Can Civilians Buy Rubber Bullet Guns?

14 April 2011- There are many types of arms and ammunitions but most of them are lethal. There are many situations when certain non-lethal weapons too are needed. These may include such reasons as self defence or riot control. Rubber bullet guns that use rubber bullets instead of lethal bullets are one such weapons used generally by military or police to control aggravated situations like riots. However, civilians might also need to use certain self defence weapons that could just make the attacker weak and do not kill him. Such non lethal weapons include the rubber bullet guns also but question is whether it is legal to buy rubber bullet guns and do the civilians have the right to keep and use rubber bullet guns in their self defense?

Keeping Rubber Bullet Guns is Legal in Some Countries

There are some countries where non-lethal guns including rubber bullet guns may be- by law- used by civilians for self protection. Russia, Ukraine and the EU countries- Hungary and France allow their citizens to own and carry less-lethal weapons and thus it is legal to buy rubber bullet guns in these countries. However, anyone wishing to buy rubber bullet guns in these countries should still consult the legal authorities about the make and types of rubber bullet guns as well as rubber bullets that are legal to carry over there and if there are any new changes in the laws regarding carrying non lethal weapons by civilians!

What Types of Rubber Bullet Guns can be Owned?

Rubber bullets, although categorized as non lethal projectiles, may be sometimes lethal too. As this article does not deal with the question of safety regarding rubber bullets, anyone interested in the issue can read the other article- Are Rubber Bullets Lethal or Not?- to know more about it. Here we are concerned with the types of rubber bullet guns that could be bought and owned in countries where they are legal to be carried. The types of rubber bullet guns that can be owned in these countries have specially weakened construction and barrel with internal lugs. This makes the use of full-power loads and/or firing hard projectiles impossible. The rubber bullets just compress when passing the lug and so may be fired. The most common calibers of these rubber bullet guns are 9 mm and 10 mm with muzzle velocity sometimes almost matching normal handguns and bullets as light as 0.7 g. The French citizens are allowed to own 12/50 short barrelled shotgun-pistols for rubber shot load.

The handguns used to fire rubber bullets as described in the previous paragraph are meant for self defence. The other types of rubber bullet guns that are allowed to be owned by civilians include the handguns using rubber bullets powered only by a primer. These are generally used for short-range indoor target practice or training. These rubber bullets guns are intended only for target shooting.

Other Self Defence Weapons- Alternatives for Rubber Bullet Guns

So, what do people do in other countries where it is not legal to carry even the non lethal weapons like rubber bullet guns? They should go for other self defence weapons. Following is the list of such self defence weapons that can be carried by people of almost all the countries. However, it is still recommended to check with the laws of your state about the legality of their use.

• Tear Gas Pistols
• Elektroshockers
• Tasers
• Pepper Sprays

Related Articles

• Rubber Bullets: The Facts
• Rubber Bullet Traps Do Not Catch Fire: Myth Busted
• Are Rubber Bullets Lethal or Not?