Quoted:
The dum-dum bullet was a full metal jacketed .303 bullet, changed to one having a small amount of lead core exposed at the tip, creating in effect a soft-nosed bullet which expands in flesh. It was first created in Dum-Dum arsenal in India, hence the name.
It was the Hague Convention which, among other things, specifically bound nations at war to refrain from using bullets which would “expand or flatten easily in the human body...” and which was specifically aimed at soft or hollow nosed bullets.
[blue][i]Do I win a prize?[/i][/blue] [:)]
[i]Edited because I mistakenly credited the Geneva Convention with banning these bullets. On further research, I found that it was, in fact, the Hague Convention in 1899.[/i]
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Quite right. And don't worry the reference book I have on .303 ammo also incorrectly blames the Geneva Convention of 1899, instead of the Hague Accords....
From "Identification Manual on the .303 British Service Cartridge- Number One: Ball Ammunition" by B.A. Temple (ISBN # 0 9596677 2 5, B.A. Temple 392 Prout Road Burbank 4123 Australia):
Cartridge, S.A. Ball. .303-inch, Mark II*.
Solid case, all .303-inch SA and MG's.
Introduced: Circa 1896-7
Approved: Circa 1896
Obsolete: Circa 1900
Bullet:
Description: RNSP with C-N envelope containing a lead core. There is a cannelure near the base.
Crimping: 3 indents in case neck into bullet cannelure, and case mouth coned onto bullet.
Weight: 215 grains.
Charge: 31 grains cordite size 3 3/4.
-CONTINUED-