NCJ Number
227712
Journal
Journal of Forensic Sciences Volume: 54 Issue: 4 Dated: July 2009 Pages: 881-883
Date Published
July 2009
Length
3 pages
Annotation
This study examined the features of 201 handmade guns manufactured in the Black Sea region of Turkey, particularly in the city of Trabzon, that were referred to the Criminal Police Laboratories for examination from 2003 to 2005.
Abstract
Of the 201 handmade guns examined, 91 percent were pistols, and 9 percent were revolvers. A total of 198 of the guns had rifled barrels, and the remainder had smooth bores. Although these handmade guns were probably produced in simple workshops or in homes, they were used with commercially available cartridges. There was no evidence that homemade cartridges were used. A variety of the handmade firearms were similar to pistols manufactured by Browning, Luger, Star, Smith and Wesson, Berretta, and MAB. The overall size of the guns, measured as maximum length, ranged from 12.5 to 24.5 cm. the maximum length of the barrels ranged from 7-15 cm. In terms of caliber, 1 was 12-gauge, 2 were 20-gauge, 68 were 7.65 mm, and 130 were 9-mm. The maximum weight was 1,100 g, and the lightest gun was 350 g. The wide variety of these firearms reflects the skill and knowledge of the manufacturers; however, the cheap materials used make them unsafe for firing. 1 table, 5 figures, and 20 references