NCJ Number
243742
Journal
Journal of Forensic Sciences Volume: 58 Issue: 1 Dated: January 2013 Pages: 142-145
Date Published
January 2013
Length
4 pages
Annotation
This research analyzed the detection of deposited chemicals such as gun-cleaning oil in recreating crime scenes involving gunfire.
Abstract
Using a BB gun, it was shown that a gun-cleaning oil (GCO) can be wiped from the barrel by a projectile and carried much longer distances than those usually associated with solid gunshot residue (GSR). Analysis of GCO subsequently deposited on a target was performed using pentane extraction and gas chromatography. (Hoppe's GCO was used here as a model.) When a 0.45 caliber handgun was used, analysis reveals that most of the GCO wiped from the barrel does not survive, owing to the elevated temperatures encountered. However, two components of the GCO, a long-chain fatty acid and its ethyl ester, do survive and can be detected in the bullet wipe. This suggests that GCO may be considered as GSR, uniquely detectable at long distances, and that other chemical compounds could either be added to a GCO or directly to bullets, to serve as identifying chemical tags. Abstract published by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons.