Prelim Notes in Forensic 106

FORENSIC BALLISTICS

EARLY FIREARMS
⮚The original predecessor of all firearms, the Chinese fire lance and European hand cannon were loaded with gunpowder and the shot
initially lead shot, later replaced by cast iron through the muzzle, while a fuse was placed at the rear.
⮚This fuse was lit, causing the gunpowder to ignite and propel the cannonball.
⮚In military use, the standard hand cannon was tremendously powerful, while also being somewhat useless due to relative inability of
the gunner to aim the weapon, or control the ballistic properties of the projectile.
⮚Neither the amount of gunpowder, nor the consistency in projectile dimensions were controlled, with resulting inaccuracy in firing due
to windage, and due to the difference in diameter between the bore and the shot.
⮚The hand cannons were replaced by lighter carriage-mounted artillery pieces.

Muzzle-Loading Muskets
●(smooth-bored long guns) were among the first firearms developed. The firearm was loaded through the muzzle with gunpowder,
optionally some wadding and then a bullet (usually a solid lead ball, but musketeers could shoot stones when they ran out of bullets).
Muzzleloaders have to be manually reloaded after each shot; a skilled archer could fire multiple arrows faster than most early muskets
could be reloaded and fired, although by the mid-18th century, when muzzleloaders became the standard small armament of the
military, a well-drilled soldier could fire six rounds in a minute using prepared cartridges in his musket. Before then, effectiveness of
muzzleloaders was hindered by both the low reloading speed and, before the firing mechanism was perfected, the very high risk posed
by the firearm to the person attempting to fire it.

Breech-Loading Weapons
●came much later, as effective methods of sealing the breech were developed. The first breech-loading weapons were swivel guns used
in naval warfare. These were first created in the 14th century, although the design was not applied to firearms until the 16th century.
Eventually they superseded muzzle-loading weapons. As self-loading weapons were produced, the earlier forms became obsolete
although they do remain in most artillery.

Matchlocks
●were the first and simplest firearms firing mechanisms developed. Using the matchlock mechanism, the powder in the gun barrel was
ignited by a piece of burning cord called a "match". The match was wedged into one end of an S-shaped piece of steel. As the trigger
(often actually a lever) was pulled, the match was brought into the open end of a "touch hole" at the base of the gun barrel, which
contained a very small quantity of gunpowder, igniting the main charge of gunpowder in the gun barrel. The match usually had to be
relit after each firing. The main parts to the matchlock firing mechanism are the pan, match, arm and trigger. A benefit of the pan and
arm swivel being moved to the side of the gun was it gave a clear line of fire. An advantage to the matchlock firing mechanism is that it
did not misfire. However, it also came with some disadvantages. One disadvantage was if it was raining the match could not be kept lit
to fire the weapon. Another issue with the match was it could give away the position of soldiers because of the glow, sound, and smell.

The Wheellock Action,

●a successor to the matchlock, predated the flintlock. Despite its many faults, the wheellock was a significant improvement over the
matchlock in terms of both convenience and safety, since it eliminated the need to keep a smoldering match in proximity to loose
gunpowder. It operated using a small wheel much like that on cigarette lighters which was wound up with a key before use and which,
when the trigger was pulled, spun against a flint, creating the shower of sparks that ignited the powder in the touch hole. Supposedly
invented by Leonardo da Vinci, the Italian Renaissance man, the wheellock action was an innovation that was not widely adopted due to
the high cost of the clockwork mechanism.

The Flintlock Action

●was a major innovation in firearm design. The spark used to ignite the gunpowder in the touch hole was supplied by a sharpened piece
of flint clamped in the jaws of a "cock" which, when released by the trigger, struck a piece of steel called the "frizzen" to create the
necessary sparks. (The spring-loaded arm that holds a piece of flint or pyrite is referred to as a cock because of its resemblance to a
rooster.) The cock had to be manually reset after each firing, and the flint had to be replaced periodically due to wear from striking the
frizzen.

