Wax bullets
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Wax bullets are made of paraffin wax, and are pressed into a primed cartridge case. Gun powder is not used, the primer provides all the power.
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Inexpensive practice
Wax bullets may be manufactured quickly and easily by the user, and a number of companies sell commercially made wax bullets. Rubber 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 is used, but are prone to ricochet. With wax bullets, a simple sheet of plywood 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 very low; primers can be purchased for under US$1 per 100 in case lots, and the wax can be reused. Reloading is very quick, and requires minimal equipment. A decapper tool to knock out the used primer is under US$5 and a priming tool costs as little as US$10. With these, loading 50 rounds of wax bullets will take under ten minutes. Wax bullets are normally used only revolvers and single shot pistols for short range target practice. Magazine fed firearms can use wax bullets, but they may need to be fed individually.
Safety issues
Wax bullets are not normally lethal, and will not penetrate wall so they are safe to use indoors or in situations where live ammunition is dangerous. This is not to say they are entirely safe--velocities exceed those of paintballs, and serious damage could be done to sensitive areas like the face, so eye protection is still required. Quick draw and trick shooters use wax bullets for safety reasons, so that if they shoot themselves in the foot or leg when drawing from their holsters, 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.
Wax bullets for training
Simunitions, short for "simulated munitions", are special cartridges that fire colored wax projectiles which are used to mark targets much like paintballs. Simuntions are designed to cycle the actions in speically modified semiautomatic rifles and handguns. The wax projectiles are more durable and accurate then 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 Simuntions cartridges are as much as three times the cost of live ammunition. Simunitions do, however, provide the most realistic training avaiable.
External Links
Rec.guns FAQ entry on wax bullets, with added commentary. (http://www.geocities.com/felixthefish.geo/wax_bullets.html)
World Fast Draw Association home page (http://fastdraw.org/)