EMPIRICAL STUDY OF GUNPOWDER RESIDUE PATTERNS

• NCJ Number: 16713
• Journal: Journal of Forensic Sciences Volume: 19 Issue: 3 Dated: (JULY 1974) Pages: 448-462
• Author(s): F C BARNES; R A HELSON
• Date Published: 1974
• Length: 15 pages
• Corporate Author: American Soc for Testing and Materials
• Publication Format: Article
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: *This document is currently unavailable from NCJRS.

Annotation

CLOSE CONTACT GUNSHOTS PRODUCE CHARACTERISTIC GUNPOWDER RESIDUE PATTERNS THAT CONTAIN ELEMENTS INDICATIVE OF THE TRUE MUZZLE-TO-TARGET DISTANCE AT THE MOMENT OF DISCHARGE.

Abstract

THE RESEARCHERS DISCOVERED THAT, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF A CONTACT WOUND, THERE CAN BE NO MEANINGFUL APPROXIMATION OF MUZZLE-TO-BULLET-CONTACT DISTANCE WITHOUT FIRST CONDUCTING CONTROLLED FIRINGS UTILIZING THE SUSPECT'S WEAPONS AND AMMUNITION, OR AMMUNITION OF THE SAME MAKE AND LOT. FURTHERMORE, ANY APPROXIMATION OF DISTANCE BASED SOLELY UPON ENTRANCE HOLE DIAMETER AND POWDER PATTERN WITHOUT FIRST FIRING COMPARATIVE RESIDUE PATTERNS IS PATENTLY UNRELIABLE, BECAUSE OF THE UNLIMITED PATTERN CHANGES AVAILABLE THROUGH THE MANIPULATION OF POWDER TYPE, CHARGE, CHEMISTRY, AND BARREL LENGTHS IN THE SAME CALIBER. PHOTOGRAPHS ILLUSTRATE DIFFERENT TYPES OF PATTERNS. (AUTHOR ABSTRACT)