Percussion Caps (Caplock Mechanisms),

●coming into wide service in the 19th century, were a dramatic improvement over flintlocks. With the percussion cap mechanism, the
small primer charge of gunpowder used in all preceding firearms was replaced by a completely self-contained explosive charge
contained in a small brass "cap". The cap was fastened to the touch hole of the gun (extended to form a "nipple") and ignited by the
impact of the gun's "hammer". (The hammer is roughly the same as the cock found on flintlocks except that it doesn't clamp onto
anything.) In the case of percussion caps the hammer was hollow on the end to fit around the cap in order to keep the cap from
fragmenting and injuring the shooter.

BALLISTICS
●originated from the Greek word “BALLIEN” or “BALLO” which means, “to throw” and;
●from the Roman word “BALLISTA” which is a machine designed “to hurl stone”.
●From these words the term Ballistics was derived to indicate the science of moving projectiles.
FORENSIC
●derived from the Greek word “FORUM” which means a market place.
⮚Characteristics of or relating to court of justice.
⮚Argumentative, debatable, subject to discussion or debate.
FORENSIC BALLISTICS
●the SCIENCE of firearms identification by means of the ammunition fired through them.
●a science of MOTION OF PROJECTILES.

Science
●Systematic study or knowledge
●Research & Development
●Education
●Training
●Experience
●Using scientific instrument
Motion
●It refers to movement or mobility of projectiles.
Projectile
●a metallic or non-metallic body usually referred to as the bullet which is completely dependent upon an outside power.

Branches of Ballistics
1.Interior Ballistics
2.Exterior Ballistics
3.Terminal Ballistics
4.Forensic Ballistics

1. INTERIOR BALLISTICS
●that has something to do with the properties & attributes of the projectile (bullet) while inside the gun.
●This includes the following:
a)Firing pin hitting the primer.
b)Ignition of the priming mixture.
c)Combustion of the gun powder.
d)Expansion of the heated gas.
e)Pressure developed.
f)Energy generated.
g)Recoil of the gun.
h)Velocity of the bullet inside the barrel.
i)Rotation of the bullet inside the barrel.
j)Engravings of the cylindrical surface of the bullet.
●This extends to the movement of a bullet as it travels down the barrel either left or right twist.

2. EXTERIOR BALLISTICS
●study of a bullet in flight from time it leaves barrel until it reaches to the target.
●This includes the following:
a)Muzzle blast
b)Muzzle Energy
c)Trajectory
d)Range
✔Accurate/Effective range
✔Maximum range
e)Velocity
f)Air resistance
g)Pull of gravity
Muzzle blast
●the noise created at the muzzle end of the gun.
Muzzle Energy
●these are generated at the muzzle end, whenever the cartridge explodes from a firearm.
Trajectory
●actual curve path of the bullet.
●parabola-like or curved path flight (arc) of the bullet from the time it leaves the muzzle of the firearm.
Range
Accurate/Effective range
✔Refers to the distance within which the shooter or the firer has control of his shot, meaning he can place his shot at the desire spot.
Maximum range
✔Refers to the farthest distance that a projectile can be propelled from a firearm, up to final vertical drop to the ground.
Velocity
●rate of speed of the bullet per unit of time, which is expressed in foot per second, this could be determined by an instrument known as
chronograph.
Air resistance
●resistance encountered by the bullet while in flight.
●Air resistance usually called, aerodynamic drag, which reduces the speed of the bullet.
Pull of gravity
●downward reaction of the bullet towards earth center, due to its weight.
Yaw
●the unstable rotating motion of the bullet/ projectiles in flight.
●If the bullet travel sideways

3. TERMINAL BALLISTICS
●deals with the effects of the impact of the projectiles on the target.
●This includes the following:
a)Terminal accuracy –
▪size of bullet groupings on the target.
b)Terminal energy
▪energy of the bullet when it strikes the target.
c)Terminal velocity
▪speed of the bullet upon striking the target.
d)Terminal penetration
▪depth of entry of the bullet in the target.

