Is it legal to make "dum-dum" rounds?

[snakeman21]

Hi all! I have an odd question...

I have a Firestorm .380. Anyone on here who has attempted to buy .380 ammo recently knows that it's hard to find, and expensive when you find it. I can't find HP's at all. I know you can take lead bullets and cut an "X" in the tip to achieve (almost) the same effect as a HP, but is this legal? I don't want to do it if I can get in trouble for it.

[mpi]

not illegal, just bad idea! it won't achieve the result you want and it will be a really good handle for a defense attorney or prosecutor to pull on to crush you in court. oh, did i mention that you'll only damage the bullet and achieve nothing?

[snakeman21]

Really? It wouldn't work? A guy I know who's ex-military said they would act about the same as a manufactured HP... Is that not true? If it won't work, I certainly don't want to waste my money scarring up hard-to-find .380 bullets...

[mpi]

that's correct, it won't work. I''m former Army myself and LE after that. that's actually kinda irrelevant anyway, military small arms ammo is all hardball and a damaged bullet is an inconsistent one. inconsistency is the bane of accuracy and function.

[Carnes]

I wonder if they ever ran any rounds like that through the box-o-truth, or some similar test. I'm curious to see the actual results.

[mpi]

i believe they did, but i don't remember for sure. I've done experiments myself and for what it's worth they didn't turn out well. .45 hardball got very erratic and rnl in 38 and 45 just disintegrated.

not illegal though. i still think that defending this in open court is gonna get you crucified by the opposing counsel! all the emotional baggage will be hauled out and dumped on your feet.

[Pete D.]

Good advice here.
Here's the link to the Box o' truth article. Bottom line....not worth the trouble.
http://www.theboxotruth.com/docs/bot32.htm
Pete

[snakeman21]

Thank you, that's very good to know. I guess it's back to searching for JHP's. Probably in vain.

[Bama Man]

Only illegal if you use them while in a state of war?
The Geneva Convention outlawed them, not any US laws.
It is possible to find JHP 88 grain bullets and make your own. I have seen plenty of the bullets.
The .355 will work fine in the .380, although the .356 is generally listed as the correct bullet.
It is, however a very light bullet, and not prone to being as effective as the 9mm.
If your a handloader, though, I would say, "Why not?"
It would be a reasonable in home defensive round, although you would absolutely need to practice a "tap-tap" type of shooting, Which you should anyway.

[WhiteShadow]

Nothings illegal...untill you get caught.



Try an online distributor of ammunition, if you cant find ammunition locally.