In fact, some countries might not even use a few of these kinds of rounds. Key point: There was an attempt to ban some of these bullets. However, some militaries still use them. Since their invention in the tenth century, engineers, soldiers and tinkerers have constantly tried to make firearms more deadly. Typically that involves moving to heavier bullets driven by more powerful gunpowders, and while that is effective it is also louder, generates more recoil and necessitates new firearms. One solution is the creation of newer, deadlier ammunition for existing guns. Dum Dum Bullets Dum Dum bullets were developed for use by British and colonial forces on India’s Northwest Frontier in the 1890s. The infamous bullet design was created by the Dum Dum Arsenal, located just outside Calcutta. Dum dums consist of an ordinary copper jacketed lead bullet with the lead exposed at the nose, usually through a deep x-shaped cut in the nose. The theory is that upon impact, the lead slug expands and mushrooms to a much wider diameter than the bullet itself. The mushrooming also generates sharp points that cause grievous wounds passing through human flesh.