4. FORENSIC BALLISTICS
●actually involves in the investigation & identification of firearms by means of ammunition/cartridges fired through them.
●A firearm, being harder than a bullet and cartridge case. Every time you fire a cartridge on it, its signature leaves on its fired bullet and
a thumb mark on its fired cartridge case.
●This includes the following:

a)Field Investigations
▪conducted by the first officers on the case in the field when they investigate a case or cases wherein firearms have been used.
▪This is a routine job of the investigating officers, and this involves recognition, collection, marking, preservation, and transmittal of
ballistics exhibits like fired bullets, fired shells, firearms, and allied matters.
b)Technical examinations of the ballistics exhibits
▪performed by the firearms examiners in the laboratory.
▪It involves marking of the evidence firearms, test firing of evidence firearms to obtain test bullets and test shells for comparative
purposes, photomicrography under the bullet comparison microscope, preparation of comparative charts, and the making of reports on
the findings and observations of the firearms examiners.
c)Legal Proceedings
Court trials
▪wherein the Ballistics Report of the Firearm Examiner and the Ballistics Exhibits (fired bullets, fired shells, firearm or firearms, and allied
exhibits) are presented during the trial of the case in a court of justice.

MEN BEHIND FIREARMS

1835
●Henry Goddard one of Scotland Yard’s original Bow Street Runner, first used bullet comparison to catch a murderer. His comparison
was based on a visible flaw in the bullet which was traced back to mold.
1889
●Alexandre Lacassagne, professor of Forensic Medicine at the University of Lyons, France, was the first to try to individualize bullets to a
gun barrel. His comparisons at the time were based simply on the number of lands and grooves.
Charles e. Waite and Calvin Goddard,
●co-founders of the first ballistics laboratory in the U.S. Forensic specialists who study guns and ammunition are known as ballistic
experts or firearm examiners. When guns are involved in a crime, firearm experts try to uncover all the gun-related information they can
that might help solve the crime. Waite traveled the country gathering details of gun construction, types of ammunition, the proportion
of grooves to lands, calibers, groove twists, and anything else he could think of. He went directly to the factories where the guns were
made, spoke to the managers, and pored over old notebooks filled with gun measurements. Waite had a microscope made that had
bullet holders and special measurement scales, but he felt he was too old to learn to use it
●During the 1910s Waite was working as a special investigator for the New York Attorney General's office. It was at this point that he
became involved in a case that would prove pivotal to his career. In 1915, an illiterate farmer in rural New York was accused of a double
murder. Investigators hired a firearms expert who claimed that the bullets used in the murders matched the gun found in the farmer's
house.
●Stielow, the farmer, was convicted to the murders and sentenced to death. However, the New York governor requested a
reinvestigation of the case, and Waite was assigned to the job. He worked with microscopy expert Max Poser to examine the fatal
bullets along with bullets test fired from Stielow's gun, studying the bullets with microscopes. They ultimately determined that Stielow's
gun could not have been used in the murders. The man was pardoned and released.
1923
●joined by physicist John H.Fisher and chemist and photographer Philip O. Gravelle, they began the world's first Bureau of Forensic
Ballistics in New York. The third person to join Waite was Goddard. Goddard was from Baltimore and had attended Johns Hopkins
University, graduating in 1915. He spent 1916-1920 in Europe with the U.S. Army in the Medical Corps. Before returning to the U.S.,
Goddard switched from the Medical Corps to Ordnance--the section in charge of weapons and ammunition.
In 1925
●Goddard wrote an article for the Army Ordnance titled "Forensic Ballistics" in which he described the use of the comparison
microscope regarding firearms investigations. He is generally credited with the conception of the term "forensic ballistics," though he
later admitted it to be an inadequate name for the science.
●Col. Calvin H. Goddard the “father of modern ballistics” pioneered the introduction of this science in Criminology courses in different
Universities in the United States.
HORACE SMITH
▪(October 28, 1808 – January 15, 1893) was a gunsmith, inventor, and businessman.
▪He and his business partner Daniel B. Wesson formed two companies named Smith & Wesson pioneered the making of the breech-
loading rifles, the first of which was financed in part by Oliver Winchester and was eventually reorganized into the Winchester Repeating
Arms Company
DANIEL B. WESSON
●(May 18, 1825 – August 4, 1906) was a firearms designer from the United States.
●He was responsible for helping develop several firearms that had a very large influence in the field.
●In 1854, Daniel B. Wesson partnered with Horace Smith and Courtland Palmer to develop the Smith & Wesson Lever pistol and the first
repeating rifle – the Volcanic.
●Originally using the name "Smith & Wesson Company", the name was changed to "Volcanic Repeating Arms Company" in 1855, with
the addition of new investors, one of whom was Oliver Winchester.
●The Volcanic Repeating Arms Company obtained all rights for the Volcanic designs (both rifle and pistol versions were in production by
this time) as well as the ammunition, from the Smith and Wesson Company.
●Wesson remained as plant manager for 8 months before rejoining Smith to found the "Smith & Wesson Revolver Company" upon
obtaining the licensing of the Rollin White "rear loading cylinder patent.
●In 1856 Smith & Wesson began to produce a small revolver designed to fire the Rim-fire cartridge they had patented in August 1854.
●This revolver was the first successful fully self-contained cartridge revolver available in the world.
●Smith & Wesson secured patents for the revolver to prevent other manufacturers from producing a cartridge revolver – giving the
