• Accuracy is lower for less lethal ammunition.  A hit on a man sized target or a 30cm group at 20 meters is considered the norm.
  
  
• Less lethal ammunition is lighter and does not build up anywhere near the pressure of standard lethal ammunition. This means that while rubber bullets are great for automatic rifles, the rifle will need to be cycled manually. There simply is not enough pressurized gas volume to cycle the action for automatic fire.
  
  
• Hitting energy or ft/lbs  at, say, 20m is the critical spec. Direct impact Less Lethal ammunition is built for a striking energy of less than 90 - 100 foot pounds (ft/lbs) at 20 meters. More than that could be lethal. When dealing with regular lead or jacketed projectiles, where velocity is a key measurement, with less lethal projectiles the impact energy of the projectile is the critical factor to be considered. If one were to fire a 5 grain (gr.) rubber bullet and a 437 gr. lead ball at the same velocity of 2500 fps, they are not going to do the same damage at a given distance. The 5 gr. 5.56 rubber bullet will have impact energy of 70 ft/lbs. while the 437 gr. lead ball will have impact energy of 6,060 ft/lbs. So clearly the hitting impact is the important number which needs to be addressed in the specifications of less lethal impact ammunition.
  
  
• Rifle sights may need adjustment, depending on the firearm. Rubber bullets are much lighter than lead bullets which means they loose velocity much faster, hence in some cases sights will need to be adjusted to match point of aim with point of impact.

Less-lethal ammunition is a general title for ammunition of various types which may be used in circumstances of civil disturbance for crowd control, to disperse riots or to incapacitate individual lawbreakers, or in hostage rescue or other police operations. It is increasingly used for border control and by peacekeeping forces. It is designed to minimise the risk of death or serious injuries when used as intended. It is important to stress this latter point, as any of these rounds can inflict severe injuries or result in a fatality if used improperly, which is why weapons and ammunition of this type are now known as "less-lethal" rather than "non-lethal" and training is mandatory. Risk of serious injury which may result in death is extremely rare if the ammunition is used correctly. Close range shots to the upper torso or head are examples of incorrect application.  Beanbags and other less-lethal impact options are believed to be responsible for the unintentional killings of 12 individuals in the United States and Canada over the past 20 years. 

The use of less-lethal technology is of great and increasing benefit to law enforcement, corrections, and military professionals providing them with still another force option within their complete force continuum. Less-Lethal ammunition is engineered to save lives including the life of the officer involved, the subjects involved and the public who may be third party to an incident. Some rounds are specially designed to break tempered glass such as side car windows, residential glass and other items made out of a hard plastic. Less Lethal Africa’s Flash-Bang round is an effective distraction round. It produces a very loud bang and flash which causes confusion and disorientation.  The blast/concussion produced on firing is very significant and can cause serious damage. Other specialty rounds for example the Breaching Round is used to shoot locks out of doors and remove hinges in dynamic entries.

Examples of Specialty Impact Munitions

1. Solid Filled Rounds (OC, PAVA, Training Powder, Marking).  For example, Less Lethal Africa’s Pepper Bullet can hold any powder and be fired from any 12ga smooth bore shotgun.

2. Liquid filled Rounds (Water, Inert and Innocuous liquids, paint)

3. Foam Baton Round (Deployed out of 37/40MM)

4. Rubber Pellets (Deployed out of 12 Gauge or 37/40MM). These can be inconsistent and inaccurate and hence extra caution needs to be applied.

5. Rubber Balls 31. 32. 60 Caliber (Deployed out of (12 Gauge or 37/40MM). Less Lethal Africa’s Double Ball round is the high volume use round of choice for crowd control, border security, prisons, peace-keeping forces etc.

6. Fin Stabilized Round (Deployed out of 12 Gauge).

7. Rubber Baton Round (Deployed out of 37/40MM).

8. Wood Baton Round (Deployed out of 37/40MM).

9. Bean Bag Round (Deployed out of 12 Gauge or 37/40MM) – Bean bag rounds have caused death by hitting edge on and thereby penetrating.

