Gunshot Entrance Wound Abrasion Ring Width as a Function of Projectile Diameter and Velocity

• NCJ Number: 128095
• Journal: Journal of Forensic Sciences Volume: 36 Issue: 1 Dated: (January 1991) Pages: 138-144
• Author(s): B Randall; R Jaqua
• Date Published: 1991
• Length: 7 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: Presented at the 41st annual meeting of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences, Las Vegas, Nevada, February 15-20, 1989.

Annotation

The relationship between gunshot entrance wound abrasion ring widths, projectile diameter, and velocity was analyzed using foam-backed deer hides as targets. The experiments also undertook to determine what relationship exists between projectile diameter and both the abrasion ring width and the relative abrasion ring width.

Abstract

The overall results indicate that, at a fixed velocity, abrasion ring size increases in proportion to projectile diameter. For fixed-diameter projectiles, abrasion width increased with intermediate velocities and decreased with very slow and very fast velocities. The authors maintain that abrasion width is directly related to the ratio of projectile velocity and the maximum deformation velocity of the target skin; the largest abrasion width occurs with a ratio of one. The expected results of decreasing abrasion width were obtained by using a projectile velocity at an initial warm temperature and decreasing the target deformation velocity by cooling. 6 figures and 2 references (Author abstract modified)