This document discusses wound ballistics of rifled firearms. It begins by introducing forensic ballistics and the different types: internal, external, and terminal ballistics. It then discusses wound ballistics, focusing on the mechanism of injury when a projectile strikes a living target. Key factors that influence the transfer of kinetic energy are explored. Different types of gunshot wounds are defined, including penetrating, perforating, and wounds that are both penetrating and perforating. Cavitation effects and characteristics of entry and exit wounds are also summarized.

1. WOUND BALLISTICS OF RIFLED FIREARM
• Submitted by:- Submitted to:-
Pallavi Kumari Dept. of Forensic Sciences
SHUATS

2. INTRODUCTION
Forensic Ballistics:- The science of ballistic has been develop to facilitate
the examination of firearms, ammunition and other related matter.
It also include the study of trajectory pathway caused by the bullet.
Forensic ballistic was first coined by the Colonel Calvin Goddard also
known as father of Ballistic.

3. TYPES OF BALLISTICS
1. Internal Ballistics:- Internal mechanism within the firearm from pulling
the trigger upto bullet leaves the muzzle end.
2. External Ballistics:- External study of bullet as soon as bullet leaves the
muzzle end upto hitting the target(Trajectory pathway).
3. Terminal Ballistics:- As soon as bullet hits the target or fall down due to
gravity comes under the terminal ballistic in case of non living target.

5. RIFLED FIREARM

6. WOUND BALLISTICS
When a projectile hits a living targets it causes some effect or creates the wound
this phenomena comes under the wound ballistics.
 It involves following elements for proper understanding.
A. The Firearms
B. The Projectile
C. The Velocity of projectile
D. Range of fire
E. Nature of target

7. MECHANISM OF INJURY
When a projectile strikes the human body it depresses and compresses the
skin, flesh and the bone underneath. The pressure continued, pressure
stretches them beyond the elastic limits and a hole is created and the bullet
is entered inside. The hole on the skin therefore appears, on the non-
stretched skin smaller than the size of the projectile which created the
wound when it was stretched.
Secondly, kinetic energy transfer occurs during retardation of the bullet
and this may cause damage outside the tract.

8. FACTORS INFLUENCING THE EFFICIENCY OF
KINETIC ENERGY TRANSFER
 Kinetic energy of a body which is proportional to mass and velocity.
 E = ½ mv2
 Projectile’s deformation and fragmentation.
 Entrance profile and path travelled through the body.
 Biological characteristics of the transit tissues.

9. GUNSHOT WOUND
 Gunshot Wound are either penetrating or perforating or both.
1. Penetrating wound – when a bullet enters an object and does not exit.
2. Perforating wound :- The bullet passes completely through an object.
3. Both penetrating and perforating :- occur when a missile strikes the
head and passes through the skull and brain and rest under the scalp,
thus producing a penetrating wound of the head, but perforating wound
of skull and brain.

10. CAVITATION
A permanent cavity is formed by the path of the bullet itself.
A temporary cavity is formed by continued forward acceleration of the
medium (air or tissue) in the walk of the bullet causing the wound cavity to
be stretched outward.

11. WOUND
Mainly wound classify in two category
1. Entry Wound
2. Exit Wound
Entry wound:- Direction of wound from where bullet enters into body.
Exit wound:- it is point from where bullet exit or leave the body after
penetration.

12. ENTRY WOUND
Basically there are 4 types of entry wound are present:-
1. Contact wound
2. Close wound
3. Near/ Intermediate wound
4. Distant wound

13. CONTACT WOUND
Wound is circular and smaller (may be stellate shaped over scalp)
Burning/blackening of immediate wound edges
Soot within the tissues may be found (usually is less)
Muzzle mark/imprint
Inverted margins of the wound
Local burning of skin and hair.
Surrounding bruises.

14. CLOSE WOUND
Almost always circular in shape
Edges are inverted
Collar of abrasion
‘Metal fouling’
Burning effects (within a few centimeters)
Tattooing around (or stippling)

15. NEAR WOUND
• From 30cm to 60cm
• Entry wound smaller than bullet size
• Circular in shape
• No blast effect
• Blackening and singeing are absent
• Tattooing may be present.

16. DISTANT WOUND
• From more than 60cm to several kilometers entry wounds appear alike
• There is abrasion collar around entry wound
• Wound is inverted
• Ring of dirt or grease ring
• A bullet striking sideways may produce a rectangular lacerated wound.

17. EXIT WOUND
• Exit wound is larger in size as compare to entry wound.
• The margins are everted in nature.
• Tissue distribution is more.
• When bullet exit after entering into a body it may be sometimes contain
different fragment along with the mass of tissues of body. Due to which the
exit wound is generally larger in size.

18. RICOCHET BULLET
• A bullet when enter into the body may get deviated due to hitting with hard
object like bone and may follow another path. In such circumstances the
exit wound may be found at different places. This phenomena is known as
ricochet bullet.

19. TERMS RELATED TO WOUND
1. Tattooing
2. Blackening
3. Scorching
4. Abrasion collar
5. Greece collar
6. Burning

20. DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ENTRY AND EXIT
WOUND
Features Entry wound Exit wound
Size Usually small except in contact wound Bigger than entry
wound
Edges Inverted Everted
Burning, singing and
blackening
Present Absent
Clothes fiber May be seen Absent
Carbon monoxides Can be detected in high quantity May be present but in
very less as
compared to entry
wound
Abrasion collar Present Absent
Greece or dirt collar May be present Absent

21. REFERENCES
• Forensic Science in Crime Investigation (B S Nabar)
• Wikipedia.
• Di Maio, Vincent J. Gunshot Wounds: Practical Aspects of Firearms,
Ballistics, and Forensic Techniques, Second Edition, CRC Press, New
York, 1999.

22. THANK YOU