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 bullets. Due to the low weight and density, wax bullets are typically used in a primed centerfire cartridge with little to no propellant powders, 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/blowback energy to cycle self-loading firearms, so they are most commonly used in revolvers 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 and confrontational shooting competitions where using real metallic bullets would be needlessly hazardous and impractical.[1] In the past, wax bullets were also used by illusionists for illusions involving firearms, such as the bullet catch. This practice goes back at least as far as Jean Eugène Robert-Houdin, who used hollow wax bullets colored to resemble lead balls. When placed on a charge of gunpowder, the wax bullet would disintegrate upon firing.[2]
^Nonte, Jr., George C. (1978). Basic Handloading. New York: Outdoor Life. LCCN 77026482.
^HENRY RIDGELV EVANS (1903). "ROBERT-HOUDIN. CONJUROR, AUTHOR, AND AMBASSADOR". The Open Court. 17: 733.
A waxbullet is a non-lethal projectile made of wax material — often paraffin wax or some mixture of waxes and other substances that produce the desired...
chocolate covered sweets. Wax is also used in waxbullets, which are used as simulation aids. Beeswax – produced by honey bees Chinese wax – produced by the scale...
jacket Very low drag Wadcutter Wax Flechette List of handgun cartridges List of rifle cartridges Meplat Smart bullet Table of handgun and rifle cartridges...
disabilities. Like other similar projectiles made from plastic, wax, and wood, rubber bullets may be used for short range practice and animal control, but...
fire waxbullets. The sport was briefly popular among some members of the metropolitan upper classes in the US, UK and France. Although the bullets were...
exchange the cartridge containing a genuine bullet with a cartridge containing a waxbullet, and hides the real bullet (which is rigged so it can easily be removed...
27, 2022. "Forgotten Weapons - "Lepage Wax-Bullet Dueling Pistols" (YouTube)". YouTube. "Duel With WaxBullets" (PDF). The New York Times. February 26...
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...
Unlike cowboy action shooting, fast draw is shot with special blanks or waxbullets. While some competitions are strictly against the clock, with the fastest...
cast bullets have included experimentation with a variety of lubricant mixtures including such things as beeswax, carnauba wax, Japan wax, bayberry wax, paraffin...
"Duel With WaxBullets" (PDF). The New York Times. February 26, 1909. Retrieved 24 December 2014. McCollum, Ian (2018-01-03). "Lepage Wax-Bullet Dueling...
the 2019–2020 Chilean protests Non-lethal weapon Sponge grenade Waxbullet Wooden bullet Nick Lewer (2002). Advanced Book Search The future of non-lethal...
his death. Bette shoots at Plutonian with the waxbullet, but Qubit uses his portals to redirect the bullet and kill Orian, having correctly surmised that...
Utah, US, one rifleman may be given a "dummy" cartridge containing a waxbullet, which provides a more realistic recoil. Manuel Dorrego, a prominent Argentine...
two competitors firing at each other with dueling pistols loaded with waxbullets and wearing protective equipment for the torso, face, and hands. Teams...
S2CID 144994172. "Duel With WaxBullets" (PDF). The New York Times. February 26, 1909. Retrieved 24 December 2014. "Dueling with WaxBullets". Popular Mechanics...
commander Richard Marcinko, and the HRT introduced blood bags and waxbullets. The waxbullets were used for team-versus-team drills. The HRT became part of...
were loaded with live ammunition. One chosen at random was loaded with a waxbullet so that none of the officers would be certain that they fired a deadly...
loaded with live ammunition except for one that contained a non-lethal waxbullet (see Blank Cartridge). According to the Utah Department of Corrections...
by facing opponents wearing protective clothing and masks and firing waxbullets. American John Taylor was a member of the winning medley relay team,...
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...
lubricant, usually a grease or wax, from picking up dirt and grit which can damage the bore. Arguably, heeled bullets are still very common because, while...
four inches. This was using "live", or full-power ammunition, not the waxbullets and quarter-loads used today in so-called "fast draw" competitions. In...
Sun Roof". It is used in bullet lubricant compounds. Petroleum jelly is a useful material when incorporated into candle wax formulas. It softens the overall...
Wax Mask (Italian: M.D.C. - Maschera di cera) is a 1997 horror film. The film is set in Rome where a Wax Museum has opened up, whose main attraction is...
Global Information