Compiling information from the available literature and supplementing gaps with private communications and personal observations and research, this resource summarizes the history of firearms and ammunition as it relates to the development of modern weapons. It details chemical aspects of forensic firearms casework with particular emphasis on the detection of gunshot residues (GSR) on a suspect’s skin and clothing surfaces. Drawing on the extensive experience of the Northern Ireland Forensic Science Laboratory (NIFSL) which processed a large firearms caseload during the region’s recent violent past, this book records the statistics gathered and the scientific methods developed to meet the demands of law enforcement and courts of law.
Preface
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Glossary
I INTRODUCTION
1 Definitions
H HISTORICAL ASPECTS OF FIREARMS
AND AMMUNITION
2 History of Gunpowder
3 History of Ignition Systems
4 History of Bullets
5 History of Ammunition
6 History of Firearms
III CHEMICAL ASPECTS OF FIREARMS
AND AMMUNITION
7 Cartridge Cases
8 Primer Cups (Caps)
9 Priming Compositions
10 Propellants
11 Projectiles
12 Complementary Ammunition Components
13 Caseless Ammunition
14 Blank Ammunition
15 Firearm Construction Materials
IV FIREARM DISCHARGE RESIDUE
16 Firearm Discharge Residue Detection Techniques
17 Properties of Firearm Discharge Residue
V EXPERIMENTAL
18 Objectives, Sampling Procedures,
Instrumentation, and Conditions
19 Particle Classification Scheme
20 Casework-Related Tests
21 Analysis of Ammunition
22 Ammunition Containing Mercury
23 Lead-Free Ammunition
VI SUSPECT PROCESSING PROCEDURES
24 Firearm Discharge Residue Sampling
VII ORGANIC COMPONENTS OF
FIREARM DISCHARGE RESIDUE
25 Sampling of Skin and Clothing Surfaces for
Firearm Discharge Residue
26 Development of a Method for Organic Firearm
Discharge Residue Detection
Conclusion
Index