FORENSIC BALLISTICS

Chapter 1
BALLISTICS AND ITS BRANCHES
BALLISTICS
 Is the Science of the motion of the projectile and the condition
that affects its motion
MOTION
- Refers to the mobility or movement of the projectile from the
time it leaves the empty shell, it leaves the gun muzzle and until
it reaches its target or falls on the ground.
PROJECTILE
- A generic term which refers to any metallic or non-metallic ball
that is propelled from a fire arm.
- Technically, all projectile propels from a small arm is called
bullets with the exemption of a shotgun projectile which is
referred to as shots or pellets.
- To the Policemen, the term bullets are commonly referred to as
slugs.
Three (3) Types of Motion in Projectile
 1. Direct
Motion = the forward motion of bullet or
shots out of the shell by the action of the
expansive force of gases from a burning
gunpowder.
 2. Rotatory Motion = the action of the bullet
passing through a rifled bore barrel firearm which
is either twisted to the left or to the right.
 3. Translational = the action of bullet once it
hits an objects or the target subsequently
ricocheted (changes in motion)
The word Ballistics is derived from two Greek
words; the word “ballo” and the word “ballein”.
Both of these Greek etymological roots literally
mean to “throw”.

The term was also said to have been derived

from the Roman war Machine called “Ballista”, a
gigantic catapult that was used to hurl missiles or
large objects like stones, dead animals or even
dead persons at a distance.
BRANCHES OF BALLISTICS

The study of Ballistics was initially divided

into (3) three Divisions;
1. Internal Ballistics
2. External Ballistics and
3. Terminal Ballistics
 Due to the current application of Ballistics in solving cases involving the use of
firearms and ammunitions, a fourth branch has emerged namely, Forensic
Ballistics
- Shot/ Wound Ballistics
At present , these branches are divided as follows:
1. Interior (Internal) Ballistics = is the branch of ballistics which treats of
the motion of the projectile while it is still inside the firearm (chamber/barrel)
which extends from the breeze to the muzzle.
The conditions attributed to internal ballistics are as follows;
a. Firing pin hitting the primer – upon the squeeze of the trigger, the hammer will
be released which causes the firing pin to be pushed and hit the base portion of
the catridge where the primer is located.
b. Ignition of the priming mixture (Percussion action) – the priming mixture
(composing of the KCLO3,sulfur and carbon) located either at the cavity rim or
at the center of the primer upon the skirting effect of the firing pin will ignite
and such action is known as “Percussion Action”
c. Combustion of the gun powder/powder charge or propellant.
After the ignition of the priming mixture, the ignition is imparted to
the gunpowder by passing through the vent or flash hole, thus burning the gun
powder and converts it into expanded hot gas.
d. Expansion of heated gas – once burned, the charged powder is converted
into a heated gas, and due to a more elastic property of gases its particles will
spread and fill the entire container (cartridge case/shell)
e. Pressure developed – the outward push of the gases to the burned powder
pressure is developed due to the great amount of gas that is expanding within
the shell causing the withdrawal of the bullet from the shell.
f. Energy Heated – energy is the capacity to do work. The potential energy
serves as propellant of the expanded gases in as much as the pressure that is
developed has the that degrees of energy to force the projectile out of shell.
g. Recoil of the Gun
1st This is the equal and opposite reaction of the gun against the
forward movement of the bullet upon explosion.
2nd the backward or rearward movement of the gun in relation to
the forward movement of the bullet of the gun in relation to the
forward movement of the bullet may be divided into two Divisions;
The first, which occurs while the bullet is still inside the barrel
and which is relatively small intensity;
Second, which occurs just after the bullet leaves the muzzle of the
gun and this is a more violent backward impulse when the hot gasses
rush up and out of the muzzle and set against the gun.
Jump – is another portion of the recoil action that is characterized as the
backward and upward movement takes place before the bullet leaves the muzzle.
h. Velocity of the bullet inside the barrel – it is the relative speed of the bullet
per unit of time while it is still inside the barrel or at the which it leaves the gun
muzzle.
i. Rotation of the bullet inside the barrel - it refers to the twist of the bullet
caused by the cylindrical grooved portion of the barrel of most firearms. In
some instance, this condition may not be possible especially when the bullet
passes through a smooth bore barrel.
j. Engraving of the cylindrical surface of the bullet – once the bullet has passed
through the barrel of any firearm be it riffled (with cylindrical groove cut) or a
smooth bore, whatever imperfections or scratches the interior barrel of the gun has
will be impressed and left on the cylindrical surface of the bullet serving as its
thumbprint.
2. Exterior (external) Ballistics - movement of the
projectile after leaving the gun muzzle. It is extended from the
muzzle of the gun to the target or any attributes to the motion of
the projectile while in its flight and before reaching the target.
a. MUZZLE BLAST - Produces the accompanying loud once these
are burned and mixed with the air where oxygen, carbon, hydrogen
and other gaseous matters are present.
b. MUZZLE ENERGY - energy generated at the muzzle point
measuring foot-pound, attributes to the hot gas liberating at the
muzzle point.
c. TRAJECTORY - refers to the parabola-like flight of the
projectile from the time it leaves the muzzle until it hits the
target.
 d. RANGE - it refers to the imaginary straight distance from the
muzzle of the gun to the target.
 Accurate Range – the distance within which the shooter or gunner
has control of his shots.
 Effective Range – the distance within which a bullet is still capable
of inflicting injury after it has been fired.
 Maximum Range – the distance that a projectile can be propelled
from a firearm. The farthest distance the bullet could travel.
e. VELOCITY – refers to the rate of speed of the bullet (during its
flight) per unit of time and it is usually expressed in feet per second
(ft/sec). The velocity of a bullet fired upward has an equal velocity
downward due to the principle of the gravitational pull. They only
differ in direction and transformation.
f. PULL OF GRAVITY – is the downward reaction of the bullet towards the earth
surface due to its weight. It is based on the principle that anything that goes up
must goes down.
g. AIR RESISTANCE – the force of the air encountered by the bullet in its flight, a
slow moving object occupies smaller space at a given time while fast moving object
occupies larger space in just a short time.

