Season 5
EP05 - Hollow Points (Dum-Dum Bullets)
Understand the legal and humanitarian debate around expanding dum-dum bullets in armed conflict. Learn why hollow points are banned in war under the Hague Convention but remain standard in law enforcement.
Activate Quick Play Magic! Berserker Soul!
Draw! Monster card! Draw! Monster card! Draw! Monster card!
YES! Utterly obliterated! Reduced to atoms!
WHAT?!
"Unnecessary overkill"?! What does that even mean?!
Who cares how far into the negatives I send them?! I want my attacks to explode!
You think combat is about generating the highest possible damage numbers?
Well, yeah! If I have to shoot the enemy, I want the bullet to explode inside them! Make sure they don't get back up!
It's a war! Why shouldn't I use the most devastating ammo possible?
Because war is not a psychopath's sandbox. Let me introduce you to the Hague Convention of 1899.
This is a standard military projectile. A "Full Metal Jacket (FMJ)".
The lead core is completely encased in a hard copper shell.
By international law, almost every military on Earth is required to use this exact type of bullet.
Watch what the FMJ bullet does.
That’s it? It just poked a hole in him!
It went right through! He still has 80% of his HP! He could just put a bandage on that and shoot back at me!
I don't want a bullet that politely passes through! I want a bullet that dumps all its energy and shred the target!
You aren't the first person to have that sociopathic thought, Shez.
In the late 19th century, at the Dum Dum Arsenal near Calcutta, the British Army engineered a hack.
They took an FMJ bullet and filed off the tip, exposing the soft lead core underneath.
This is the Hollow Point, historically known as the "Dum-Dum" bullet.
It was designed to do exactly what you just asked for.
An FMJ maintains its aerodynamic shape. It pierces.
But when this exposed lead hits a liquid target... fluid dynamics take over.
Oh my god...
The FMJ creates a temporary wound cavity. A medic can stitch it.
The Hollow Point transfers kinetic trauma. It shatters bone, pulverizes organs. It inflicts agonizing death.
That’s... that’s so cruel.
Yes. And in 1899, the nations of the world gathered at The Hague and came to the exact same conclusion.
They drafted Declaration III. It prohibited the use of bullets that "expand or flatten easily in the human body."
Because military engineers realized war is not about killing. War is about disabling.
What is your tactical objective when you shoot an enemy soldier? It is to stop him from shooting you.
If a clean FMJ round incapacitates him, you have succeed your tactical objective.
The Hollow Point also achieves the tactical objective. But it added a multiplier of horrific, unnecessary trauma.
Wait! Hold on!
If Hollow Points are a war crime... why do police officers use them?! I saw it on a cop show! They use expanding ammo!
Police operate in civilian areas. If a cop fires an FMJ round at a suspect...
...it over-penetrates. The clean trajectory that makes it "humane" in a trench is a liability in city.
A police officer uses a Hollow Point to guarantee the bullet stops inside the target, preventing collateral damage to bystanders.
Their priority is protecting the civilian environment, not the health of the suspect.
But war is an open battlefield where millions of rounds are fired. There are no bystanders behind the trenches.
EP04 - Blinding Lasers (Post-War Burden)
Explore why blinding laser weapons were banned before widespread deployment. Learn how post-war medical burden and the principle of unnecessary suffering shaped the Protocol on Blinding Lasers before a single battlefield use.
EP06 - Landmines & Cluster Munitions
Discover why landmines and cluster munitions are banned by international treaty despite persistent military utility. Learn how decades of civilian casualties from post-conflict detonations drove the Ottawa Treaty and Convention on Cluster Munitions.
