AFTE Store - Determination of Bullet Type, Sequence of Firing, and Time Between Discharges by Examination of Bullet Wipe Residues

In some cases it is important to determine the bullet caliber, type, and material. The bullet wipe which appears from the
process of penetrating the target can give additional important information. The aim of this work is to investigate the
possibility of determining a bullet’s type from bullet wipe intensity and diameter using firearms with barrels that were known
to have residues from previous firings. In addition, the dependence of these parameters on the order of shooting and the time
periods between each shot was investigated. In this work a number of different types of bullets (full metal jacket – FMJ, lead,
and copper-washed – CW) of different calibers were examined. The study shows differences in some of the parameters for
different bullet types and the possibility to differentiate the first shot from the others (“first shot effect”).