3. Terminal Ballistics - is that branch of Ballistics that deals with the effects
of the projectile‟s impact on the target.
a. Terminal Accuracy – refers to the size of the bullet grouping on the target, a
bullet grouping that is bigger has a lesser chance to produce substantial damage. On
the other hand, the smaller the size of the bullet grouping on the target, the more
accurate and effective the shot become.
b. Terminal Energy – the energy or force of the projectile when strikes the target. A
bullet of smaller caliber has lesser energy thought it penetrates greatly into the
target.
c. TERMINAL VELOCITY – it is the speed of the bullet once it strikes the target
and penetrates it.
d. TERMINAL PENETRATION – it is the depth of the bullet‟s entry into the
target.

4. Forensic Ballistics
- the word Forensic was derived from the Latin word “forum” meaning a
“market place” where people gathered for public disputation or public
discussion.

Forensic Ballistics – defined as the study of the motion of the

projectile as applied to law or simply the science of firearm identification by
means of the ammunition fired through them.
 SCOPE OF FORENSIC BALLISTICS
1st FIELD INVESTIGATION
- this is the work of the first officer on the case on the field. A
primarily routine job of an investigating officer. Such work includes
recognition, collection, markings, preservation, packing and
transmittal of ballistics exhibits. At present, in cases of highly
sensational offense, the investigator on case seeks assistance of
the Scene of the Crime Operation Unit (SOCO). It will be the SOCO
members who will facilitate the processing of the crime scene
although everything that transpires and all that is undertaken by
the SOCO shall properly be coordinated with the investigator on
case who makes the necessary note taking.
2nd BALLISTICS TECHNICAL EXAMINATION OF THE EXHIBITS
- This phase involves the participation of the firearms identification
examiner. It scope covers the marking of evidences, test-firing (to
obtain test bullet and test shell in case a suspected firearm is
recovered), examination of ballistics exhibits using caliper, bullet
comparison microscope and other scientific instruments, preparation
of comparative chart and reports on the findings and conclusions, as
regards to the examination undertaken.
3rd LEGAL PROCEEDING
- This is the last and yet one of the most critical part in the field
of firearm identification. Here the examiner has to go to court
and testify as an expert witness regarding the ballistics
examination and report that he/she has prepared. It is also in
this stage that the qualification and competence and expertise
of the examiner is determined and tested.
 Chapter 2
The Evolution of Firearms
MAN BEHIND FIREARMS
1. JOHN M. BROWNING – Wizard of the modern firearms and pioneered
the breech loading single shot rifle that was adopted by Winchester.
2. SAMUEL COLT – Patented the first practical revolver and maker of
the Colt Peace Maker, one of the most famous revolvers in history.
3. ALEXANDER JOHN FORSYTH – Father of the percussion powder. He
successfully invented the priming mixture and caused the
integration of the primer, bullet, gunpowder and shell into one unit.
4. MAJOR UZIEL GAL – An Isaraeli army who designed the UZI (Israeli)
