“If the LAW has made you a

WITNESS, remain a man of

SCIENCE . You have no VICTIM
to AVENGE, No GUILTY or
INNOCENT person to RUIN or
SAVE. You must bear
WITNESS, within the limits of
SCIENCE.”
 FORENSIC
BALLISTICS
BALLISTICS
--- is the science that deals with the
study of the motion of the projectile.
Science refers to the systematized
body of knowledge. Motion refers to
the movement and Projectile refers to
the bullet that passes through the
barrel of the firearms.
--- is derived from the Greek word
“BALLO” or “BALLEIN” which means
to throw and from the Roman war
machine “BALLISTA” a gigantic bow or
catapult that hurls stones in killing
enemies and wild animals.
FORENSIC
--- is an adjective referring to formal
eloquence or consequently formal
court discussion. More broadly, the
word Forensic has become almost
synonymous with Legal. For instance,
“Forensic Medicine” means “Legal
Medicine”.
 BRANCHES
OF BALLISTICS
1. Interior Ballistics
--- treats of the motion of projectile
while still inside the firearm.
Namely :

A. Firing pin hitting the primer

B. Ignition of the priming mixture
C. Combustion of gunpowder
D. Expansion of heated gas
E. Pressure developed – measured
in pounds per square inch (lbs. /
sq. inch or psi)
F. Energy generated - measured in
foot pound. Foot pound –capacity
to lift one pound at the height of
one foot.
G. Recoil of the firearm – the
rearward movement of the
firearm after explosion.
H. Velocity of the bullet – measured
in feet per second (ft./sec.)
I. Rotation of the bullet
J. Engraving on the cylindrical
surface of the bullet.
2. Exterior Ballistics
--- treats of the motion of projectile
after leaving the muzzle of the gun
barrel.
Namely :

A. Muzzle blast – the sound created at the

muzzle end of the barrel of the firearm
after explosion.
B. Muzzle energy(ME) – energy generated
after leaving the firearm.
C. Trajectory – is the actual pattern or the
curved path of the bullet in flight.
D. Range – the distance between the
firearm and the target.
1. Effective range – the maximum
distance at which the projectile
can be expected to be lethal.
2. Maximum range – the greatest
distance a projectile can travel
when fired at the optimum
angle of elevation of the barrel.
E. Velocity – the speed of the bullet.
F. Air resistance - encountered by
the bullet in flight.
G. Pull of gravity – the downward
movement of the bullet.
H. Penetration – the entry of the
bullet on target.
3. Terminal ballistics

--- treats the effects of the impact of

the bullet towards the target.
Namely :

A. Terminal accuracy – the size of the

bullet grouping on the target.
B. Terminal energy – energy of the bullet.
C. Terminal velocity – the speed of the
bullet.
D. Terminal penetration – the depth of the
bullet on the target.
4. Forensic ballistics
--- is the science of Firearm
Identification by means of the
ammunition fired through them.
Namely :

A. Field Investigation –refers to the work

of an investigation in the field. It
concerns mostly with the collection,
marking, preservation, packing and
transmission of firearms evidences.
-It includes the study of class
characteristics of firearms and
bullets
B. Technical Examination – refers to the
examiners who examine bullets and/or
shells whether fired from the
suspected firearms submitted; and/or
to determine also whether or not
cartridge cases were loaded or ejected
from the suspected firearm submitted.
Reports are made by the examiners
and testify in court regarding their
report.
C. Legal Proceedings – presentation of
Ballistics reports, firearms, bullets,
cartridges cases and allied exhibits in
court.
BULLET DROP VS GRAVITY
-If you hung one bullet by the
muzzle of a rifle and released this
bullet to the ground at the same
instant the fired bullet left the
muzzle, on a flat line of trajectory,
both bullets would hit the ground at
the same instant.
 BULLET FIRED UPWARD
-A bullet fired straight up into the air would come
back with the same velocity that it had when it
started if it were not the air resistance, but in practice
bullet, fired straight upward has little velocity
remaining when it return to earth.

