AFTE Store - Gun Sounds, Gunshots, Bullet Sounds and Bullet Impacts: The Need for Consideration and Practical Research

This writer has identified a minimum of nineteen (19) categories of investigation and research related to acoustical events
that occur during the operation, discharge and post-discharge of firearms which may be recorded under certain conditions
and circumstances. The current proliferation and use of recording devices in the possession of the public as well as those
being employed by many law enforcement agencies will result in an exponential increase in the capture of gunshots and
sounds associated with gunshots. Depending on the quality of these recorded sounds, the answers to some critical questions
not previously answerable may now be available. The potential evidentiary value of sounds from each of these 19 categories
is presented. This is not offered as a final, validated solution, but as a motivator and a call for partnerships between certain
acoustical experts and forensic firearms examiners with a keen interest in such research and a thorough understanding of
the sources of these sounds as a result of their long experience with firearms.