Sometimes I just can't seem to find the time to get to the shooting range for some handgun practice. Lucky for me and others with this problem, there is an alternative - Rubber or Plastic bullets. Granted, they are no substitute for shooting real ammunition, but practice with them IS better than nothing. Groups of 1" at 25 feet are attainable with this ammunition, so it is worthy for use for serious target practice.
Keep in mind that improper handling of this ammunition IS DANGEROUS - especially at close range. These small rubber or plastic bullets will exit your handgun at between 400 and 500+ feet/second. This is NOT "toy" ammunition, and obviously should NOT be used by unattended children. Also, proper eye and ear protection should be worn.
When loading this practice ammunition, one can purchase cases made especially for this purpose, or you can make your own out of normal pistol brass. I bought some .44 SPL cases from SPEER. They are shorter than normal cases, and made from red plastic. Of course, cases made for autoloaders must be the correct length in order to headspace properly. They also have an internal 'shoulder' that stops the bullet about 1/2 way in. I have noticed that it is somewhat difficult to load the bullet into these cases, while it is very easy to load bullets into modified brass cases.
I have modified regular brass for this purpose, and have noticed that the bullets are much easier to load into these cases. If you choose to use normal pistol brass, the one modification that should be made is to drill the flash hole to a larger diameter. It should be 7/64" for cases taking small pistol primers, and 1/8" for cases taking large pistol primers. This does not take long, as long as you use a good, sharp drill bit. The reason for opening up the flash hole is to prevent primer setback, which could easily cause problems in your handgun. NOTE : take care to mark all modified cases, as they should NOT be used with conventional loads.
A primer is loaded into the case in the usual fashion for brass cases. I use mostly my LEE AutoPrime, but any other priming system that work with conventional ammunition will work fine. When using plastic cases, the manufacturers say that you can just place the primer anvil up on a smooth, hard surface, and then press the case down over it. I am uncomfortable with this procedure. Primers are dangerous when not handled properly. I would rather not risk injury, so I use my AutoPrime for plastic cases as well. Either regular or magnum primers are acceptable. Obviously, magnum primers will yield higher velocities.
NO POWDER SHOULD BE USED IN THESE LOADS!! NONE.
The bullets should be inserted hollow base first. If you're using purchased plastic cases, the bullet will stop on the case's internal 'shoulder. If you are using modified brass cases, seat them flush with the case mouth - as though they were wadcutter bullets. I've noticed that when the bullets are new, the seal so effectively in the case, that they sometimes 'pop' back out, due to the compressed air that was forced into the case. One can either pinch the bullet sligthly when inserting the bullet, or seat the bullet before priming.
These rounds have practically ZERO recoil. This makes them very good for practice for beginners and those that are experiencing flinching problems. It is very useful for anybody who wants to practice their sight alignment, sight picture, breath control, and trigger squeeze. However, a drawback is that since they are so low power, they WILL NOT cycle the action of autoloaders. One must cycle the action by hand after each shot. Additionally, point of impact will be LOWER than for conventional loads. Rather than adjust my sights, I just accept this as I am looking for good groups - point of impact is unimportant.
It is important to keep your firearm CLEAN when shooting this ammunition. I recommend cleaning your barrel and cylinder (in revolvers) every 15-20 rounds. This is important because these bullets are more susceptible to decrease in accuracy caused by fouling, and fouling will damage these fragile bullets. Since there will only be primer fouling a pass or two of a brush or patch with your favorite solvent, followed by a dry patch is all that is required. At the end of your shooting session, clean your firearm as usual.
The manufacturers claim these bullets can be used 20 or more times if the barrel is kept clean and the bullets are caught in a bullet trap. A cardboard box with 2 rubber or heavy fabric (canvas, denin, ...) sheets hanging behind the target work well.
Last updated : 30 October 1999