridge) for firing. Because most revolver models hold six cartridges before needing to be reloaded, ...

s and other manually cycled firearms. Specially designed cartridges and conversion kits can be used together to convert semi-/fully automatic firearms into wax bullet guns, used in tactical training for police and military. Wax bullets have been in use for over a century in military training,

target shooting Shooting sports is a group of competitive and recreational sporting activities involving proficiency tests of accuracy, precision and speed in shooting — the art of using ranged weapons, mainly small arms (firearms and airguns, in forms such ...

and confrontational shooting competitions where using real metallic bullets would be needlessly hazardous and impractical. In the past, wax bullets were also used by

illusionist Magic, which encompasses the subgenres of close-up magic, parlor magic, and stage magic, among others, is a performing art in which audiences are entertained by tricks, effects, or illusions of seemingly impossible feats, using natural me ...

s for illusions involving firearms, such as the

bullet catch The bullet catch is a stage magic illusion in which a magician appears to catch a bullet fired directly at them ⁠— often in the mouth, sometimes in the hand or sometimes caught with other items such as a dinner plate. The bullet catch m ...

. This practice goes back at least as far as Jean Eugène Robert-Houdin, who used hollow wax bullets colored to resemble

lead Lead () is a chemical element; it has Chemical symbol, symbol Pb (from Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a Heavy metal (elements), heavy metal that is density, denser than most common materials. Lead is Mohs scale, soft and Ductility, malleabl ...

balls. When placed on a charge of gunpowder, the wax bullet would disintegrate upon firing.

Construction

Wax bullets can be easily constructed by using a cartridge case to punch a cylinder out of a sheet of paraffin wax, and then priming the cartridge using normal

handloading Handloading, or reloading, is the practice of making firearm cartridges by manually assembling the individual components ( metallic/ polymer case, primer, propellant and projectile), rather than purchasing mass-assembled, factory-loaded com ...

equipment. The optional addition of

beeswax Bee hive wax complex Beeswax (also known as cera alba) is a natural wax produced by honey bees of the genus ''Apis''. The wax is formed into scales by eight wax-producing glands in the abdominal segments of worker bees, which discard it in o ...

and/or grease will produce a softer, more flexible bullet than pure paraffin. Higher velocities may be obtained using special cartridges drilled out to accept

shotgun A shotgun (also known as a scattergun, peppergun, or historically as a fowling piece) is a long gun, long-barreled firearm designed to shoot a straight-walled cartridge (firearms), cartridge known as a shotshell, which discharges numerous small ...

primers, which provide higher velocities, and some fast draw competitions allow the use of a small amount of

black powder Gunpowder, also commonly known as black powder to distinguish it from modern smokeless powder, is the earliest known chemical explosive. It consists of a mixture of sulfur, charcoal (which is mostly carbon), and potassium nitrate, potassium ni ...

black powder substitute A black powder substitute is a replacement for black powder (gunpowder), primarily used in muzzleloading firearms. Substitutes may have slightly different properties from gunpowder such as: reduced sensitivity as an explosive, increased efficien ...

to provide higher velocities for certain events. Commercially produced wax bullets are also available, and may be required for competitions. These pre-formed bullets are simply pressed into the case mouth.

Usage

Shooting sport

Fast draw Fast draw, also known as quick draw, is the ability to quickly draw a handgun and accurately fire it upon a target in the process. This skill was made popular by romanticized depictions of gunslingers in the Western genre, which in turn were in ...

and trick shooters often use wax bullets for safety reasons, so that if they accidentally shoot themselves in the foot or leg when drawing from their

holster A handgun holster is a device used to hold or restrict the undesired movement of a handgun, most commonly in a location where it can be easily withdrawn for immediate use. Holsters are often attached to a belt or waistband, but they may be atta ...

s, they are not seriously injured. The World Fast Draw Association uses wax bullets in many of their competitions, along with special "balloon popping" blanks that fire coarsely ground

gunpowder Gunpowder, also commonly known as black powder to distinguish it from modern smokeless powder, is the earliest known chemical explosive. It consists of a mixture of sulfur, charcoal (which is mostly carbon), and potassium nitrate, potassium ni ...

