"Rubber bullets" is a common name for a wider group of less-lethal rounds. Medical literature calls them kinetic impact projectiles. This article sets out what the research reports about them, what NIJ body armor testing does and does not cover, and what to check. ArmorList reports what the records show; it never ranks or endorses a product.
What the term covers
A 2017 systematic review in BMJ Open, by Haar and colleagues, studied deaths, injuries and permanent disability from rubber and plastic bullets, bean bag rounds, shot pellets and other projectiles used in arrests, protests and other settings, in literature from January 1990 to June 2017. The review uses "kinetic impact projectiles" for the whole group. So "rubber bullet" can mean different rounds, of different construction, fired from different distances.
What the medical research reports
The same review included 26 articles, with injury data on 1,984 people:
- 53 people died of their injuries, and 300 suffered permanent disability.
- Of the injuries among people who survived, 71 percent were severe.
- Strikes to the head and neck accounted for 49.1 percent of the deaths and 82.6 percent of the permanent disabilities.
- The site of impact, the firing distance and timely access to medical care were correlated with how severe an injury was.
The authors concluded that, given their inaccuracy, potential for misuse and the health consequences found, these projectiles do not appear to be appropriate weapons for crowd control. That is their conclusion, reported as theirs.
NIJ has also funded research on these rounds, including work on a standard for less-lethal kinetic energy rounds, with round accuracy and the risk of blunt and penetrating trauma among its key areas.
What NIJ body armor testing covers
NIJ tests and lists body armor by model on its Compliant Products List (CPL). Under NIJ Standard 0101.07, the levels are HG1 and HG2 for handguns and RF1, RF2 and RF3 for rifles. Each level is defined in NIJ Standard 0123.00 by named test rounds and reference velocities. Under 0101.06, the levels are IIA, II, IIIA, III and IV, also defined by firearm rounds.
We found no NIJ or CJTTEC statement that body armor is tested or rated against rubber bullets or other kinetic impact projectiles (checked 29 September 2026). An NIJ level tells you which firearm rounds the model was tested against. It does not tell you how the model performs against a less-lethal round, and no level is "the level needed" for one.
Blunt trauma behind armor
Stopping a projectile is not the same as preventing injury. When armor stops a round, the armor is pushed into the body behind it. NIJ measures this in testing as backface signature: the depth of the dent the armor leaves in a clay backing, held to a maximum. That measurement is made with the firearm rounds of the standard, not with less-lethal rounds.
NIJ-funded research has studied blunt injuries from bullets that struck armor without penetrating it, including bruising, lacerations and internal injuries. We found no government or peer-reviewed source that measures injuries from kinetic impact projectiles striking body armor (checked 29 September 2026), so this article makes no claim that armor prevents them.
Coverage
Armor protects only what it covers. The review above found that the most serious outcomes came from strikes to the head and neck, which torso armor does not cover. NIJ's selection guidance advises agencies to choose armor that gives full front, back and side protection of the torso.
Law
Federal law, 18 U.S.C. § 931, prohibits a person convicted of a felony crime of violence from purchasing, owning or possessing body armor, and some states add their own rules on buying or wearing it. Check the rules where you are before buying.
What to check
- Which exact model is the armor, and is it on the NIJ CPL? Record its status and the date you read it.
- Which standard and level was it tested to? The level names firearm rounds only.
- Does the manufacturer claim performance against less-lethal rounds? If so, ask for the test report: which laboratory, which round, which velocity, which standard and what date.
- What does the armor cover, and what does it leave uncovered?
- What do federal and state law say where you are?
An NIJ level describes firearm rounds. For any other threat, ask for the test report that names it, and keep the date you read each record.
Sources
- Haar RJ, Iacopino V, Ranadive N, Dandu M, Weiser SD. Death, injury and disability from kinetic impact projectiles in crowd-control settings: a systematic review. BMJ Open, 2017 (read 2026-09-29)
- PubMed, the same review (PMID 29255079) (read 2026-09-29)
- NIJ, Development of Standard for Less-lethal Kinetic Energy Rounds (read 2026-09-29)
- NIJ, Compliant Products List: Ballistic Resistant Body Armor (read 2026-09-25)
- NIJ, Specification for NIJ Ballistic Protection Levels and Associated Test Threats, NIJ Standard 0123.00 (read 2026-09-25)
- CJTTEC, New Ballistic-Resistant Body Armor Standard Published (read 2026-09-25)
- Wayne State University, Establishment of Interdisciplinary Working Group for Review of Kinetic Energy Munitions, NIJ-funded final report (NCJ 236909, received December 2011) (read 2026-10-01)
- CJTTEC, Body Armor Selection and Fit (read 2026-09-25)
- 18 U.S.C. § 931, Prohibition on purchase, ownership, or possession of body armor by violent felons (read 2026-09-25)