in the year 1950.
5. COL. CALVIN H. GODDARD – Father of modern Ballistics. He is the
man who first utilized the bullet comparison microscope to prove
the identify of a fired bullet through comparison with a test bullet.
6. JOHN C. GARAND – Designed and invented the Semi-Automatic U.S
Riffle Cal. 30.M1 garand
7. MICHAEL KALASHNIKOV – Designed the AK (Automat
Kalashnikova) 47 (soviet union) adopted by the Russian Army in
the year 1951.
8. GEORGE LUGER – Designed the Luger MPO8 (Germany)
9. JOHN WOLFE MARLIN – Founder of Martin Firearms company.
10.PETER PAUL MAUSER – Invented and designed the Mauser M1912
(Germany)
11.JAMES WOLFE RIFFLEY – Simulated the development of the
model 1855 rifle-musket.
12.ELIPHALET REMINGTON – One of the early rifle makers.
13.ELISHA KING ROOT - Designed the machinery for making Colt
Firearms.
14.HORACE SMITH – Founded the great firm of Smith and Wesson
and pioneered the making of breech loading rifles.
15.EUGENE STONER – Designed the U.S M16 Armalite under
licensed by Colt Company from July 1959 onwards.
16.L.C.SMITH – Developed the Shotgun bearing his name and
is now known as the Ithaca gun Company.
17.JOHN T. THOMPSON - Developed in the course of WW1
the Thompson M1A1 and the 1982 model of the A1 (USA).
He pioneered the making of the Thompson sub-machine
gun.
18.DANIELB. WESSON – The partner of Horace Smith in the
making of the famous revolver bearing their names.
19.OLIVER WINCHESTER – One of the Earliest rifle and pistol
makers.
 Chapter 3
Firearms: Its Nature and
Classification
Legal Definition of Firearms
 Firearms or Arms or used, includes rifles, muskets, carbines, shotgun,
pistol, revolvers, and all other deadly weapons, to which a bullet,
ball, shot, shell or other missiles may be discharge by means of gun
powder or other explosives. The barrrel of any Firearm shall be
considered a complete firearm for all purpose hereof. (Sec.877
Revised Administrative Code/Sec. 290 national Internal Revenue Code)

 Technical Definition - is an instrument used for the population of

projectile by means of the expansive force gases coming from burning
gunpowder.
Classification Firearms
Two General Classifications of Firearms
A. According to Interior Barrrel Construction
1. SMOOTH BORE FIREARMS - Firearms that have no riffling (lands and
grooves) inside their gun barrel.
ex: Shotguns and Musket
2. RIFFLED BORE FIREARMS - Firearms that have riffling
inside their gun barrrel.
ex: pistols, revolvers, and other modern weapons.
B. According to the Caliber of the Projectile Propelled

1. Artillery - refers to those types of firearms that propels projectile with

more than one inch diameter.
ex: Cannons, Mortars and Bazookas
2. Small Arms - these are firearms that propel a projectile with
less than one inch diameter and it can be handled, moved and
operated by one man.
ex: machine gun, shoulder arms and handguns.
A. MACHINE GUNS

A machine gun is a type of firearm that is primarily designed for

military use.
It can be grouped in three general types;
1st RECOIL OPERATED = a type of machine gun devised with a recoil
spring that is responsible for forcing the breech black to move forward
causing another cartridge to be loaded only after the breech block moves
rearward and the empty shell is extracted upon firing.