young company a very lucrative business.
JOHN M. BROWNING
●Wizard of modern firearms and pioneered the breech-loading single shot rifle
●John Moses Browning, the son of a Mormon gunsmith, was born in Ogden, Utah in 1855. He produced his first gun from scrap metal
when he was thirteen. He patented a breech-loading single-shot rifle in 1879.
●Inspired by the work of Hiram Maxim Browning began work on an automatic machine-gun.
●1890s. Unlike Maxim, he used propelling gas as a motive force. He drilled a hole in the gun barrel to divert some of the gas behind the
bullet into a cylinder to drive a piston, which performed the various tasks of extracting the cartridge case, reloading and firing.
●In 1895 the Browning machine-gun was purchased by the US Navy.
JOHN TALIAFERRO THOMPSON
●(December 31, 1860 - June 21, 1940), was a United States Army officer best remembered as the inventor of the Thompson submachine
gun.
DAVID “CARBINE” WILLIAMS
●After being convicted of murder of a police officer, David “Carbine” Williams served only eight years of a 30 year sentence and after
being released, went onto be employed by the Winchester Repeating Arms Company, where he was part of the team that made the M1
Carbine.
ALEXANDER JOHN FORSYTH
●Father of the Percussion Ignition
ELISHA KING ROOT
●Design the machinery for making Colt Firearms
●Elisha Root was born on May 5, 1808 in Ludlow, Massachusetts.
●He was a mechanically inspired youth who was educated in public schools until he was old enough to become an apprentice. Working
in various shops until 1832, he was then hired as a lathe operator by the Collins Company, a factory which made axes, in Collinsville,
Connecticut.
●His employment there enabled him to excel in his mechanical abilities and, not long after he began his duties he was promoted to
foreman, then subsequently superintendent.
●During his seventeen years with the Collins Company he transformed its operations from a small hand shop to a competent, fully
equipped factory which became a near monopoly of American axe manufacture.
ELIPHALET REMINGTON
●(October 28, 1793 – August 12, 1861) designed the Remington Rifle. (one of the first rifle makers). He was born in 1793 in the town of
Suffield, Connecticut, to parents whose origins lay in Yorkshire, England. He was a blacksmith, and at 23, he hand-made a revolutionary
sporting rifle using a firing mechanism bought from a dealer, producing the barrel himself.
●The gun received such an enthusiastic response that Remington decided to manufacture it in quantity, and formed the firm of E.
Remington and Sons, which he headed until his death in 1861.
●By the mid-19th century the gun had become immensely popular with American sportsmen and was one of the standard guns used in
what has been called "the winning of the West".
JOHN MAHLON MARLIN
●(May 6, 1836 - July 1, 1901) was an American firearms manufacturer and inventor. Founder of Marlin Firearms Company.
●John M. Marlin was born in Connecticut in 1836, and served his apprenticeship as a tool and die maker. During the Civil War, he
worked at the Colt plant in Hartford, and in 1870 hung out his sign on State Street, New Haven, manufacturing his own line of revolvers
and derringers.
●The outstanding team of inventors he was able to attract developed breakthrough and enduring models, such as Models 1891 and
1893.
●Today known as Models 39 and 336 respectively, they are the oldest shoulder arm designs in the world still being produced.
●The lever action 22 repeater (now Model 39) even became the favorite of many exhibition shooters, including the great Annie Oakley.
JAMES WOLFE RIPLEY
●(December 10, 1794 – March 16, 1870). Stimulate the development of the Model 1855 rifle-musket. He was an American soldier,
serving as a brigadier general in the Union Army during the Civil War.
●He was instrumental in the early days of the war in modernizing the artillery's ordnance.
●However, Ripley also delayed the introduction of repeating rifles into U.S. arsenals, an act has been widely criticized by later historians
SAMUEL COLT (1814-1862)
●(July 19, 1814 – January 10, 1862) Produced the first practical revolver
●He was an American inventor and industrialist from Hartford, Connecticut.
●He was the founder of Colt's Patent Fire-Arms Manufacturing Company (now known as Colt's Manufacturing Company), and made the
mass-production of the revolver commercially viable for the first time.
HENRY DERRINGER
●He gave his name to a whole class of firearms (rifles and pistols)
●Henry Derringer was one of the most famous and ingenious gun inventors of the 19th century.
●His Philadelphia Derringer was a small pocket pistol that was widely copied and manufactured. Many people were attracted by its
small size and easy handling;
●Derringer became known worldwide for having designed and produced the first single shot muzzle-loading pistol that was so small.
●He opened a new era for the American gun history and even though misspelled with two "r"s, the name of Deringer started to be put
on every small pocket pistol.
JOHN C. GARAND
●Design and invented the Semi-Automatic US Rifle, Caliber .30, M1
OLIVER F. WINCHESTER
●One of the earliest rifles and pistols makers
●Winchester was known for manufacturing and marketing the Winchester Repeating Rifle, which was a much re-designed descendant of
the Volcanic rifle of some years earlier.
●Winchester started as a clothing manufacturer in New York City and New Haven, Connecticut.
●During this period he discovered that a division of Smith & Wesson firearms was failing financially with one of their newly patented
arms. Having an eye for opportunity, Winchester assembled venture capital together with other stockholders and acquired the S&W
division, better known as the Volcanic Repeating Arms Company, in 1850. By 1857, Winchester had positioned himself as the principal
stockholder in the company and relocated to New Haven, changing the name to New Haven Arms Company.
RICHARD JORDAN GATLING
●(September 12, 1818 – February 26, 1903) was an American inventor best known for his invention of the Gatling gun, the first
successful machine gun.
IMPORTANT DATES IN FIREARM HISTORY

