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Ballistics 1

Forensic Science Ballistics Part 1

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Hillarthy Pernicious
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12 views

Ballistics 1

Forensic Science Ballistics Part 1

Uploaded by

Hillarthy Pernicious
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as TXT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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10.

Centerfire - the cartridge contains the primer in


the center of the base where it can be struck by
firing pin of the action.

11. Chamber - the portion of the action that holds


the cartridge ready for firing.

12. Choke - a constriction of a shotgun bore at the


muzzle that determines the pattern of the fired
shot.

13. Double Action - Pulling the trigger both cocks


the hammer and fires the gun.

14. Double Barrel - two barrels side by side or one


on top of the other usually on a shotgun.

15. Gauge - refers to the diameter of the barrel on a


shotgun in terms of the number of lead balls the
size of the bore it would take to weigh one pound
(10 gauge,12 gauge etc) "410" gauge really refer
to caliber,but it is worded as such to refer to a
shotgun.

16. Hammer - a metal rod or plate that typically


drives a firing pin to strike the cartridge primer to
detonate the powder.

17. Ignition - the way in which powder is ignited.Old


muzzle loading weapons used flintlock or
percussion caps.Modern guns use primers that are
rimfire or centerfire.

18. Lands and Grooves - lands are the metal inside


the barrel left after the spiral grooves are cut to
produce the rifling.

19. Magazine - this is a device for storing cartridges


in a repeating firearm for loading into the chamber.

20. Magnum - for rifles and handguns, an improved


version of a standard cartridge which uses the
same caliber and bullets,but has more powder,
giving the fired bullet more energy.For shotgun
loads,magnum shells have more powder and may
have increased length with more shot pellets.

21. Muzzle - the end of the barrel out of which the


bullet comes.

22. Pistol - synonym for a handgun that does not


have a revolving cylinder.

23. Powder - modern gun cartridges use smokeless


powder that is relatively stable,of uniform quality,
and leaves little residue when ignited.For centuries
black powder was used and was quite volatile
(ignited at low temperature or shock),was
composed of irregularly sized grains,and left a
heavy residue after ignition,requiring frequent
cleaning of bore.

24. Primer - a volatile substance that ignites when


struck to detonate the powder in a cartridge.

Rimfire cartridges - have primer inside the base.

Centerfire cartridges - have primer in a hole in the middle of the base of the
cartridge case.

25. Revolver - handgun that has a cylinder with


holes to contain the cartridges.The cylinder
revolves to bring the cartridge into position to be
fired.This is a single action when the hammer must
be cocked before the trigger can fire the weapon.
It is double action when pulling the trigger both
cock and fires the gun.

26. Riffling - the spiral grooves cut inside a gun


barrel that give the bullet a spinning motion.The
metal between the grooves is called a land.

27. Rimfire - the cartridge has the primer distributed


around the periphery of the base.

28. Safety - a mechanism of an action to prevent


firing of the gun.

29. Shotgun - a gun with a smooth bore that shoots


cartridges that contain "shot" or small metal pellets
of lead or steel as the projectiles.

30. Smoothbore weapons - have no riflings,


typically shotguns.Most handguns and rifles have
riflings.

31. Sights - the device on top of the barrel that allow


the gun to be aimed.

32. Silencer - a device that fits over the muzzle of


the barrel to muffle the sound of a gunshot.Most
work by baffling the escape of gases.

33. Single Action - the hammer must be manually


cocked before the trigger can be pulled to fire the
gun

34. Smokeless Powder - refers to modern gun


powder which is not really powder but flakes or
nitrocellulose and other substances.Not really
smokeless but much less so than black powder.
35. Stock - a wood,metal,or plastic frame that holds
the barrel and action and allows the gun to be held
firmly.

Composition of Gunpowder
1. Sulfur
2. Charcoal
3. Saltpeter (potassium nitrate)
- gun powder first appeared in china but used
primarily in firecrackers.

Different Firing Mechanisms of Firearm

1. Matchlock - employed a burning wick on a spring


that was "locked" back and released into a pan of
powder upon pulling a trigger. The powder in the
pan then ignited, sending flame through a small
hole into the barrel chamber of the weapon,
igniting a larger powder charge in the chamber and
sending the projectile (bullet) forward.

2 Wheellock - in the early 16th century, improvement


included the wheellock mechanism in which a
spinning wheel against a metal plate showered
sparks into the pan holding the priming powder.

3. Flintlock - developed in the early 17th century,


flint is released by the trigger mechanism that
strikes a steel plate to shower sparks into the pan
filled with powder.

4. Percussion - evolved in the 19th century,


consisted of a hammer that was locked and when
released, struck a cap containing a volatile
"primer" that ignites on impact, sending a flame
through a small tube into the barrel chamber.

matchlock

wheellock

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