Hi,
In this reserve, we had something I did not use for a long time – bullet-less ammunition (blanks)
We rarely use this kind of ammunition. We either use live ammunition (which is of course much more dangerous) or just call when we pretend to shoot. I am not sure if it is correct but back in my mandatory military service, we were told that the IDF is one of a few armies in the world that use live ammunition in training. I have never really looked into it but I am not sure this is correct.
Anyway, bullet-less exercise is a kind of training in the IDF, where you use your rifle to shoot bullet less ammunition (you are not literally shoot it, as there is not bullet, but it explode making the noise and recoil of ordinary ammunition). This way you better feel your rifle: you count down your ammunition, you got the shooting sounds around you and you can see who and when is shooting especially at night.
So why not use it always? Well, it requires some special equipment to install on your firearm (it fits most of what we use, but not all of it) which is not generally used, and in the end, it still isn’t the real deal.
Take Care
Gad
Regular ammunition with a bullet on the left, and bullet-less ammunition on the right.
A special magazine for bullet-less ammunition, shorter to fit the special ammunition and in white to differentiate it from regular magazine.
A short M16 assault rifle with the equipment for using bullet-less ammunition: the special white magazine, an adapter to fit the magazine in its location, and a nozzle cap to close the edge of the barrel (as there is no bullet, there are not enough gases to return the breech back without the cap).