ballistics

subdivisions of BALLISTICS:

Internal

Terminal

External

Terminal-Medical

what constitutes a complete firearm:

Barrel
Bullet
Hammer

cartridge or ammunition (parts):

shell or casing
percussion cap
primer
powder or
propellant
bullet or projectile

 conical
hemispherical
hollow-point
wad cutter
glazer
dumdum
armor piercing
flare or tracer
plastic sabot
double action
soft point

shape of free end:

forward
spinning
tumbling
end-over-end

wobbling
tailwag
yaw
downward

movements of
the bullet

classification of small firearms

as to wounding power:
low velocity
< 1,400 ft/sec

high-powered
> 1,400 ft/sec
2,200 2,500 ft/sec

as to nature of the bore:

smooth bore
inside of the barrel has no
grooves

ex. shotgun

rifled bore
with spiral lands and
grooves taking a gradual
twist

ex. military rifle

as to the manner of firing:

pistol
fired by a
single hand

rifle
fired from the shoulder

as to nature of the magazine:

Cylindrical
Revolving
Magazine
Vertical or
Horizontal
Magazine

 bullet
flame
unburned powder
burning powder
expansile gas

abrasion
collar
contusso-abrasio
marginal
abrasion

contact
fire

OUTSHOOT or EXIT WOUND

no definitive shape
edges are everted
bony spicules may be carried along
Shored exit
back against the wall
tight fit clothing
waist band, belt, brassieres

ODD and EVEN

RULE

Accidental :

Solitary wound
Non-selected area
Testimony of assailant
Possibility of accident
Testimonies

Suicidal:
Closed or locked rooms, uninhabited
or open places.
Death weapon almost always present
Muzzle contact or very near contact
Location should be accessible to
wounding hand
Solitary wound
Compatible direction and trajectory
Personal history, suicide note, prior
attempts,
Positive paraffin test
Entrance does not
involve clothing

Questions to be asked by a Lawyer in

court:
Range and direction?
Possibility of self-infliction?
Signs of struggle?
Can victim fire back or resist the attack?
Instant or gradual death?
Relative position?
Is the wound compatible with the weapon used?

NEAR
FIRE
(shotgun)

shotgun wounds:
2-3 ft. muzzle-skin distance single wound with large entry
3-4 ft.- entry serrated or scalloped (rat hole)
5-6 ft.- wad produces and independent injury
at the vicinity of the entry shots
6 ft.- shots begin to separate from conglomerate
10 ft.- each shot with independent entries

billiard ball ricochet effect

FORMULA:

D2 -1 = D
D2 = distance between the two farthest
shots in inches
D = muzzle-target distance in yards