The ubiquity of gun crimes is undeniable, and without the ability to accurately interpret firearms evidence, no criminal investigator or litigant can fully understand the facts of a case. This fully updated and revised edition includes the latest information and advances in the field of firearms evidence analysis, making it an excellent reference tool for forensic professsionals, expert witnesses and students.

Case approach, philosophy, and objectives -- Working shooting scenes -- The reconstructive aspects of class characteristics and a limited universe -- Is it a bullet hole? -- Some useful reagents and their application -- Distance and orientation derived from gunshot residue patterns -- Projectile penetration and perforation -- Projectiles and glass -- Projectile ricochet and deflection -- The principles of "trajectory" reconstruction -- Determining bullet track ("trajectory") in gunshot victims -- Trace evidence considerations associated with firearms -- True ballistics : long-range shootings and falling bullets -- Cartridge case ejection and ejection patterns -- The shooting of motor vehicles -- Shotgun shootings and evidence -- Sound levels of gunshots, supersonic bullets, and other impulse sounds -- Ultimate objectives, reports, and court presentations.