January 18, 2006: An Israeli chiropractor has invented a training bullet (Bullite) for pistols and shotguns, that allows you to practice your marksmanship by firing burst of laser light, instead of bullets. The idea came to the doctor when he was on active duty in the Israeli army, and he kept working on it until he got it to work. The laser light from the bullet is visible for about fifty feet in daylight, and about 300 meters at night. Pistols and shotguns are generally used at ranges of less than 50 feet, although it's kind of fun to use Bullite at night. It uses an non-blinding laser.

The Bullite is the same size as a 9mm. .40 or .45 caliber cartridge. But Bullite contains a laser and battery. When the firing pin of the pistol hits the back of a Bullite, laser light comes out of the barrel, showing the shooter where the shot went. Each Bullite costs $200 (the 12 shotgun shell version costs $240), and the batteries are good for 10,000 shots. The one year warranty includes battery replacement, after than you have to send it back to the manufacturer to have the batteries replaced, or for repairs. Still, that's a lot cheaper (two cents a shot), and safer, than real ammo.

Bullite makes it much easier for pistol and shotgun users to improve their accuracy. Bullite also allows pistol users to safely practice "draw and shoot." This sort of thing is rather more dangerous when using live ammunition. Why didn't somebody think of this before?