1313 – Gunpowder as a Propellant.

●The age of gunpowder began with its first use as a propellant for a projectile.
●Gunpowder, made of a mixture of sulfur, charcoal, and saltpeter (potassium nitrite), owes its explosive force to the fact that 1 mole of
solid powder will, when ignited, produce 6 moles of gas. This rapid expansion in the enclosed space of a metal tube could be used to
drive a projectile at high speed in a specified direction.

Berthold Schwarz (sometimes spelled Schwartz), was a legendary German alchemist of the late 14th century, credited with the invention
of gunpowder by 15th- through 19th-century European literature.

It is also possible that Schwarz is not a historical person at all, but a symbolic inventor figure taking his name from that of Schwarzpulver
"black powder", the German term for gunpowder (Gartz 2007).

1350 – Small Arms.

●Gunpowder was first used only in cannons.
●It was not until the middle of the 14th Century that portable hand firearms were introduced.
●These guns were ignited by a handheld hotwire or lighted match.
1498 – Rifling.
●The first reference to a rifled barrels happened around this year. Although its importance as an aid to accuracy was recognized by
some, it took many years before riffling was generally used.
●The inventor of a rifled barrel is alleged to be one of two inventors, both of them German-speaking. According to The Gun and its
Development, one was Gaspard Kollner of Vienna, sometime in the 15th century, others alleged that his grooves were straight in nature
and the first spiral grooves came from Augustus Kotter of Nuremberg in 1520.
●Barrel rifling was invented in Augsburg, Germany in 1498. In 1520 August Kotter, an armourer of Nuremberg, Germany improved upon
this work. Though true rifling dates from the mid-16th century, it did not become commonplace until the nineteenth century.
1575 – Cartridge, Paper cartridge was developed.
●This combined both powder and ball about 1575. This greatly speeded loading and reduced the hazards of carrying loose powder.
1807 – Percussion system.
●Forsyth discovered that certain compounds detonated by a blow could use to ignite the charge in a firearm, forming the basis for all
later percussion and cartridge developments.
1835 – Samuel Colt
●patented the first practical revolver in which the cylinder rotated by cocking the hammer.

