title: The influence of manufacturing processes on the identification of bullets and cartridge cases--a review of the literature.
abstract: A basic hypothesis of firearms identification is the uniqueness of the striations and marks left on fired bullets and cartridge cases respectively. This paper reviews the studies so far reported in the literature on this issue, applied to consecutively (or closely) manufactured components of a firearm. A correct firearms identification starting from the striae on a bullet can be performed if one takes into account a few basic rules which are independent of the specific rifling technique applied to the barrel. However, the identification starting from a cartridge case has to be performed with care, exploiting as much as possible all the marks left during the firing process.
authors.affiliation: Institut de Police Scientifique et de Criminologie, University of Lausanne, Switzerland.
authors.forename: M S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Bonfanti
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: de Kinder
mesh_terms: D005389:Firearms; D005554:Forensic Medicine; D008420:Manufactured Materials