NCJ Number
243729
Journal
Journal of Forensic Sciences Volume: 58 Issue: 1 Dated: January 2013 Pages: 69-72
Date Published
January 2013
Length
4 pages
Annotation
The present study analyzed contact head wounds owing to 26 centerfire rifles and 9 shotgun slugs and compared them with respect to weapon, ammunition, entry wound site, and projectile kinetic energy.
Abstract
Wounds of high-energy centerfire rifles and shotguns represent distinctive injuries of forensic importance. Previous studies of contact wounds have shown variability in the potential of these weapons to produce bursting wounds of the head. The present study analyzed contact head wounds owing to 26 centerfire rifles and 9 shotgun slugs and compared them with respect to weapon, ammunition, entry wound site, and projectile kinetic energy. The bursting effect, defined for this study as disruption of at least 50 percent of the head, occurred in 25/35 of cases and was related to kinetic energy. Bursting was associated with energies less than 2700 ft-lbs in 12/22 cases and energies greater than 2700 ft-lbs in 13/13 cases. The volume of gunpowder gas injected into the wound was considered as contributing to the bursting phenomenon. There was no relation of bursting to the specific entrance wound site, type of ammunition, or projectile fragmentation. Abstract published by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons.