Forensics

  • ammunition - any material fired from a pistol or long gun

  • automatic firearms - a firearm that continuously fires ammunition as long as the trigger is held

  • ballistics - the study of a projectile in flight; includes the launch and behavior of the projectile

  • ballistic evidence - evidence associated with the discharge of a projectile from a firearm

  • ballistic examiner - a person certified to analyze and provide expert witness testimony on ballistic evidence

  • breech - the end of the barrel attached to the firing mechanism of a firearm; where the cartridge is loaded and unloaded

  • breechblock - the metal block located in the back of the firearm barrel that closes the breech at the moment of firing

  • breechblock impression - the impression created on the bottom of the cartridge casing as a result of the backward strike of the casing against the breechblock at the moment of firing

  • bullet - the projectile that is fired when a firearm is discharged

  • caliber - the inside diameter of a firearm barrel

  • cartridge - a case that holds a bullet, primer powder, and gunpowder

  • firearms  - a portable gun that uses a confined propellant to expel a projectile out of a barrel

  • firearms examiner - someone trained to analyze the physical firearm evidence in an investigation

  • gauge - the measure of ammunition used in a shotgun

  • gunpowder - the explosive mixture that propels the bullet

  • gunshot residue (GSR) - soot and particles of unburned gunpowder deposited on a person who discharges a firearm; may also be found on close-range victims and adjacent surfaces

  • lands - the ridges (lands) and depressions (grooves) found on the inside of a firearm’s barrel that are created when the firearm is manufactured

  • magazine  - cartridge storing device that feeds cartridges into semiautomatic and fully automatic firearms

  • muzzle - end of the gun barrel where the projectile is released 

  • National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN) - a national database of digital ballistic images of spent bullets and cartridge cases found at crime scenes or test-fired from confiscated weapons

  • pistols - a handgun with a barrel and chamber that are connected

  • primer powder - the first explosive charge to be ignited in center fire ammunition

  • projectile - the bullet or shot that leaves the barrel of a firearm when propelled by gunpowder explosions

  • recoil - the backward movement of a firearm when it is discharged

  • revolver - a handgun with a revolving cylinder

  • rifles - a long gun that has a barrel with spiral grooves and that is fired from shoulder level

  • rifling - the spiral pattern of lands and grooves in the barrel of a firearm

  • semiautomatic firearms - fires a single shot when the trigger is pulled

  • shot - small round pellets fired from a shotgun 

  • shotgun - a long gun with a smooth barrel fires shot

  • shotgun shell- contains shot, gunpowder, and wadding

  • slug- a single large projectile used in a shotgun 

  • trajectory- the flight path of a projectile

  • wad or wadding- material that separates gunpowder from the shot in a shotgun shell