When police officers find themselves facing a violent individual or superior numbers, the level of potential danger is increased significantly. As a result, the police officer must quickly disable the attacker(s) and improve the likelihood of control. In these instances, compliance tools such as pepper spray and impact less lethal ammunition may provide the necessary means for the police officer to control the situation. Ideally, a less-lethal option will incapacitate the perceived threat to the officer while inflicting only minor injuries to the attacker.

Ammunition types

Impact ammunition is designed to achieve one of two effects: to disperse rioters by inflicting pain, or to temporarily disable a specific individual, usually to make an arrest. In some (but not all) cases, the same weapons and ammunition may be used for both purposes. To disable a specific individual requires an accurate gun firing a single projectile or Double Ball round (also known as rubber bullets) are used.  The design is where the greatest ingenuity is required: it must hit with disabling force out to a specified range (which should be beyond stone-throwing range in a riot situation), but must minimise the risk of death or serious injury if used at a much shorter range. Since all projectiles start slowing down from the instant they leave the muzzle, their impact energy will have dropped significantly by the time they reach the longer ranges. Such ammunition therefore has both a minimum safe range and a maximum effective range, and the problem facing designers is to minimise the former while maximising the latter; in other words, to achieve the widest possible effective zone. This can be tackled in various ways.

As a general principle, a heavy projectile travelling slowly will lose velocity more gradually than a light one launched quickly, so will have a wider effective zone. The disadvantage is that a low velocity means a more curved trajectory, which makes accurate aiming at longer ranges more difficult. Another approach is to adjust the composition of the projectile to meet particular range requirements: different hardness of material can be used, ranging from soft foam through various grades of rubber or plastic and ultimately to wooden batons. Less Lethal Africa’s Double Ball has a perfect balance between speed and hardness – Double Ball projectiles are softer but leave the barrel faster.

A wider range of options is available for dispersing rioting crowds, since great accuracy is not required. Typically, two projectiles will be used, such as Less Lethal Africa’s Double Ball round. The size and composition of the projectiles will determine their effectiveness. Some of the more powerful baton rounds are intended for "skip-firing"; that is firing at the ground so that they bounce into the crowd. These are less accurate and reliable than the Double Ball. The design of multiple small projectiles (rubber buck shot) for riot control is problematic, especially if the projectiles are smaller in diameter than a human eye socket. For this reason, multiple projectiles are losing support with the task of dispersing rioters at longer ranges being addressed by the Double Ball or irritant chemical ammunition (Less Lethal Africa’s Pepper Bullet).

What is regarded as an acceptable risk of injury will of course depend upon the circumstances. In dispersing a crowd which is disorderly and perhaps causing only property damage, inflicting serious injury would be regarded as unacceptable. At the other extreme, a very aggressive crowd containing armed individuals posing a threat to life merits more robust treatment, since the only alternative might be to open fire with lethal weapons.

Irritant chemical ammunition contains one of three types of irritant which are usually contained within the medium of a fine powder, although they may also come in liquid form: CS (orthochlorobenzamalonitrile) and CN (chloroacetophenone), both known as "tear gas", and OC (oleoresin capsicum) as used in Less Lethal Africa’s Pepper Bullet. The Pepper Bullet can be filled with any powder and can be loaded into any 12ga shot shell case. Less Lethal Africa’s Pepper Bullet provides a double effect – a hard hit (feels like a baseball bat) plus chemical irritant to the respiratory system, skin and eyes. Pain and blindness may last for 20minutes to 30 minutes. Full recovery is expected.

Flash-Bang rounds are useful in hostage rescues, to disorient or stun hostage takers for a few seconds to allow them to be overpowered. They generate a sound of 90-130 dB and a brilliant flash of light of 3-6 million candelas. Their effectiveness is enhanced when used within buildings. Another type of ammunition found useful in hostage rescue situations is the door Breaching Round. This is intended to blow off locks or hinges and is used to effect a sudden entry into a locked room. The projectile is a solid slug made of compressed powder which disintegrates on impact to pose the minimum risk to anyone behind the door. The Breaching Round is not less lethal.