Cartridge Case Markings
Definition
Impressions left on a fired cartridge case by the breech face, firing pin, extractor, and ejector of the firearm. Like rifling marks on bullets, these are compared microscopically to identify a specific weapon.
- Sources
- Breech face, firing pin, extractor, ejector
- Comparison method
- Microscopic pattern matching, like rifling on bullets
- Use case cited
- Ballistics evidence in wildlife poaching investigations
- Requires
- A recovered firearm or reference cases for comparison
Common questions
Can cartridge case markings identify a firearm without the weapon itself?+
Cases recovered from different scenes can be compared to each other to show shots came from the same firearm, but confirming the specific make or individual weapon requires either the recovered firearm for test fires or a database entry from a prior submission.
Why are cartridge case markings useful in wildlife poaching cases specifically?+
Poaching scenes often yield spent cases but not the weapon, so linking cases from multiple incidents through matching breech face and firing pin marks can connect separate poaching events to a single firearm and build a pattern of activity across cases.
Related terms
- Comparison Microscope
- Two compound microscope bodies connected by an optical bridge that presents one half of each body's image in a single split eyepiece...
- IBIS
- Integrated Ballistics Identification System: an image-based database platform used by multiple countries to store and compare fired cartridge cases and bullets from...
- Rifling
- The helical groove pattern cut into a firearm barrel that imparts spin to the bullet, stabilising it in flight. Rifling lands and...
- Striation Marks
- Fine parallel scratches on a fired bullet's surface produced by microscopic irregularities in the barrel's rifling. The pattern is individual to that...
- Wound Track
- The path of tissue disruption left by a projectile passing through a body. Consists of a permanent cavity (crushed tissue) and a...