BULLET IDENTIFICATION

BHAVYASHREE RAI
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR
BULLET IDENTIFICATION
 Firearm Identification is the procedure of
examining the bullets and cartridge cases
left at a crime scene to determine if they
came from a particular firearm
BULLET IDENTIFICATION
 The examination and microscopic
comparison of fired bullets and fired
cartridge cases to allow the expert to
determine if a suspect firearm or firearms
were or were not discharged in a shooting
incident
PRINCIPLES OF FIREARMS EXAMINATION
 Firearm identification is founded on uniqueness.
All objects can be from one another and the
same is true for firearms legally for criminal
investigators.
 Class Characteristics

 Rifling

 Caliber

 Firing impression

 Breech face marks

 Ejector marks

 Extractor marks
COMPARISON OF BULLET VIDEO
 https://www.nist.gov/video/matching-crime-scene-bullet
s-segment-segment
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yBaD82IpL6o

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=se1ORTLgLCI

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vbq6mU7rv94
COMPARISON OF FIREARMS

 Comparison of firearms cartridge cases and

bullets can be done by following steps-
 Comparison of Microscope

 Stereoscopy:

 Use a stereomicroscope to determine the

presence and quality of microscopic marks on
the test bullets prior to examination under
the comparison microscope.
COMPARISON OF BULLET
 The theory behind firearm identification is
that microscopic striations and impressions
left on bullets and cartridge cases are unique
 A fired bullet with rifling impressions from the
barrel of a gun (left)
 Some of the class characteristics found on a fired bullet
are
 (1) the caliber of the bullet (diameter),

 (2) the number of lands and grooves,

 (3) the twist of the rifling (left or right), and

 (4) the widths of the land and groove impressions.

 5) Angle and pitch of the rifiling


 These include the caliber (bore diameter) of the
barrel, the number and dimension of the grooved
impressions inside a gun barrel, and the direction of
the twist of these rifling grooves (clockwise or
counterclockwise)
 Comparison of bullets involves "class" and
"individual" characteristics.
 These characteristics are based upon "striae" left on the
bullet as it passes through the barrel.
 Class refers to the type of caliber and rifling.

 Rifling pattern may turn to the right or left, with a given

rate of twist.
BULLET-FIREARM LINKAGE

 The experiment involves comparison of recovered

bullet from scene of crime or dead body with the test
fired bullet from the firearm with the help of
comparison microscope.
 The history of the science of forensic firearm (and tool
mark) identification, and its court acceptance, spans over
100 years.
 Firearm examiners use the striations left on the fired
bullet for their comparisons.
 If a gun is recovered in an investigation, a test round is
fired from the gun.
 These bullets are then examined using a comparison
microscope.
 This allows bullets to be individualized to the gun from
which they were fired
COMPARISON OF FIREARMS

 First,
an exhibit is compared with a test
sample or standard for class similarities
and characteristics.
 Ifdissimilarities in class if characteristics
are found ,no further comparisons may be
necessary.
 When similar characteristics identified the
examination progress to a final stage
where an attempt is made to find a match
in the individual characteristics.
TEST BULLETS

 These are the bullets fixed from the

suspect firearm, in order to compare the
test-fired bullet with the suspected bullet.
TEST BULLET
 Examination of whole bullets and cartridge cases. If a
bullet is recovered from the scene or from the body, it
may be compared to bullets obtained by test-firing the
suspected weapon.

 Test firing is done using similar ammunition. Index

marks help to align test bullets to determine
reproducibility of markings
WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF A TEST
FIRING A GUN?

 Firearm examiners perform testing to assess the

functioning ability of a firearm.
 They can test the firearm to determine if it is capable
of discharging a cartridge or shotshell.

STEPS OF CONDUCTING TEST FIRING

 Water Bullet Recover Tank

 The test bullet is fixed in closed container
filled water.
 The muzzle of a firearm is placed on an
open tube at the end of the container and a
bullet is fired.
BULLET CATCHER COLLECTION CHAMBER

 The chamber of the bullet catcher is filled

with ballistic fibers of cotton, Which are
usually used in bullet retrieval chambers.
 Ballistic fibers are non- flammable, so
there is no risk of fire.
COMPARISON MICROSCOPE

 It’sa combination of two compound

microscopes into a singular unit.
 The distinct feature of this microscope is
the bridge that connects the two
microscopes and made the visits of both
the objective lens on a single eyepiece
lens.
COMPARISON OF BULLET
 As a forensic discipline, the essential protocol
for firearms identification is the microscopic
comparison and potential identification of fired
bullets as having been fired from the barrel of
the same firearm.
COMPARISON OF BULLET
 The foundation for this technique is based
on the following principles:
 The rifling in the barrel of a firearm bears
unique microscopic characteristics due to
manufacturing processes, use, and abuse.
COMPARISON OF BULLET
 These characteristics mark the bearing
surfaces of bullets when fired through the
barrel.
 These individual characteristics are
reproducible and identifiable with a
particular firearm.
 Comparison microscopy is used to
establish identification and involves one of
the following situations:
 Recovered firearm without related
evidence.
 Obtain test bullets for later comparison by
test firing the recovered firearm to
determine if the recovered firearm fired
the evidence bullet..
COMPARISON OF BULLET
 Recovered bullets without related firearm
Perform inter comparison to determine if
recovered bullets are related to a single
firearm.
A SAMPLE PROCEDURE FOLLOWS:

 Recover test fired bullets from the submitted

firearm.
 Mark the test bullets and indicate the sequence in
which they were recovered.
COMPARISON OF BULLET
 Place one of the test fired bullets on the
right stage of the comparison microscope.
Attach the nose of the bullet to the mount.
 Adjust the lighting from the rear of the
microscope to provide oblique
illumination over the bearing surface of
the bullet.
COMPARISON OF BULLET
 Examine the entire bearing surface of the
test bullet using low magnification (10x-
20x) to determine the best area of
individual characteristics.

 When such an area is located, leave the

right stage in that position.
COMPARISON OF BULLET
 Place a second test bullet on the left stage
with the nose in the same direction as the
bullet on the right stage.
COMPARISON OF BULLET
 Rotate the bullet on the left stage looking
for the same area of individual
characteristics as on the bullet on the right
stage.
 The entire surface of the bullet should be
considered.
 Higher magnifications should be used to
verify the correspondence of finer
striations.
COMPARISON OF BULLET
 If an area of correspondence is found,
align the land or groove impressions and
rotate both bullets simultaneously.
COMPARISON OF BULLET
 Examine and compare each land
impression and each groove impression
area from base to nose until it a conclusion
can be drawn that there is or is not
sufficient agreement for identification
COMPARISON OF BULLET
 The comparison of recovered evidence
bullet(s) with test bullets from a recovered
firearm should be performed according to
laboratory protocol.
REFERENCE
 https://indianlawportal.co.in/identification-of-firearm-wi
th-cartridge-case-and-bullets/
 https://www.unodc.org/e4j/en/firearms/module-8/key-iss
ues/firearms-as-evidence.html
 https://www.researchgate.net/publication/260295588_Ap
plications_of_surface_metrology_in_firearm_identificati
on/figures?lo=1
 https://www.nist.gov/system/files/documents/forensics/F
irearms_identity_NDAAsm.pdf
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_ILUNXvecM&t=1
14s
( swayam prabha)
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-Q1h3MPPfA
( bullet comparison)
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nlo_hFCGzWM
( cartridge case comparison )