Contact shot with unusual soot pattern.

In a suicidal shot to the temple two roundish zones of powder soot blackening were found above the entrance wound. The paired zones of powder soot blackening were caused by two gas outlets located on the upper side of the muzzle end of the weapon used (converted blank cartridge pistol of make Rhöner). The conclusions that can be drawn from this particular soot pattern with regard to the type of the weapon, the muzzle-to-target distance, the direction of fire and the way of holding the weapon are discussed.

Textile fibres along the bullet path--experimental study on a skin-gelatine composite model.

In the past, the presence of textile fibres in the bullet track of gunshot injuries in body regions covered with clothes was used to differentiate between entrance and exit wounds; as with handguns, a displacement of textile fibres was considered possible only in the direction of the shot. In the present study, the transfer of textile fibres from the entrance and exit regions into the bullet path was systematically investigated with the help of a skin-gelatine composite model. For this purpose, the skin of the bullet entrance and exit region was covered with textile fabric (jeans or jersey material), before conducting four test series of ten test shots each firing a 9-mm Parabellum full-jacketed projectile from a distance of 2 m. The length of the bullet track was 25 and 8 cm, respectively. Subsequently, the bullet tracks were microscopically investigated in sections for the presence of textile fibres. In all the investigated bullet tracks, textile fibres both from the entrance and exit regions could be demonstrated. The distribution pattern depended on the length of the bullet path and the extension of the temporary cavitation. The results are discussed in relation to the relevant literature.

Effect of shortening the barrel in contact shots from rifles and shotguns.

In a suicidal gunshot fired to the chest from a carbine, the barrel of which had been shortened to half its original length, an unexpectedly large degree of destruction of the anterior thoracic wall with extensive undermining of the subcutis was found. This phenomenon was investigated for reconstructive purposes by firing test shots from two different long guns (caliber 7.92 x 57 repeating rifle with full-jacketed pointed bullet and caliber 12/70 single-barreled shotgun with shotgun slug) into blocks of soap (38 x 25 x 25 cm). The contact shots were fired before and after shortening the barrels (repeating rifle from 60 to 30 cm and single-barreled shotgun from 72 to 36 cm). The volume of the cavities in the simulant was visualized three-dimensionally with the help of a multislice computed tomography (CT) scanner and calculated sectionally. With the repeating rifle and the single-barreled shotgun, the shots from the sawed-off barrels produced significantly larger cavity diameters in the first section of the bullet track. This effect is attributable to the fact that, with a shortened barrel, the gas pressure at the muzzle is higher, thus, leading to increased expansion in the initial part of the wound track in contact shots.