Mikrosil Casting
Definition
Two-part silicone casting compound used to make a negative replica of a chamber, breech face or tool-mark. Standard at Indian CFSL ballistics units.
- Material
- Two-part silicone casting compound
- Typical targets
- Chamber, breech face, tool mark
- Output
- Negative replica of the surface
- Standard use
- Indian CFSL ballistics units
Common questions
Why cast a firearm's chamber or breech face rather than examine it directly?+
A cast can be examined under a comparison microscope alongside test-fired cartridge cases without repeatedly handling or risking damage to the firearm itself, and it creates a permanent record independent of the weapon's later condition.
What comparison does a chamber or breech-face cast support?+
Marks impressed into the cast from machining or wear on the firearm's internal surfaces can be compared against corresponding marks left on fired cartridge cases, helping link a specific cartridge case to a specific firearm.
Related terms
- Arms Act 1959
- Principal Indian statute regulating manufacture, possession, transport and sale of firearms and ammunition. Possession of an unlicensed country-made firearm is punishable under...
- Country-Made Firearm
- An illicitly manufactured firearm, fabricated in unlicensed cottage workshops without quality control, typically smoothbore and chambered loosely. Generic Indian umbrella for katta,...
- Katta
- Single-shot crude pistol, usually.315 or 12 bore, with a break-action or screw-plug breech and a nail-head striking pin. Dominant illicit firearm in...
- Obturation
- The gas-sealing function of the cartridge case during firing, in which the case wall expands outward under propellant pressure to seal the...
- Pipe-Gun
- Single-shot improvised firearm built from a steel water pipe as the barrel and a sliding sleeve as the firing mechanism. Used as...
- Smoothbore
- An unrifled barrel with no spiral grooves. Gives little or no stria on a fired projectile, which makes comparison microscopy of country-made...
- Tamancha
- Generic Urdu / Hindi term for a small improvised pistol. Often used interchangeably with katta in case papers and FIRs.