Forensic firearms identification has come a long way. The prudent forensic firearms examiner will embrace the history of his chosen field.
August 16, 2022
By Allan Jones
I’ve previously discussed forensic bullet and cartridge case comparison, but I want to include some history. First, “firearms identification,” not “ballistics,” is what crime labs do.
Firearms identification today is highly evolved. Labs have digital microscopy capabilities and can share images of evidence items with faraway labs via the “send” button.
It was not always high-tech. True microscopes appeared about 1590 to 1625, but three centuries passed before effective and expedient firearms evidence comparison devices appeared.
Rifled firearms were documented between 1493 and 1506, but any forensic usefulness of rifling...
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