CasimirLefaucheux (26 January 1802-9 August 1852)

owas a French gunsmith. He was born in Bonnétable and died in Paris. He obtained his first patent in 1827. In 1832, he completed a
drop-barrel sporting gun with paper-cased cartridges.
oHe was credited with the invention of one of the first efficient self-contained cartridge system in 1836, featuring a pin-fire mechanism.
This followed the pioneering work of Jean Samuel Pauly in 1808-1812. The Lefaucheux cartridge had a conical bullet, a cardboard
powder tube, and a copper base that incorporated a primer pellet. Lefaucheux thus proposed one of the first practical breech-loading
weapons.

1836 – Pin fire Cartridge

●The pin fire cartridge developed by Le Faucheux was probably the first self-exploding cartridge to come into general use
1884 – Automatic Machine Gun
Sir Hiram Stevens Maxim (February 5, 1840 – November 24, 1916)
oHe was an American-born inventor of the Maxim Gun – the first portable, fully automatic machine gun
1885 – Smokeless Powder.
●In France, Paul Vieille developed the first satisfactory smokeless powder, a new propellant which lacked the smoke characteristic of
black powder, but was more powerful.
STAGES OF DEVELOPMENT OF MAN’S WEAPONS
1.Stones
2.Clubs
3.Knives
4.Spears and Darts
5.Slingshot
6.Bows & Arrows
7.Cross-Bows
8.Guns
9.Missiles
10.Bomb
11.FIREARMS

FIREARMS LEGAL Definition (R.A. No. 10591)

●Firearm refers to any handheld or portable weapon, whether a small arm or light weapon, that expels or is designed to expel a bullet,
shot, slug, missile or any projectile, which is discharged by means of expansive force of gases from burning gunpowder or other form of
combustion or any similar instrument or implement.
●For purposes of this Act, the barrel, frame or receiver is considered a firearm. (new Law; R.A. No. 10591/Comprehensive Firearms and
Ammunition Regulation Act)

Small arm
●refer to firearms intended to be or primarily designed for individual use or that which is generally considered to mean a weapon
intended to be fired from the hand or shoulder, which are not capable of fully automatic bursts of discharge, such as:
A.Handgun
a)pistol
b)Revolver
B.Rifle
C.Shotgun

Handgun
●which is a firearm intended to be fired from the hand, which includes:
Pistol
✔which is a hand-operated firearm having a chamber integral with or permanently aligned with the bore which may be self-loading; and
Revolver
✔which is a hand-operated firearm with a revolving cylinder containing chambers for individual cartridges.

Rifle
●which is a shoulder firearm or designed to be fired from the shoulder that can discharge a bullet through a rifled barrel by different
actions of loading, which may be classified as lever, bolt, or self-loading; and

Shotgun
●which is a weapon designed, made and intended to fire a number of ball shots or a single projectile through a smooth bore by the
action or energy from burning gunpowder.

Light weapons are:

A.Class-A Light weapons which refer to self-loading pistols, rifles and carbines, submachine guns, assault rifles and light machine guns
not exceeding caliber 7.62MM which have fully automatic mode; and
B.Class-B Light weapons which refer to weapons designed for use by two (2) or more persons serving as a crew, or rifles and machine
guns exceeding caliber 7.62MM such as heavy machine guns, handheld under barrel and mounted grenade launchers, portable anti-
aircraft guns, portable anti-tank guns, recoilless rifles, portable launchers of anti-tank missile and rocket systems, portable launchers of
anti-aircraft missile systems, and mortars of a caliber of less than 100MM.

Components of Firearms:
1)Major part or components of a firearm refers to the barrel, slide, frame, receiver, cylinder or the bolt assembly. The term also includes
any part or kit designed and intended for use in converting a semi-automatic burst to a full automatic firearm.
2)Minor parts of a firearm refers to the parts of the firearm other than the major parts which are necessary to effect and complete the
action of expelling a projectile by way of combustion, except those classified as accessories.
Accessories
✔refer to parts of a firearm which may enhance or increase the operational efficiency or accuracy of a firearm but will not constitute any
of the major or minor internal parts thereof such as, but not limited to, laser scope, telescopic sight and sound suppressor or silencer.
(R.A. No. 10591)

