Table 1 Design and effects of different types of bullets [13].

Full Metal Jacket ammunition

A metal casing around a lead core

These bullets are dimensionally stable and produce non-expanding and deep penetrating wounds.

Jacket Hollow Point ammunition

Bullets with an exposed, hollowed lead tip which allows expansion on the impact.

Tissue penetration is less deeply than in Full Metal Jacket ammunition but more energy is transferred to the tissue.

Soft Point ammunition

An exposed lead tip causes a rapid expansion of the bullet on impact at lower velocities.

This rapid expansion is responsible for wounds which are significant wider than the diameter of the bullet.

Altered ammunition

Ammunition can be altered to increase the severity of injury. An infamous example is the Dum Dum projectile, produced by cutting a cross in the soft lead tip of the bullet.

This modification ensures that the bullet will fragment at the impact. Dum dum projectiles are responsible for very high energy transfer to the tissue and therefore tall inner wounds. They are banned for usage in war by an amendment of the Geneva Convention.