- if you feel that you must fire a loaded gun t

frighten someone, fire it straight down into the
ground so that it will not bounce straight up into
the air.
FIREARMS
--- (Sec.877) firearms or arms as herein used
includes rifles, muskets, carbines, shotguns,
revolvers, pistols and all other deadly
weapons from which a bullet, ball, shot shell,
or other missiles maybe discharged by
means of gunpowder or other explosives.
The term also includes air rifles except such
being of a small caliber and limited range
used as toys. The barrel of any firearm shall
be considered a complete firearm for all
purposes hereof.
Rifle
--- a type of weapon normally
designed to be fired from the
shoulder.
Musket
--- an ancient smooth bore weapon
designed to shoot a single round lead
ball. They are considered a muzzle
loading firearms.
 Matchlock
musket
--- came into being about the end of
the first quarter of the Fifteenth
century.

--- was first introduced at the

beginning of the eighteenth century.
Carbine
--- (David “Carbine” William) caliber
.30 a short barrel rifle, having a
barrel not longer than 22 inches.
Shotgun
--- a smooth bore weapon designed
to shot a number of lead pellets in
one charge.
Gauge
--- as applied to shotgun indicates
the bore diameter is equal to the
diameter of the lead ball whose
weight in pound is equal to the
reciprocal gauge index.
GAUGE BORE DIAMETER
• 4 .935”
• 8 .835”
• 10 .775”
• 12 .729”
• 16 .662”
• 20 .615”
• 28 .550”
• 410 .410”
Revolver
--- a hand firearm in which a rotating
cylinder successively places cartridges
into position for firing.
Pistol
--- a hand firearm usually applies to
single shot and automatic loading.
The smallest pistol in the world is
KOLIBRI, auto pistol, caliber 2.7 mm,
5 shots, 1914.
 The most powerful handgun in
the world is once considered
MAGNUM .44 now caliber .50
manufactured in Israel. The word
“MAGNUM” originated in England.
 2.7 MM KOLIBRI
AUTO
--- is the smallest centerfire cartridge
of commercial manufacture it was
used it the equally small Kolibri semi-
auto pistol introduced about 1914.
Single Action
--- weapon in which pressure upon
the trigger releases the hammer that
must be manually cocked.
--- weapon in which pressure upon
the trigger both cocks and releases
the hammer.
Automatic
--- a weapon is called automatic
when the mechanism is so arranged
that it will fire continuously while the
trigger is depressed.
Air Rifle
--- type of weapon designed to shoot
pellets by means of compressed air.
Firearm
--- (technical meaning) is an
instrument used for the propulsion of
projectile by means of the expansive
force of gases coming from burning
gunpowder.
 General
Classification
Of
Firearms
 Smooth – Bore
Firearms
--- firearms that does not contain
rifling or perfectly smooth from end
to end. e.g. Shotguns and muskets.
 Rifled - Arms
--- firearms that contains rifling or
the bore is cut longitudinally with a
number of grooves.
e.g. pistol, revolvers, and rifles.
Main Type Of
Firearms
Artillery
--- firearms that propel projectile
more than one inch in diameter.
e.g. Cannons, Mortars, Bazooka
Small Arms
--- firearms that propel projectiles
less than one inch in diameter.
e.g. Pistols, Revolvers, Rifle,
Submachine guns, Shotguns.
IMPORTANT DATES
IN FIREARMS
HISTORY
• 1313 – Gunpowder as a Propellant.

• 1350 – Small Arms. Gunpowder was

first used only in canons.

• 1498 – Riflings. The first reference to

rifled barrels happened around this
year.
• 1575 – Cartridge. Paper cartridge
were developed.

• 1807 – Percussion system. Forsyth

discovered that certain compounds
detonated by a blow could be used to
ignite the charge in a firearm,
forming the basis for all later
percussion and a cartridge
developments.
• 1835 – Samuel Colt patented the
first practical revolver.

• 1836 – Pinfire Cartridge. It was

developed by Le Faucheux.

