Firearm Parts & Functions
The end of the barrel where the bullet exits.
What is the muzzle?
The projectile fired from a firearm.
What is a bullet?
Spiral grooves inside the barrel that stabilize the bullet.
What is rifling?
Residue left behind after a gun is fired.
What is gunshot residue (GSR)?
The study of what happens inside the firearm during firing.
What is internal ballistics?
This part of a firearm is the tube the bullet travels through.
What is the barrel?
The container that holds all ammunition components together.
What is the cartridge?
Raised areas inside the barrel that contact the bullet.
What are lands?
A fired bullet recovered from a crime scene.
What is ballistic evidence?
The study of a bullet’s flight after leaving the muzzle.
What is external ballistics?
The mechanism that loads, fires, and ejects cartridges.
What is the action?
The part of the cartridge that ignites the powder.
What is the primer?
Lower cut areas between the lands.
What are grooves?
Spent cartridge cases are examples of this type of evidence.
What is physical evidence?
The study of what happens when a bullet strikes a target.
What is terminal ballistics?
The part of the firearm that the shooter pulls to fire the weapon.
What is the trigger?
The substance that creates gas to propel the bullet.
What is gunpowder (propellant)?
Microscopic scratches left on a bullet by the barrel.
What are striations?
Evidence used to determine where a shooter was located.
What is trajectory evidence?
Analyzing entry and exit wounds to understand how a shooting occurred.
What is impact analysis?
The component that holds cartridges and feeds them into the action.
What is the magazine?
Another term used for a complete cartridge.
What is a round or shell?
Why striations are useful in firearm identification.
What is they act as a unique fingerprint for a firearm?
Why ballistic evidence must be carefully collected.
What is to preserve microscopic markings?
Using bullet damage to estimate the direction of fire.
What is bullet path reconstruction?