Basic Components of Firearms:

1. Barrel
●The metal tube of a weapon made of high grade carbon steel, cylindrical in shape through which the bullet is given velocity and
direction of flight and to concentrate gasses to propel the bullet
●initiates the path of the bullet
A.Muzzle - Forward end or mouth of the barrel; bore – interior of the barrel where the bullets glides through
B.Rifling – helical or spiral grooves and ridges along the bore and surface.
C.Chamber– enlarged portion of the rear of the barrel where the cartridge is placed in position to be fired.
2. Slide
●Movable part used to load the weapon; it recoils when a shot is fired and pushes a new cartridge into the chamber of the barrel
3. Frame
●A metal housing that also serves as the handle (grip) of the handgun. All other parts are contained within it or connected to it.
4. Receiver
●Houses or holds other working components/parts to form one or more functional unit.
5. Cylinder
●Is the cylindrical, rotating part of a revolver containing multiple chambers, each of which is capable of holding a single cartridge. The
cylinder rotates (revolves) around a central axis in the revolver's action to sequentially align each individual chamber with the barrel
bore for repeated firing.
6. Bolt assembly
●A bolt is the part of a repeating, breechloading firearm that blocks the rear opening (breech) of the barrel chamber while the
propellant burns, and moves back and forward to facilitate loading/unloading of cartridges from the magazine. The firing pin and
extractor are often integral parts of the bolt.

SINGLE ACTION
●Weapon in which pressure upon the trigger releases the hammer that must be manually cocked.
DOUBLE ACTION
●Weapon in which pressure upon the trigger both cocks and releases the hammer
AUTOMATIC
●When the mechanism is so arranged that it will fire continuously while the trigger is depressed.
AIR RIFLE
●A type of weapon designed to shoot pellets by means of compressed air. (cal.177 or .22)

What is the largest gun ever built?

oIn 1939, Adolf "Baby Dick" Hitler needed to figure out how to get past the French Maginot line, a 1500km defensive wall of
fortifications, tank barriers, artillery and machine gun nests running along the French-German and French-Italian borders. Before he
figured out to simply run around the line via Belgium, Hitler schemed to destroy it outright. To that end, he recruited the Friedrich Krupp
A.G. company of Essen, Germany to build him a weapon capable of doing so. By 1941, the Krupp company had designed and built the
largest gun of all time, the "Gustav Gun."
oNamed after the head of the Krupp family, Gustav Krupp von Bohlen and Halbach, the Gustav Gun weighed in at a massive 1,344 tons,
so heavy that even though it was attached to a rail car, it still had to be disassembled before moving so as to not destroy the twin set of
tracks as it passed over. This 4-story behemoth stood 20 feet wide and 140 feet long. Its 500 man crew, commanded by a Major-General
(that's two stars), needed nearly three full days (54 hours, to be exact) to set it up and prepare for firing.
oThe Gustav had a bore diameter of 800 mm (just under a yard) and used 3000 pounds, more than a ton, of smokeless powder charge
to fire its two primary shell types: a 10,584 lb. high explosive (HE) shell and a 16,540 lb. concrete-piercing shell—roughly the weight of a
unladen 71-passenger school bus, travelling at 2700ft/s.
oWith a maximum elevation of 48 degrees, the HE shell could hit a target 29 miles away, while the bunker-buster could nail anything
within 23 miles—both with reasonable accuracy. If it did hit, the HE would leave a 30-foot deep crater while the piercing round could
penetrate as much as 264 feet of reinforced concrete (or height of the Seattle Exchange Building).
oThe Gustav, luckily, saw only very brief action. It fired 300 shells on Sevastopol (at a rate of about 14 shells a day) and 30 more during
the Warsaw Uprising of 1944 before being captured by Allied troops and chopped up for scrap. Its 7 million Deutsch Mark sister, the
Dora, was destroyed by the Germans themselves to keep it from falling into the hands of the Russians. The rest of the Nazis' evil War
Machine would fall by 1945 after Allied forces finished curb stomping them back across the Rheinland.

Why barrel is a complete firearm?

