Projectile
Definition
The object expelled from the barrel. Single bullet in rifled arms, multiple pellets or single slug in shotguns.
- Rifled arms
- Single bullet
- Shotguns
- Multiple pellets or single slug
- Function
- Object expelled from the barrel
- Examined for
- Class and individual characteristics
Common questions
Why does the distinction between a bullet and shotgun pellets matter forensically?+
A single rifled bullet retains individual striations from the barrel that can be matched to a specific firearm, while shotgun pellets from a smoothbore barrel generally lack such individualising marks, so identification relies more on pattern spread, pellet count, and wadding recovery than on toolmark comparison.
What is the difference between a shotgun slug and shotgun pellets as projectiles?+
A slug is a single solid projectile fired for greater range and accuracy against a single target, while pellets are the multiple small spherical projectiles in standard shot cartridges that spread into a pattern, and this choice affects both the wound pattern and the evidence recovered at a scene.
Related terms
- Ammunition
- The cartridge assembly fired by a firearm. Comprises case, primer, propellant and projectile. Defined under Section 2(1)(b) of the Arms Act 1959...
- Bore / Caliber
- