Page 141 - VERITAS Vol.2 Issue 2

In some cases, the gun will be missing or stolen but other pieces of ev-

idence such as prints, blood splatter, fibres of clothes, etc., may still be
there. Additionally, scratches of serial numbers can frequently still be

retrieved using an etching procedure that uses fluids or gels , potentially

bringing the digits back to a readable state.

A bullet or a round leaves the muzzle of the rifle and descends the bar-

rel. The barrel contains internal rifling. A gun’s barrel has set grooves

and landmarks called rifling that force the bullet to spin when it leaves
the barrel. The raised portion in the rifling is land markings, while the

depressions are the grooves.

Fig 2: Image shows the cross-section of a cartridge

Similar to imparting spin to a football, this spinning action makes the

round move in the exact and extended course. In their rifles, various

manufacturers use varying measurements and quantities of rifling. This

enables forensic investigators in identifying particular gun makes and
models.

The round acquires distinctive striations or marks as it passes through

this rifling. The different marks on the cartridge formed as it leaves the

pistol function much like a fingerprint.

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Veritas Volume: 2, Issue: 2