2nd GAS OPERATED = a type of machine gun equipped with gas port
at the anterior portion of the barrel. When cartridge is fired and the
bullet reaches the gas port some high-pressure gas will move to the gas
cylinder causing the piston to move to the rear moving or pulling the
breech block to the rear.
 3rd COMBINED RECOIL AND GAS OPERATED ACTION = in this type of
machine gun, the gas operation merely serves to unlock the breech block by
the pressure moving to the gas port, passing through the gas cylinder and
causing the piston to move to the rear, moving the cam to raise the lock
through a stud. Once, this completed, recoil action causes the breech block
to move rearward and completes the opening cycle. The spring will return
the various parts to their closed position and cycle will be repeated for the
next shot.
SUB MACHINE GUN
- A light, portable form of machine gun, utilizing a pistol size
ammunition, having a shoulder stock that may or may not be
folded and designed to be fired with both hands.
There are two types of firearm according to its mechanism.
1. One has a bolt operated by a trigger sear causing the cartridge
to be fired in open bolt
2. and the other is fired with a closed bolt position.
B. SHOULDER ARMS
Shoulder Arms are those types of firearms that were normally
fired from the shoulder e.g rifles and shotguns.
RIFLES - a shoulder weapon designed to fire a projectile with more
accuracy through a long rifled bore barrrel, usually more than 22
inches.
Just like any other type of gun, rifles appear in various forms.
First, is the Single shot rifle the simplest and yet of many types.
Second, is the Repeating riffle, a type of rifle loaded with several
cartridges at one time and carriers the cartridge into the chamber
when it is ready to be fired, rather than for the shooter to do it by
hand.
This can be divided into: bolt action action type, lever type, slide
action type and automatic type.
Types of Repeating Rifles
1) Bolt action type - the bolt action type may appear as either turning bolt or a
straight- pull bolt type.
The turning bolt type - is manipulated by turning the bolt handle first upward,
making the bolt in an unlocked position before pulling the handle to open the
chamber causing the cartridge to be exposed and be ready for another loading
and closing before firing.
Straight pull action type - as its name implies, the bolt is directly pulled to the
rear without being turned, the chamber will open loading will follow, and then
close again before firing.
2) Lever type - it is operated by downward-forward movement first of the lever
by hand, causing the opening, cocking and placing of the cartridge in its
position for loading.
3) Slide Action type - in this type of rifle, a box type magazine is attached and
removed every time that loading and unloading is desired.
 Another type of a rifle is called Automatic type. It is a type of a rifle
in which firing can be made continously by a single press of the
trigger and while the trigger is pressed. Firing will only stop either by
the action of the gunner or when all the cartridges have been used.

CARBINE - a short barrel rifle, with its barrel rifle, measuring not
longer than 22 incehs. it fires a single projectile though a rifle-bore
either semi-automatic or fully automatic, for every press of the trigger.