• 1845 – Rimfire Cartridge. In France,

Flobert developed “bullet breech cap”
which was in reality the first rimfire
cartridge.
• 1858 – center-Fire Cartridge. The
Morse cartridge marked the beginning
of the rapid development of the
center-fire cartridge.

• 1884 – Automatic Machine Gun.

Hiram Maxim built the first fully
automatic gun, utilizing the recoil of
the piece to load and fire the next
charge.
• 1885 – Smokeless Powder. In
France, Vieille development the first
satisfactory smokeless powder, a new
propellant which lacked the smoke
characteristic of black powder, but was
more powerful.
HOW DID THE GUN
GET ITS NAME?
 Before guns were invented, there were
many types of spring-driven catapults that
hurled large stones: the springal, the
trebuchet, the arbalest and a wheeled
catapult known as a mangonel. These were
all known as gyns, a now obsolete
shortening of the word, engine. It is possible
that gun came from gyn, but it is much
more probable that it derived from
mangonel which was familiarly known in the
early medieval days as a gonne. All this
catapults threw stones and so did the early
powder-loaded cannons.
 Rifles are so named because the
grooving inside the barrels is known as
rifling. The word pistol owes its origin to
either the Italian city of Pistoia, or Pistole, a
coin that was supposed to be the same
diameter as the bore of the weapon.
Caliber
--- term used to indicate the bore
diameter measured from two
opposite lands.
 Equivalent Of Calibers In
Inches And Millimeters
1. Caliber .45 – 11 mm.
2. Caliber .40- 10 mm.
3. Caliber . 38 – 9 mm.
4. Caliber .32 – 7.65 mm.
5. Caliber .30 – 7.63 mm.
6. Caliber .25 – 6.35 mm.
7. Caliber .22 – 5.59 mm.
Caliber .250- 3000
--- 3000 is the muzzle velocity of the
bullet in feet per second. The .250 is
the caliber in thousandths of an inch.
Caliber .30 - 06
--- the ‘ 06 is the shortened form of
1906. the year when the cartridge
was introduced. The .30 is the caliber.
Caliber .30 - 30
--- the second 30 refers to the weight
in grains of smokeless powder first
loaded in this cartridge when it was
introduced.
Caliber 7.92 x 57mm.
--- the 57mm. Is the measurement of
the case length and 7.92 mm is the
caliber.
 TYPES OF
FIREARMS
ACCORDING TO
MECHANICAL
CONSTRUCTION
1. Single shot firearms – those types
of firearms that is designed to
shoot only one shot.
2. Repeating arms – this type is
loaded with more than one
cartridge into the chamber when
it is fired rather having to perform
this operation by hand.
3. Bolt Action type – a firearm in
which the breech closure is (1) in
line with the bore at all times, (2)
manually reciprocated to load,
unload and cock (3) and is locked
in place by breech bolt lugs and
engaging abutments usually in
the receiver.
4. Lever Action type – a design
wherein the breech mechanism is
cycled by an external lever
generally below the receiver.
5. Slide Action type – a firearm
which features a moveable
forearm which is manually
actuated in motion parallel by the
shooter. Forearm motion is
transmitted to a breech bolt
assembly which performs all the
functions of the firing cycle
assigned to it by the design. Also
known as PUMP ACTION.
6. Semiautomatic type – A firearm
requiring a separate pull of the trigger
for each shot fired, and which uses
the energy of discharge to perform a
portion of the operating or firing cycle.
(Usually the loading portion.)
BLOWBACK – in firearm, an automatic and
