AFTE Store - Bullet Identification

A reprint of information from an unknown source, submitted by Walter J. Howe. This concerns a recent patent granted to Sol B. Wiczer, patent 4,035,942, dated 19 July 1977. The following abstract was included with the article. A system is provided for identifying a bullet with a gun from which it was fired wherein a marking die is supported in the barrel of a gun having cutting elements extending into the bore to impart groove-like markings upon a bullet surface when it is fired, the markings being arranged in groups of grooves, each group being readable in coded form as a digit portion of a number, the composite pattern of grooves upon the surface of the bullet forming a composite number corresponding to the registration number of the gun from which the bullet was fired.