Bullet and Cartridge Comparisons/

Ballistic Fingerprinting

Jackson Chappell

Bullet and Cartridge Comparisons/

Ballistic Fingerprinting
The inner part of the barrel of a gun leaves its markings on a bullet passing through it.
Since guns were first invented, forensic scientists have been trying to figure out the different
patterns in the barrels of guns, including the ones we use today. Every gun has a different exit
pattern just like every human has different DNA. Forensic scientists have discovered that you
can easily trace bullets back to the shooter, which leads to the following questions:
1. What is the history of ballistic fingerprinting?
2. How do forensic scientists trace the bullets?
3. Are there any challenges to tracing the bullets?

What is the history on ballistic fingerprinting?

Ballistic fingerprinting refers to a set of techniques that rely on the marks that a gun
leaves on a bullet. The earliest criminal case in which ballistic fingerprints were involved was in
1835. A Bow Street Runner (predecessors of Englands Scotland Yard police force) named Henry
Goddard, was called to investigate a burglary in which a butler named Randall claimed to be in
a gun fight with men intending to rob the house where he was working at. Goddard noticed
that all of the bullets found at the scene of the crime had identical markings on them. He also
discovered that a bullet mold in Randalls room contained marking that match those in bullets
exactly. Goddard concluded that the only bullets fired from the scene came from Randalls
gun. (Newton 2008). From then on, Goddard changed the way of forensic science forever.

How do forensic scientists trace the bullets?

When a gun is fired it leaves its specific marking on the bullet that was fired out of it.
The inner barrel of every gun leaves its specific markings on it called rifling. The rifling
characteristics alone can reveal what brand and/or model of firearm could have fired a specific
projectile. To figure out if a bullet could have originated from a specific firearm, however, a
forensic firearm and toolmark examiner uses an instrument called a comparison microscope to
compare a questioned bullet (one recovered from a crime scene, for example) to bullets test
fired from a suspect firearm. (Davis 2005). If the inner barrel of the guns did not have rifling
then the bullet would be almost impossible to trace back to the gun and the owner.

Are there any challenges when you are tracing bullets?

When forensic scientists are trying to trace bullets, it can be very difficult to almost
impossible to trace some types of bullets. One type of bullet that is extremely difficult to trace
back to the gun is a shotgun bullet or slug. The reason that the bullets are so hard to trace
back to the gun is because when it is fired out of the barrel there is over one-thousand tiny
pellets that fire out and expand in many different directions. Another bullet that is nearly
impossible to trace back to the gun is a hollow point/tip bullet. The reason these bullets are so
hard to trace back is because when the bullet comes in contact with the target, the tip of the
bullet explodes into many pieces and you cant see the rifling on the on the bullet from the gun.

Bibliography
Davis, A. L. (2005, March 21). How can a bullet be traced to a particular gun? Retrieved from Scientific
American: http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-can-a-bullet-be-trace/
Newton, D. E. (2008). DNA EVIDENCE AND FORENSIC SCIENCE. New York: Infobase Publishing.