Radiological findings in gunshot wounds caused by hunting ammunition. An experimental study

Christian Schyma, Petra Placidi and Hans H. Schild

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Abstract

Experimental gunshots were made with hunting ammunition using a dummy model made of skin and foam rubber as the target. After penetration of intermediate targets of wood by the bullets, the characteristics of the wounds changed and their dimensions increased. The morphology of the wounds presented a very varied spectrum. When the gunshots had initially passed through wood 50 mm thick, radiographs of the skin showed a quantity of metallic residues of between 10 mgrm and 1 mm. The metallic particles were wiped off the surface of the projectile by the target itself, whereby the best ldquowipe-off effectrdquo was achieved with skin. The experimental findings suggest that the formation of the fine metallic residues is analogous to the development of the bullet wipe formed by lead bullets. Larger fragments flew into the target independently of the bullet and depending on the distance between the intermediate and final targets. A case example is documented.

Key words  Skin - Wound ballistics - Intermediate target - Gunshot residues - Hunting ammunition - X-ray - Image analysis

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