MUSKETS - an ancient smoothbore and muzzle loading military

shoulder arms designed to fire shoots or a single round lead ball.
 SHOTGUN - a smooth bore and a breach loading shoulder arm
esigned to fire a number of lead pellets or shots in one change.
Generally, all shotguns are equipped with a smooth bore barrel
designed to fire a number of lead pellets in a single charge.
This type of firearm also appears in various mechanism types, they
are as follows;
1. Single Barreled Shotgun = it is similar to a single shot rifle.
2. Double Barreled Shotgun = it appears in different variation
depending on the barrel position.
3. Pump Action Shotgun = it is also known by the name “slide action”
type.
4. Auto-loading Shotgun = this type of shotgun has a mechanism
similar to auto-loading or self-loading rifles that permits reloading
by the action of the recoil without the shooter taking added effort.
 The barrel construction of shotguns may also be found in different
before construction.
These are:
1. cylinder bore type - a type of shotgun bore with the same
diamater throughout the barrel (from breech to muzzle end)
2. the choke bore type - a type of shotgun bore with a diminishing or
reducing bore diameter towards the muzzle, it is designed to limit
the spread of the shots or making the shots travel longer before
they spread.
3. paradox shotgun - a very rare type of shotgun bore, having a rifling
only a few inch from its muzzle point.
C. HANDGUNS
these types of firearms are designed or intended to be fired using
one hand e.g pistols and revolvers.
1. Pistol - in early firearm history, all handguns are generally called
as pistols.
There were three (3) classes of pistols in that period;
 the Single shot pistol - is operated by depressing the lever causing
the barrel to be unlatched and tipped upward

 the Semi-automatic - is the type of pistol most common in existence

 the revolving pistol, now known as the revolver.

2. REVOLVER - this revolver is a type of a hand firearm
designed to position cartridges into position for firing with
the aid of a rotating cylinder serving as its chamber.

These are two types of revolvers according to its mechanical

firing action, they are as follows;
1. the single action - a type of revolver that needs manual
cocking of the hammer before squeezing the trigger and
2. the double action - a type of revolver that does not need
manual cocking.
 C. TYPES OF FIREARMS ACCORDING TO MECHANICAL
CONSTRUCTION
1) Single shot firearms = types of firearms designed to fire only one shot for every
loading. ex; single shot pistols, revolvers and shotguns
2) Repeating arms = types of firearms designed to fire several shots in one loading and
for every press of the trigger. ex; automatic pistols, revolvers, rifles, and shotguns
3) Automatic firearms = types of firearms that constitute continous firing in a single
press of the trigger and while the trigger is pressed
4) Slide action type = types of firearms in which loading take place by back and fourth
manipulation of the under/over forearms of the gun. ex; shotgun and pistols.
5) Bolt action type = types of firearms which reloading takes place by manipulating the
bolt back and forth. ex; Rifles, shotguns and machine guns
6) Lever type (break type) = loading takes place by lever action on the firearms ex;
Rifles and shotguns
 ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF PISTOLS AND
REVOLVERS
REVOLVER ADVANTAGES PISTOL ADAVANTAGES
• an old standard weapon that is easy to • it has a better grip - the hand points
naturally
operated, hence almost everyone
knows how to handle it • it is easier to load in comparison
with that of a revolver
• safer for inexperienced users to handle • it gives greater number of shots than
and carry than an automatic pistol a revolver
• its mechanisms allows the trigger pull • it is easier to clen than revolver
to be better than an average automatic • it gives greater firing power and
pistol. greater cases of firing
• there is no gas leakage in its
operation.
 MISCELLANEOUS TYPES OF GUNS
1. ZIP GUN = generally referring to home made gun used by the juvenile
delinquents in the United States of America. In the Philippines, it is
referred to as „Paltik‟
2. CANE GUN, KNIFE PISTOLS, CELL PHONE GUN, etc. = devices
principality designed for other purpose to which a gun mechanism is
incorporated or attached, it is also called as Freakish gun a type of
a zip gun designed to prevent easy identification.
3. FLARE GUN = designed for tracing or sending signals or locating
enemy troops.
4. GAS GUN = generally referring to all gun designed for firing tear gas.
5. HARPOON GUN = refers to a barbed spear in hunting large fish.
6. LIBERATOR = U.S. government made smooth bore gun used in
Europe and designed to fire an automatic colt pistolcartridge
caliber.
7. MULTI - BARRELED GUN = refers to all types of gun containing a
number of barrels.
8. PARADOX GUN = a type of gun which contains lands and grooves a
few inch from the muzzle point.
9. TOOL GUNS = are devices that resemble a gun‟s designed but are
generally used for construction of furniture e.g. glue gun, drilling
machine, etc.
10.TRAP GUN - refers to gun used for trapping animals.
 Chapter 4
Ammunition