semi-automatic firearm design, that directly
utilizes the breech pressure exerted on the
head of the cartridge cases to actuate the
mechanism. In ammunition, a leakage of gas
rearward between the case and chamber wall
from the mouth of the case.
7. Automatic Action type – a firearm
design that feeds cartridges, fires
and ejects cartridge cases as long
as the trigger is fully depressed
and there are cartridges available
in the feed system.
8. Machine gun type – primarily
used only in military combat and
will seldom be encountered by
the firearms technician.
9. Submachine-gun type - is a light,
portable machine gun which uses pistol
size ammunition. It differs from a pistol
in that it has a shoulder stock which
may or may not fold but is designed to
be fired by the use of both hands.
10. Shotguns
a. Single barreled shotgun –it is loaded
with a single shot gun cartridge,
closed, fired and then deloaded by
the shooter.
b. doubled barreled shotgun –
the two barrels may be side
by side or they may be one
over the other. Each barrel
may have its own trigger.
c. pump action shotgun –
operates in the same manner
as a slide action rifles, by
means of a sliding lever under
the barrel.
 d. auto loading shotgun – these
are the same as auto-loading rifles
in that the recoil action reloads the
gun from the magazine without any
effort on the part of shooter.
11. Miscellaneous guns
a. gas guns – these will be found in
all shapes and sizes and are used
for firing tear gas and other forms
of disabling gases.
b. traps – these are designed to be
set in the woods and left where
animals will encounter them. They
may fire a bullet or a poison charge,
depending on their construction.
c. cane gun, knife pistols, etc. – a
devices primarily designed for
another purposes will have a gun
mechanism incorporated in them.
(Also known as FREAKISH DEVICE)
d. tools – there are a number of tool
using cartridges which are designed to
drive stud, punch holes or cut tables.
Such tools may be encountered in the
investigation of an accident.
e. zip guns - these may be in any
form, since the name has been applied
to all homemade guns, great many of
this class will be found to be
exceedingly clever mechanisms and
most effective weapons.
f. multi-barreled guns – in particular,
one will find guns having three or four
barrels all mounted in one receiver.
Some may have a combination of
several different gauges of shotguns,
or a combination of shotgun barrels
and rifle barrels.
g. liberator – made by the U.S.
government for use in occupied
countries of Europe during the
recent war and fired the .45
cartridge, single shot and smooth
bore.
h. flare guns – used in cases such
as for sending signals and enabling
to see enemies in the dark.
i. harpoon guns – barbed spear in
hunting large fish.
AMMUNITION
--- Shall mean loaded shell for rifles,
muskets, carbines, shotguns,
revolvers, and pistol from which a
bullet, ball, shot, shell, or other
missiles maybe fired by means of
gunpowder or other explosives. The
term also includes ammunition for air
rifle as mentioned elsewhere in this
code.
Cartridge
--- a term used to describe a
complete unfired unit consisting of
bullet, primer cartridge case and
gunpowder.
CLASSIFICATION
OF CARTRIDGE
ACCORDING TO
RIM
1. RIMMED TYPE
--- the diameter of the rim is greater than the
diameter of the body of the cartridge case.
e.g. caliber .38 special and caliber .22.

