hard wood bullet

[Winchester-1897]

I came across a a bullet that has a hardwood or wood bullet. I haven't much information on WW2 8mm bullets but I have heard that the Germans near the end of the war got desperate and were producing bullets made of hardwood. The head stamp has an 8, 35, p28, and possibly a 5 or S. Looks like a 8mm round. Is it rare ? Is it worth anything?

 

[johnone]

Good evening;
Without a picture I can't be 100% certain....
I would say you have either a German or Yugoslav "wood bullet" blank. They used these for ease of feeding....
The Yugoslavs went a step further in that they had a BFD which was rifled in the opposit direction to the rifling in the rifle, when the spinning bullet encountered this opposite rifling it simply shredded and posed less danger on the training field....
Odd but not worth much
John

 

[madtrapper143]

The Japanese loaded the 7.7 Jap cartridge with wooden bullets near the end of the war. Alot of US Marines were killed and wounded by these wooden bullets. They were very effective at moderate ranges in the jungle. The swedes loaded wooden bullets for training and had a scew on muzzle device that shredded the bullet. Just some ramblings.

cheers Darryl

 

[BEARMAN]

In a gun magazine a while ago they had an article on loading pointed wooden bullets in .44 mag cartridges for defence in apartments. The theory was a very light , very fast bullet would take out the bad guy but shred itself when hitting the walls, thus not endangering people on the other side of walls. I can see using this type of bullet for potting grouse that are close in while hunting with a large hunting rifle. A very light bullet going fast for a short distance with very little powder to only make a little noise. But thats the reason for the little auxilary chambers that let you fire small pistol cartridges out of you hunting rifle.

 

[Winchester-1897]

I'll throw a picture of it on tonight and hopefully one with the head stamp to. Thanks for all the info guys.

 

[green]

Sounds like a German 7.9 Platzpatrone #33 made by DWM 8th lot 1935 "S" case. This is a noise blank.
The story that the Germans or Japanese made wood bullet ammo for combat use is a myth.
Almost all nations used wood bullet noise blanks at one time or another.

 

[Winchester-1897]

Green you are right on with the info, thanks all. Probably not worth a thing but is an interesting conversation piece.

 

[tootall]

Waht colour is it?
I have in my cartridge collection, 8x57mm in red, and also natural wood colour.
I have .308/7.62x51mm in Purple (Isreali), natural (Chilean), maybe some others too, I forget.

 

[Winchester-1897]

looks purple tootall.

 

[Ripstop]

Around here you can find the 6.5 X 55 swede round with a wooden bullet. Seems to be somewhat common. These are training rounds.

 

[tiriaq]

These are training rounds.

Used to make noise. Blanks. The muzzles of many Swedish rifles are threaded for a blank firing attachment which shreds the bullet for safety reasons.

 

[madtrapper143]

Forgive me for spreading a myth. Several years of military research and lots of reading had lead me to believe the myth about the wooden bullets being used in combat. Now I feel used...

cheers Darryl

 

[The Baron]

I've got a couple of old rounds with wooden bullets. The bullets are purple - probably painted? I always assumed they were used for training only, but I suppose the idea of cost savings for the war machine makes perfect sense. Having a wooden bullet fired at you from close range would be plenty incapacitating.

 

[Dosing]

Forgive me for spreading a myth. Several years of military research and lots of reading had lead me to believe the myth about the wooden bullets being used in combat. Now I feel used...

cheers Darryl

You should feel used, its a ludicrous notion that suddenly, in two world wars, the Germans and others started using wooden bullets in combat. It certainly doesn't explain the dozens of other countries who used wooden blanks do so though, as many were not involved in any war.

...but I suppose the idea of cost savings for the war machine makes perfect sense. Having a wooden bullet fired at you from close range would be plenty incapacitating.

But 10 years before the wars end??? Cunning Germans.

The wooden bullets, and there are many designs, usually were reduced to toothpicks within feet of the muzzle, as they are hollow. Also some of them were used for Grenade launching.

Brief list of some countries who used wooden bullets for Grenade Launching or training... Argentina, Czechoslovakia, Switzerland, France, Italy, Japan, Holland, Belgium, Norway, Spain, Austria, Sweden, Turkey, America, Germany, Venezuela.

Some countries also used paper.

 

[Hotwheels81]

Having a wooden bullet fired at you from close range would be plenty incapacitating.

they use 12ga shell's loaded with wood dowel in riot round's even today.... direct hit's are lethal or you can skip shoot them at the ground and they send some evil splinter's in all direction's... doubt a small cal. round would go very far in a straight line tho.... would be fun stuff in a MG42 tho

 

[green]

I have done a fair bit of research on ammo since 1964.
My favorite sources on Japanese ammo are "TM 9-1985-5 (US Army) TM39b-1A 12 (USAF) Japanese Explosive Ordnance" March 1953 compiled after the US had years to examine Japanese inventory and records and "Japanese Ammunition 1880-1945" K Elks a comprehensive study for the collector. These list wood bullet noise blanks in 6.5 and 7.7 but no purpose made combat intended wood bullet. Wood bullet blank ammo was produced from c1898 in the case of the 6.5 and from the 1930s for the 7.7.
Blank ammo could have been issued or used out of desperation
. It was never intended for combat.
In 1944 facing material shortages japan started to make steel case ammo.