EQUIPMENT FOR

FIREARMS

EXAMINATION

Presented by Group 6
 Tools used in a

Forensic Firearms

Identification

Laboratory
 Bore Scope

This is an instrument used for

examining the bore and
chamber of a firearm. It
consists of a tube, mirror,
light source, and the lens,
which is inserted into the
chamber or muzzle.
 Bullet Recovery

System

This refers to any method that

enables the examiner to recover
undamaged fired bullets. Water
tanks and cotton boxes are the
most commonly used methods.
 Caliper

This is a device consisting of

two moveable legs or jaws,
which are used to measure
diameter, thickness, or distance
between two surfaces.
 Comparison

Camera

This is a plate camera with an exceedingly long

body and two lenses. In front of which are two
bullet stages with operating rods that stretch
back to behind the plate holder. The operator sits
behind the ground glass screen operating the
bullet holders by remote control until a match is
obtained, and the operator inserts a plate that is
eventually exposed in the normal way. This
instrument is difficult to operate and has not been
used as often as in the past. Hence, it's likely that
modern-day students will only encounter this type
of camera in a museum.
 Bullet Comparison

Microscope

This is made up of two microscopes that

are connected to an optical bridge, which
allows the viewer to observe two objects
simultaneously with the same degree of
magnification. This instrument can have a
monocular or binocular eyepiece. This is
also referred to as a "comparison
macroscope."
 Comparison

Projector

An instrument that projects a

magnified image onto a screen.
 Crusher Gauge

This equipment employs a mechanical

means to measure and interpolate the
chamber pressure of a particular
cartridge. This process is completed by
subjecting a known copper or lead
cylinder to the pressure developed and
taking note of the amount of compression
building up on the cylinder. This is also
called a “Radial Pressure Gauge”
 Helixometer

An instrument used for inspecting the

interior of a gun barrel and for measuring
the rate of twist of the rifled bore of a
firearm. The geometry of a rifled barrel is
best described as a helix. This was
developed in 1925 by John H. Fisher of the
Bureau of Forensic Ballistics in New York.
It is no longer commercially produced at
present.
 Integrated Ballistics

Identification System

(IBIS)

This is a computerized firearms identification

system that is used to capture and store
unique identifying characteristics of bullets
and cartridge cases in a database for forensic
comparison and identification of a particular
firearm. The IBIS is a brand name developed
by Forensic Technology Inc. based in Montreal,
Canada. In the Philippine National Police, this
is referred to as Firearms Identification
System (FIS).
 Micrometer

This instrument is used to accurately

measure small distances in terms of
thickness or diameter. It operates based
on the rotation of a screw with 40
threads per inch and may be used
together with a comparison microscope.
 Panoramic Bullet

Camera

This camera can take photographic images of the entire

cylindrical surface of a bullet on one plate. This is
accomplished by rotating the bullet in front of the camera
lens while the camera film is moving. The camera film is
synchronized to the rotation of the bullet. When used for
comparison purposes, the photographs of the test and
evidence bullets are cut laterally and overlaid one on top of
the other. The panoramic bullet camera was initially
developed in the early 1930's and has been reintroduced at
periodic intervals (Heard, 2008). Owing to technical
problems, it has never received wide acceptance by
firearms examiners. It is not commercially produced at
present.
 Peripheral Camera

This camera can take a magnified image

of the circumference of a bullet on a strip
of film. As the bullet is rotated, the film
passes by the bullet as it is simultaneously
exposed. Thus, all the groove and land
markings are recorded on one continuous
strip of film.
 Rifling Meter

Here, the barrel of the weapon being examined is

clamped to the bed of a lathe. A long steel rod is
fixed into the tailstock of the lathe, an end of which
has a lead plug with the same diameter as the bore
of the weapon. The other end of the rod has a
graduated disc that rotates with a 3D imaging of
the firing pin indentation on a primer. The rifling
bites into the plug on the end as the rod is pushed
down the bore of the weapon, thereby causing the
rod to turn. The degree of the disc's rotation is then
measured against the distance the rod travels down
the bore. Given that measuring the actual rifling
twist of a barrel is not very important in forensic
firearms examination, this instrument is not
commonly used.
 Star Gauge

This is an instrument that is

used to measure the inside
diameter of the bore of a
firearm.
 Stereo

Microscope

This is an optical instrument

that allows viewing of an
object through an objective
lens and eyepiece. Some
models are known to share a
common main objective.
 Tallysurf

In this instrument, a fine diamond-tipped stylus is

drawn across the tool mark. The small variations in
height, which are caused by the striations, are
magnified and plotted on a piece of graph paper.
These are then compared without the aid of a
comparison microscope. Given that tool marks are
never consistent along their total length, several
passes have to be made before a representative and
accurate sample can be obtained. This instrument can
be used in the comparison of tool marks, but the stylus
could permanently damage the tool mark. Only an
experienced interpreter can analyze the generated
graphs, and even when a possible match is identified,
the results must also be verified using a comparison
microscope.
 Tallyron

The tallyron has the same basic principle as a

tallysurf, the only difference is that it is designed
for the examination of bullets. In the tallyron, the
stylus is stationary and the bullet is the one that
rotates around it to provide a circular graph. It can
only provide rough screen for possible matches,
and is not very useful in forensic examination. One
danger of using the tallyron is that the bullet can be
permanently damaged by the stylus-similar to the
tallysurf. Nevertheless, it played a major role in
screening the vast number of bullets received for
possible matches in Northern Ireland (Heard, 2008).
These bullets were then examined manually on a
conventional comparison
 Vernier Caliper

This is an instrument with a

fixed jaw and a sliding jaw
with an attached vernier. It is
a highly precise measuring
instrument with a reading
error of 1/20 mm=0.05 mm.
Thank

you!