2. SEMI-RIMMED TYPE
--- the diameter of the rim is slightly greater
than the diameter of the body of the cartridge
case. e.g. caliber .25, .32 auto, super .38.
3. RIMLESS TYPE
--- the diameter of the rim is equal with the
diameter of the body of the cartridge case.
e.g. caliber .5.56mm, .30, .9mm, .45.

4. REBATED TYPE
--- the diameter of the rim is smaller than the
diameter of the body of the cartridge case.
e.g. caliber 8 mm x 59.
5. BELTED TYPE
--- there is a protruding metal around the body
of the cartridge case near the rim. e.g. caliber
338 magnum, 13.9 x 99.
 TYPES OF
CARTRIDGES
ACCORDING TO
LOCATION OF
PRIMER
1. PIN-FIRE CARTRIDGE
--- the pin extends radially through the bead of
the cartridge case into the primer. This type of
cartridge is no longer used.

2. RIM-FIRE CARTRIDGE
--- the priming mixture is placed in the cavity
formed in the rim of the head of the cartridge
case.
3. CENTER-FIRE CARTRIDGE
--- the primer cup is forced into the middle
portion of the head of the cartridge case.

4. PERCUSSION
--- a means of ignition of a propellant charge by
mechanical blow against the primer or
percussion cap.
Primer
--- the ignition component of cartridge
primers are used for igniting
propellant. A blow from the firing pin
on the prime cup compresses the
priming composition to detonate. This
detonation produces flame which
passes through the vent or flesh hole
in the cartridge case, igniting the
gunpowder.
 THE COMPOSITION OF A
PRIMER
1. Potassium Chlorate - 45%

2. Antimony Sulfide - 23%

3. Fulminate of Mercury - 32%

Gunpowder
--- any of various powder used in
firearms as propellant charge. The
inventor of gunpowder is BETHOLD
SCHWARTZ, (real name is
CONSTANTIN ANKLITZEN) a
Franchiscan monk in the town of
Freiburg in Germany.
Two Types
Of
Gunpowder
Black Powder
--- consists of jet black and rather
shiny grains. Although black powder
has been in use for about six
centuries, and although improved
methods of manufacture have
naturally led to efficiency in action.
Potassium nitrate – 75 %
Charcoal - 15 %
Sulphur - 10 %
Smokeless Powder
--- a mixture of nitrocellulose 60
parts, nitroglycerine 35 parts and
Vaseline 5 parts.
Bullet
--- a projectile propelled from a
firearm. A metallic or non-metallic
cylindrical projectile. Originated from
French word “boulette”, a small ball.
In common police parlance, a bullet
may be called “slug”.
- Lead bullets
- Jacketed bullets
- Armor- piercing bullet
- Tracer bullet
- Incendiary bullet
- Dum-dum bullets
- Gas check bullet
- Wad cutter bullet
How The Barrel Is
Made?
- Drilling operation
- Reaming operation
- Rifling operation
Breechface Manufacture
--- the breechface of all firearms are
machine cut in the first place, and in
the higher grade weapons are
finished off by hand filing and
grinding. Similarly the strikes of all
weapons are cut and shaped,
receiving different degree of fire
finishing according to the grade of
weapon in which they are to be used.
Marks Found On
Fired Bullets
1. Landmarks
--- depressed portion caused by the
lands.

