- 01: Introduction to Training CD and e-Learning
- 02: History of Firearms Identification
- 03: Propellants, Ammunition, and Firearms Development
- 04: Manufacture of Firearms
- 05: The Manufacture of Modern Small Arms Ammunition
- 06: Handling Procedures
- 07: Instrumentation, Equipment, and Facilities
- Imaging Equipment
- Field Support Equipment
- Computer Based Technologies
- Firing Facilities
Cotton Box
Home > Instrumentation, Equipment, and Facilities > Firing Facilities > Bullet Recovery Equipment > Cotton Box
The traditional cotton box is usually constructed of wood or one eighth to one quarter inch thick metal plates. The box is typically approximately ten feet long and eighteen inches high and wide, with a hinged lid on the top and a firing port at one end. The box is filled with cotton waste material that decelerates bullets fired through the port.
The advantages of this type of bullet recovery apparatus are that it is
- Simple
- Inexpensive
- Easily assembled from readily available materials using in-house agency resources
Disadvantages include:
- Requires a designated firing range
- May require considerable time to find fired bullets (all bullets must be found and removed to avoid confusion with other cases)
- Presents the potential for gunshot residues to ignite the cotton near the firing aperture
*** (This is an excellent location for an image of a traditional “cotton box” bullet recovery system. A black and white image might stress the point that this is pretty well out of date, even though some labs actually still have them in the U.S., as well as many in developing countries.) ***
