Expanding bullet

"Dumdum" redirects here. For other uses, see Dum Dum (disambiguation).
Drawings from 1870 of a hollow point express rifle bullet before firing (1, 2) and after recovery from the game animal (3, 4, 5), showing expansion and fragmentation
Leg wound by an expanding bullet

Expanding bullets, also known colloquially as dumdum bullets, are projectiles designed to expand on impact. This causes the bullet to increase in diameter, to combat over-penetration and produce a larger wound, thus dealing more damage to a living target. For this reason, they are used for hunting and by police departments,[1] but are generally prohibited for use in war.[2] Two typical designs are the hollow-point bullet and the soft-point bullet.

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  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Declaration was invoked but never defined (see the help page).