- 01: Introduction
- 02: History
- 03: Propellants, Firearms, and Ammunition Development
- 04: Modern Firearms Manufacture
- 05: Small Arms Ammunition
- 06: Evidence Handling Procedures
- 07: Equipment and Instrumentation
- 08: Examination of Firearms
- 09: Cartridge and Shotshell Examination
- 10: Characterization and Evaluation of Fired Projectiles
- 11: Bullet Comparison and Identification
- 12: Gunshot Residue and Distance Determination
- 13: Toolmark Identification
- 14: Communicating Results
- Resources
Fired Case Examination
Home > Cartridge and Shotshell Examination > Fired Case Examination
Side by side comparison of breechface marks
As in the case of fired bullets, the microscopic comparison and potential identification of fired cartridge cases and shotshell cases as having been fired from the same firearm is at the core of forensic firearms work.
The comparison will involve one of the following situations:
| Fired Case Examination Situtations | |
| Situation | Action |
| Recovered firearm without related evidence | Obtain pairs of test cartridge cases for later comparison by test-firing the recovered firearm. |
| Recovered firearm with related evidence | Obtain test cartridge cases or shotshell cases from an evidence firearm and compare to evidence cartridge cases or shotshell cases recovered from a crime scene to determine if the evidence firearm fired the evidence cartridge case or shotshell case. |
| Recovered evidence without related firearm | Compare evidence cartridge cases or shotshell cases recovered from multiple bodies or crime scenes to determine if the scenes are related to a single firearm. |
