<Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> This section does not cite any sources . Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources . Unsourced material may be challenged and removed . (July 2010) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) </Td> </Tr> <P> Solid lead bullets, when cast from a soft alloy, will often deform and provide some expansion if they hit the target at a high velocity . This, combined with the limited velocity and penetration attainable with muzzleloading firearms, meant there was little need for extra expansion . </P> <P> The first hollow - point bullets were marketed in the late 19th century as express bullets, and were hollowed out to reduce the bullet's mass and provide higher velocities . In addition to providing increased velocities, the hollow also turned out to provide significant expansion, especially when the bullets were cast in a soft lead alloy . Originally intended for rifles, the popular . 32 - 20, . 38 - 40, and . 44 - 40 calibers could also be fired in revolvers . </P> <P> With the advent of smokeless powder, velocities increased, and bullets got smaller, faster, and lighter . These new bullets (especially in rifles) needed to be jacketed to handle the conditions of firing . The new full metal jacket bullets tended to penetrate straight through a target and produce little damage . This led to the development of the soft point bullet and later jacketed hollow - point bullets at the British arsenal in Dum Dum, near Calcutta around 1890 . Designs included the . 303" Mk III, IV & V and the . 455" Mk III "Manstopper" cartridges . Although such bullet designs were quickly outlawed for use in warfare (in 1898, the Germans complained they breached the Laws of War), they steadily gained ground among hunters due to the ability to control the expansion of the new high velocity cartridges . In modern ammunition, the use of hollow points is primarily limited to handgun ammunition, which tends to operate at much lower velocities than rifle ammunition (on the order of 1,000 feet per second (300 m / s) versus over 2,000 feet per second). At rifle velocities, a hollow point is not needed for reliable expansion and most rifle ammunition makes use of tapered jacket designs to achieve the mushrooming effect . At the lower handgun velocities, hollow point designs are generally the only design which will expand reliably . </P>

When was the first hollow point bullet made