--- raised on elevated portions cause

by the grooves.
3. Skidmarks
--- when the bullet enters the rifled
bore from a stationary position and is
forced abruptly into the rifling, its
natural tendency is to go straight
toward before encountering the
regular rifling twist.
4. Slippage Marks
--- bullets are fired from a worn-out
barrel, oily barrels and slightly over-
sized barrels
5. Shaving Marks
--- most commonly these marks are
found on bullets fired from a revolver
due to a poor alignment of the
cylinder with the bore.
Marks Found On
Fired Cartridge
Cases
1. Firing Pin Impression
--- the indentation in the primer of
a centative cartridge case or in the
rim of a rimfire cartridge case cause
when it is struck by the firing pin.
2. Breechface markings
--- negative impression of the
breechface of the firearm found on
the head of the cartridge case after
firing.
3. Chamber Marks
--- individual microscope placed
upon a cartridge case by the
chamber wall as a result of any or
all of the following:
a. chambering
b. expanding during firing
c. extraction
4. Extractor Marks
--- toolmarks produced upon a
cartridge or cartridge case from
contact with the extractor. These
are usually found on or just ahead
of the rim.
5. Ejector Marks
--- toolmarks produced upon a
cartridge or cartridge case on the
head, generally at or near the rim,
from contact with the ejector.
 Class
Characteristics
--- are those characteristics which
are determinable prior or before
the manufacture of the firearm.
These serve as basis to identify a
certain class or group of firearm.
Namely :
1. Caliber
2. Number of Lands
3. Number of Grooves
4. Direction of Twist
5. Width of Lands
6. Width of Grooves
7. Depth of Grooves
8. Pitch of Riflings
 Individual
Characteristics
--- are those characteristics which are
determinable only after the manufacture of
the firearm. They are characteristics and
which have random distribution. They are
characteristics whose existence is beyond
the control of man and which have random
distribution. Their existence in a firearm is
brought about by the tools in their normal
operation resulting through wear and tear,
abuse, mutilations, corrosion, erosion and
other fortuitous causes.
 Types Of Riflings
1. STEYR TYPE – (4-R-G = L)
2. SMITH AND WESSON TYPE –
(5-R-G = L)
3. BROWNING TYPE – (6-R-G2x)
4. COLT TYPE – (6-L-G2x)
5. WEBLEY TYPE – (7-R-G3x)
6. ARMY TYPE – (4-R-G3x)
Principles Of
Identification
Of Bullets
1. no two barrels are microscopically
identical as the surfaces of their
bores all posses individual and
characteristic markings of their own.
2. when the bullet fired from a rifled
barrel, it becomes engraved by the
rifling and this engraving will vary in
its minute details with every
individual bore. So it happens that
the engravings on the bullet fired
from that on a similar bullet fired
from another barrel. And conversely;
the engravings on bullet fired from
the same barrel will be the same.
3. every barrel leaves its thumb mark
on every bullet which is fired through
it, just as every breechface leaves its
thumb mark on the base of every
fired cartridge case.
 PRINCIPLE OF
IDENTIFICATION OF
SHELLS
1. The breechface and striker of
every single firearm leave
microscopical individualities
of their own.
• 2. The firearm leaves its
“fingerprints” or “thumbmark”
on every cartridge case which it
fires.
• 3. The whole principle of identification is
based on the fact that since the
breechface of every weapon must be
individually distinct, the cartridge cases
which it fires are imprinted with this
individuality. The imprint on all cartridge
cases fired from different weapons must
always be different.
Six Types Of Problem
in Forensic Ballistics
TYPE 1 --- given a bullet, to
determine the caliber and type of
firearm from which it was fired.
TYPE 2 --- given a fired cartridge
case, to determine the caliber and
type of firearm from which it was
fired.
 TYPE 3 --- given a bullet and
suspected firearm, to determine
whether or not the bullet was
fired from the suspected firearm.
TYPE 4 --- given a fired cartridge
case and suspected firearm, to
determine whether or not the
cartridge was fired from the
suspected firearm.
 TYPE 5 --- given two or more
bullets, to determine whether or
not they were fired from only one
firearm.
TYPE 6 --- given two or more
cartridge cases, to determine
whether or not they were fired
from only one firearm.
 Marking and
Preserving the
Evidentiary Chain
in Firearms Cases
oFired Bullets
oFired Cartridge Cases
oPistols
oRevolvers
oRifles
 Lists Of
Equipments Used
In A Ballistics
Laboratory
1. Comparison Microscope
This valuable instrument is especially
designed to permit the firearms examiner
to determine the similarity and
dissimilarity between two fired cartridge
cases by simultaneously observing their
magnified image. It is actually two
microscope couple together with a single
or two eyepiece, so that when one looks
through this comparison eyepiece, he is
seeing one half of what is under the other
– in other words, half of the evidence
bullet and half of the test bullet.
2.Stereoscope Microscope
This is generally used in the
preliminary examinations of fired
bullets and fired shells. To
determine the location of the
extractor marks and ejector
marks for orientation purposes.
It can be used also in the close-
up examination of tampered
serial numbers of firearms.
3. Bullet Recovery Box
For obtaining best fired bullets or
test fired cartridge cases from the
suspected firearms submitted to the
Ballistics Laboratory. In test firing
suspected firearms, it is standard
procedure to use ammunitions that
are of the same caliber, make or
brand and manufactured in the same
year with that of the evidence bullet
or shell.
 4. Vernier Caliper

The instrument determine

the bullet diameter and barrel
length.
5. Analytical Balance

This more or less determines the

weights of the bullets, shorts and
pellets for possible type, caliber
and make for firearm from which
they were fired.
 6. Taper Gage

Used for determining the

bore diameter of the firearm.
 7. Onoscope

For examining the interior

surface of the gun barrel.
 8. Helixometer
For the measuring the Pitch of
riflings. Pitch of Rifling is the distance
advanced by the rifling in one
complete turn or the distance
travelled by the bullet in one
complete turn.
 9. Chronograph

For determining the speed of

the bullet or the muzzle
velocity of the bullet.