Wooden bullets

[Mike Irwin]

Hi, Hunter.

We've discussed those before.

They are not "bullets" in the sense that we are discussing in this thread.

They are shot containers, and specifically designed to fly apart to release their payload upon exiting the barrel.

As for the Garand functioning with wooden bullet blank loads, again I don't think so for any variety of reasons, ranging from the United States never issuing wood bullet blanks for training purposes to their inability to generate sufficient chamber pressure.

This is one type of blank firing adapter used to make the M1 Garand cycle with blanks. This particular model is Danish.

This is the US pattern blank firing adapter as issued by the US military for training purposes.

Another problem with blanks functioning a semi-auto firearm is that blanks generally use small amounts of VERY fast burning powder; standard powder used in ball loads is simply not suitable for blank purposes.

The United States for nearly 60 years loaded blanks with E.C. Flash Powder manufactured by Hercules. It actually came a lot closer to detonating than burning like smokeless powder, and more than one person found out the hard way that it is not a good thing at all to try to put a standard bullet in a case loaded with E.C. The result is usually severe gun damage as well as severe shooter damage.

 

[greco]

A few years ago I bought some german 7.62X39 (AK) ammo with wooden projectiles. The sign said it was practice ammo. It came 10 to a pack mounted on cardboard with a plastic blister over it. So I bought 20. Don't ax me why.

 

[Lavid2002]

I dont really see the benefit of using wooden bullets over blanks....Were blanks not invented yet? Haha It seems like a stupid question but I cant see any other reason for them to be in existence. Blanks can be action proving too...with the right muzzle attachment. On the other hand...the Wooden ones apparently needed the muzzle piece too...

waste of time?

 

[daveinwoodland]

I have one in my cartridge collection. Silver case, blue wooden bullet 30-06 caliber.

 

[Mike Irwin]

What's the head stamp?

I THINK that El Salvador used blue wood bullets for training. They were one of the few nations to use wood bullet .30-06 blanks.

 

[wch]

Japanese use of wooden bullets

Troops fighting the Japanese reported that the enemy would allow them to by-pass hidden enemy soldiers who then opened fire with cartridges loaded with wooden bullets.
US reasoning was that not only did the bullets gave severe wounds , they would'nt carry into Japanese positions.

 

[Crosshair]

I dont really see the benefit of using wooden bullets over blanks.

As has been mentioned before several times. They feed properly from the magazine, not all crimped blanks do. Give more recoil to the shooter, and thus are more "realistic". They can be made from regular brass cases. All you have to do is swap the powder and bullet being used.

Most rifles at the time were bolt action so providing enough power to cycle the gun is moot point.

 

[Mike Irwin]

"Troops fighting the Japanese reported that the enemy would allow them to by-pass hidden enemy soldiers who then opened fire with cartridges loaded with wooden bullets.
US reasoning was that not only did the bullets gave severe wounds , they would'nt carry into Japanese positions."

Another apparent assumption on the part of US troops fighting in the Pacific.

There are a lot of similar stories, and none of them are true.

It's not really surprising that GIs would think this, though.

Unlike soldiers in other nations, US GIs had little to no exposure to wood bullet blanks during training. It's likely that most never had even heard of them (other than possibly the hollow wooden shot capsules used in early rimfire and some centerfire rounds, like the .45-70 Forager rounds that Old Tyme Hunter posted).

So, on seeing wood bullet blanks in Japanese hands, which were likely used for either signaling or for grenade launching, it would be natural for them to think that the Japanese were using wood bullets offensively.

Over the years I've heard that the Japanese used wood bullets to:

1. Create severe wounds with projectiles that wouldn't show up on X Rays.

2. Close quarter combat so they wouldn't hit their own troops (given the Japanese approach to war and death, not really that much of a consideration for them, IMHO).

3. As rounds for snipers so that GIs couldn't tell where the shots were coming from because of the lower report. The Japanese tended to be excellent at camouflage, so they didn't really need that extra bit of 'help'.

4. Machine gun ammo for firing over their troops heads during the assault (that's a new one I first heard earlier in this thread).

And so forth and so on.

THAT SAID....

During the later stages of the Pacific War, when US submarines were sinking just about every cargo carrier the Japanese could put to sea, supply became a really tenuous issue for the Japanese in a lot of areas.

I don't think it's outside of reason or logic to say that, when supplies of ball ammunition started to run low for individuals or units that they might resort to firing wood bullet blanks in hopes that they might wound or kill a GI.

I would think, and bet, however, that those instances were relatively few and far between and that they weren't very successful because of the previously noted very short range of wood bullets, and that's only IF they held together and didn't shatter during firing.

 

[Lavid2002]

Image is very blurry. Writing looks like something from the middle east.

 

[Mike Irwin]

Yep, it's so blurry it's unreadable.

If you're using a digital camera, look in the manual to see if it has a macro feature.

When I found the macro feature on my digital, my close in pictures got a LOT better.