. Bullets used in WFDA and other similar competitions must be commercially manufactured, and there are a number of manufacturers who produce wax bullets for this purpose. During the early 20th century, there was some interest in mock pistol dueling using wax bullets. The sport first gained popularity in France where in 1901 Dr Paul Devillers, who was also a keen ‘duellist’, designed a new innovative wax bullet for duelling practice. Heavy canvas clothing was worn to protect the body, a metal helmet with a thick glass plate protected the head and face and the pistols were often equipped with guards on the front of the trigger guard that extended outwards to protect the shooter's hand. For a brief time it was popular. It was featured as an associate (non-medal) event during the

1908 Summer Olympics The 1908 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the IV Olympiad and also known as London 1908) were an international multi-sport event held in London, England, from 27 April to 31 October 1908. The 1908 Games were originally schedu ...

in London.

Target practice

There are a number of other low velocity, low mass projectiles available to shooters.

Rubber Rubber, also called India rubber, latex, Amazonian rubber, ''caucho'', or ''caoutchouc'', as initially produced, consists of polymers of the organic compound isoprene, with minor impurities of other organic compounds. Types of polyisoprene ...

or plastic bullets designed for short range target shooting with primed cases can also be purchased; these are generally reusable if a proper

bullet trap A bullet trap (or pellet (air gun), pellet trap when used specifically for air guns) is a device to stop and collect projectiles fired at a shooting range to prevent overpenetrations and stray bullet, stray shots. Bullet traps typically use frict ...

is used, but are prone to ricochet. With wax bullets, a simple sheet of

plywood Plywood is a composite material manufactured from thin layers, or "plies", of wood veneer that have been stacked and glued together. It is an engineered wood from the family of manufactured boards, which include plywood, medium-density fibreboa ...

is sufficient to stop the bullet—upon impact the wax deforms and sticks to the wood, where it can later be scraped off and reused. The cost per round of wax bullets is low as primers can be purchased for under US$ 2.00 per 100 in case lots and as the wax itself can be reused. Reloading is very quick, and requires minimal equipment: a decapper tool to knock out the used primer and a priming tool. With these, loading 50 rounds of wax bullets will take under ten minutes. Wax bullets are normally used only in

s and single shot

pistol A pistol is a type of handgun, characterised by a gun barrel, barrel with an integral chamber (firearms), chamber. The word "pistol" derives from the Middle French ''pistolet'' (), meaning a small gun or knife, and first appeared in the Englis ...

s for short range target practice. Magazine fed firearms can use wax bullets, but they may need to be fed individually.

Combat training

The US military uses 5.56 mm non-lethal marking rounds in training. The bullet has two primers. The forward primer propels a wax-filled projectile that marks with colored wax upon contact. The wax washes out with normal laundry procedures. Simunitions (for "simulated munitions") are special cartridges that fire colored paint-filled plastic projectiles which are used to mark targets much like paintballs. Simunitions are designed to cycle the actions in specially modified semi-automatic

rifle A rifle is a long gun, long-barreled firearm designed for accurate shooting and higher stopping power, with a gun barrel, barrel that has a helical or spiralling pattern of grooves (rifling) cut into the bore wall. In keeping with their focus o ...

s and

s. The paint-filled plastic projectiles are more durable and accurate than paintballs, and it is safe to be shot by them when wearing protective clothing. Simunitions are used by police and military forces for realistic training. Unlike normal wax bullets, simunitions are not an inexpensive substitute for live ammunition—costs for simunitions cartridges are as much as three times the cost of live ammunition.

Capital punishment

A member of firing squad might be issued a wax bullet to prevent members from knowing who fired the lethal shots.

Magic (illusion)

Wax bullets have been used in the

trick.

Safety issues

Wax bullets are not normally lethal, and will not penetrate sturdy walls, so they are safe to use indoors or in situations where live ammunition is dangerous due to risk of

overpenetration Stopping power is the supposed ability of a weapon – typically a ranged weapon such as a firearm – to cause a target (human or animal) to be incapacitated or immobilized. Stopping power contrasts with lethality in that it pertains only to a ...

stray bullet A stray bullet is a bullet that, after being fired from a gun, hits an unintended target. Such a shooting accident may occur due to missing a target when hunting or sport-shooting or celebrating wedding A wedding is a ceremony in which two ...

s and

ricochet A ricochet ( ; ) is a rebound, bounce, or skip off a surface, particularly in the case of a projectile. Most ricochets are caused by accident and while the force of the deflection decelerates the projectile, it can still be energetic and almost ...

s. This is not to say that they are entirely safe, as the muzzle velocities are around . This exceeds the velocities of

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, and serious damage could be done to sensitive areas, so suitable precautions should be taken when using them.

References

External links

World Fast Draw Association home pageCowboy Fast Draw Association home page
{{Handloading Shooting sports equipment Firearm training Bullets Non-lethal projectiles