What is Forensic Ballistics?

Forensic ballistics is the scientific

analysis or interpretation of all ballistic
related evidence with the purpose of
interpreting and establishing the facts
in a shooting related crime
Related evidence includes
(a) firearms or guns
(b) bullets
(c) cartridge cases
The most common types of crime scene
evidence includes
(a) bullet holes
(b) bullet damage on various mediums
(c) bullet trajectories
(d) gunshot wounds
Forensics Ballistics is divided into 3 sub-
categories
(a) internal
(b) external
(c) terminal ballistics
 Internal Ballistics

The study of the processes occurring

inside a firearm when a shot is fired. It
includes the study of various firearm
mechanisms and barrel manufacturing
techniques; factors influencing internal
gas pressure; and firearm recoil
The most common types of internal ballistics
are:
(a) examining mechanism to determine the
causes of accidental discharge
(b) examining home-made devices (zip-guns)
to determine if they are capable of
discharging ammunition effectively
(c) microscopic examination and comparison of
fired bullets and cartridge cases to
determine whether a particular firearm was
used
 External Ballistics
The study of the projectile’s flight from the
moment it leaves the muzzle of the barrel until
it strikes the target.

The 2 most common types of external ballistics

examinations are:
(a) the calculation and reconstruction of
bullet trajectories
(b) establishing the maximum range of a
given bullet
 Terminal Ballistics
The study of the projectile’s effect on the
target or the counter-effect of the target
on the projectile

The ‘target’ can be any solid or liquid

object, but when the target is a human or
animal it is common to use the term
“wound ballistics”
Common types of terminal ballistics
examinations are
(a) determination of the distance between
firing point and target
(b) establishing whether or not a particular
wound was caused by a fired bullet
(c) determining the caliber and type of
projectile that caused bullet damage or
gunshot wound
(d) examination of bullet exit/entrance
by examining the holes in targets, or the
wounds in biological tissue
(e) examination of ricochet possibilities
and fired projectiles
 Basic Handgun and Rifle
Cartridge Terminology
1. Cartridge: also called a “round”; made up of
a case, primer, powder and bullet

2. Bullet: the projectile which contains the

propellant or gunpowder

3. Flash Hole: when primer is ignited the

gases released go through
this small opening towards
the gunpowder
4. Powder: also known as ‘propellant’ or
‘gunpowder’. Found inside the
bullet casing itself; highly
reactive/flammable – but does
not explode – rather it forms
gases which push the bullet out of
the cartridge and gun barrel.
5. Primer: a volatile chemical compound
that ignites when struck by firing
pin of gun; detonates the
propellant in a cartridge
6. Casing: is left behind and is NOT
propelled (only bullet is) when
gun has been fired

7. Caliber: the diameter of the bore of the

bullet measured from end to end,
usually expressed in hundredths
of an inch (0.22 cal) or in
millimeters (9 mm)
 Basic Shotgun Shell
Terminology
8. Shot: may be a single metal projectile –
this is called a ‘slug’ (ideal for
hunting large game), or the shot
may contain many numerous round
metal pellets (ie. birdshot or
buckshot). Birdshot contains
between 20 – 100 small metal
pellets (ideal for hunting birds),
while buckshot contains between 7
– 9 large round metal pellets (used
by law enforcement)
9. Shell casing: made up of a shot, wad,
powder and primer

10. Wad: made of plastic or paper;

separates the powder from the
shot; holds shot together as it is
projected through the shotgun
barrel
11. Powder: same as above

12. Primer: same as above

Types of Bullets
Bullet Designs
 It is easier to design features that aid
deceleration of a larger, slower moving
bullet in tissues than a small, high
velocity bullet.
 Such measures include shape
modifications like round (round nose),
flattened (wadcutter), or cupped
(hollowpoint) bullet nose.
Round nose
 Round nose bullets provide the least
braking, are usually jacketed, and are
useful mostly in low velocity handguns.
Wadcutter
 The wadcutter design provides the most
braking from shape alone, is not
jacketed, and is used in low velocity
handguns (often for target practice).
 A semi-wadcutter design is intermediate
between the round nose and wadcutter
and is useful at medium velocity.
Hollowpoint
 Hollowpoint bullet design facilitates
turning the bullet "inside out" and
flattening the front, referred to as
"expansion" or “mushrooming”
 Expansion reliably occurs only at
velocities exceeding 1200 fps, so is
suited only to the highest velocity
handguns.
 Gunshot Injuries

The seriousness of gunshot wounds

depends on 5 factors
(a) kinetic energy of the bullet
(b) distance to the target
(c) type of tissue
(d) tumbling (flipping around or going
straight through)
(e) bullet design ex. hollowpoint, vs. round
nose etc.
Tissue
- the more dense the tissue the greater the
damage (will create permanent cavity)
ex. muscle is more dense than lung
tissue
- the more elastic the tissue the less damage
because will NOT create a permanent cavity
ex. muscle tissue is more elastic than
organ tissue
 What is Gunpowder Residue?
Gunpowder residue is composed of 2
substances
(a) propellant
(b) primer
 Propellant
- 2 types of propellants are black powder
or smokeless powder

Black powder
 consists of 15% charcoal, 10% sulfur,
and 75% potassium nitrate
 when ignited, it produces a lot of smoke
Smokeless powder
 contains either nitrocellulose alone or
nitrocellulose mixed with nitroglycerine
 these compounds are known as nitrates
 Primer
The cartridge also contains some special
chemicals called the primer
These chemicals have the special property
of igniting when subjected to great
pressure
Several types of primers may be used, but
the most commonly used are lead azide,
lead styphnate, mercury fulminate, barium
nitrate, potassium chlorate and antimony
sulfide.
 How do the Propellant and Primer
mixtures cause a gun to fire?

When the trigger of a gun is pressed, the

firing pin strikes the cartridge at a point
where the primer is kept.
This causes the primer to ignite.
The flames thus produced ignites the
propellant charge.
The burning of the propellant charge
produces large amounts of gases, which
finally propels the bullet