●Because once you insert a cartridge correspond to the caliber of the barrel & strike the primer with any pointed hard object, the
tendency is to explode, & once it explode, the bullet will pass through a rifled barrel & will attain its highest momentum & stability in
flight in penetrating power.
●R.A. 10591 /Comprehensive Firearms and Ammunition Regulation Act) which was approved May 29, 2013 provides that barrel, frame
or receiver is considered a complete firearm.

Why toy guns (Replica) are prohibited by law?

●Because there are toy guns that are the same sizes with real guns which can be used to harm or threatened individuals and to commit
a crime.
●It can be also modified by replacing the parts with steel in order to propelled cartridges.
TECHNICAL Definition of Firearm
●an instrument used for the propulsion of projectile by means of gun powder and other explosives.

Classification of Firearms
Two General Classes Of Firearms:

A. (According to the Gun Barrel Internal Construction)

1.Smooth-bore firearms
●firearms that have no rifling (land and grooves) inside their gun barrel.
●Examples: shotguns and muskets
2.Rifled-bore firearms
●firearms that have rifling (land and groove) inside their gun barrel.
●Examples: pistols, revolvers and rifles

Main Types of Firearms:

B. (According to the Caliber or Projectiles Propelled)

1.Artillery
●those types of firearms that propel projectiles more than one inch in diameter.
●Examples: cannons, mortars, bazookas
2.Small Arms
●Small arms refer to firearms intended to be or primarily designed for individual use or that which is generally considered to mean a
weapon intended to be fired from the hand or shoulder, which are not capable of fully automatic bursts of discharge, such as:
HANDGUN, RIFLE AND SHOTGUN. (RA No.10591)

(According to Mechanical Construction)

1.Single shot firearms

●designed to fire only one shot every loading.
●Examples:
oPistol- single shot pistols
oRifle- single shot rifles
oShotgun- single shot shotguns
2.Repeating Arms
●designed to fire several shots in one loading
●Examples:
oAutomatic pistols
oRevolvers
oRifles
oShotguns
CARTRIDGE
●a complete unfired unit consisting of a bullet/ projectile cartridge case, propellant and powder and the primer.
●LEGAL Definition of Ammunition
orefers to a complete unfixed unit consisting of a bullet, gunpowder, cartridge case and primer or loaded shell for use in any firearm.
(new Law, R.A. No. 10591/Comprehensive Firearms and Ammunition Regulation Act)
●TECHNICAL Definition of Ammunition
otechnically speaking, the term Ammunition refers to a group of cartridge or to a single units or single cartridge – meaning a COMPLETE
UNFIRED UNIT consisting of a bullet, cartridge case, gun powder and primer.
oThe term may also refer to a single round.
Classification Of Cartridges:

A. According to the type of firearms used;

1.Revolver cartridges
2.Pistol cartridges
3.Rifle cartridges
4.Shotgun cartridges
5.Blank Cartridge
B. According to location of primers;
1.Pin-fire cartridges
oThe pin extends radially through the head of the cartridge case into the primer.
oThis type of cartridge is no longer used.
2.Rim-fire cartridges
oThe priming mixture is placed in the cavity formed in the rim of the head of the cartridge case.
o1845 – Rim fire Cartridge.
❖In France, Louis Nicholas Auguste Flobert developed “bullet breech cap” which was in reality the first rim fire cartridge.
3.Center-fire cartridges-
oThe primer cup is forced into the middle portion of the head of the cartridge case.
o1858 – Center-Fire Cartridge.
❖The Morse cartridge marked the beginning of the rapid development of the center-fire cartridge.
C. According to rim;
1.Rimmed type
2.Semi-rimmed type
3.Rimless type
4.Rebated type
5.Belted type

Rimmed type
●The diameter of the rim is greater than the diameter of the body of the cartridge case. (e.g. cal .25, .38, special and cal .22)
Semi-rimmed type
●The diameter of the rim is slightly greater than the diameter of the body of the cartridge case. (e.g. cal .25, .32, super .38)
Rimless type
●The diameter of the rim is equal with the diameter of the body of the cartridge case. (e.g.cal .30, .9mm, .45)
Rebated type
●The diameter of the rim is significantly smaller in diameter than the base of the case, serving only for extraction. One example of a
rebated rim cartridge is the .50 Action Express (or .50 AE)
Belted type
●There is a protruding metal around the body of the cartridge case near the rim. e.g.caliber .338 magnum.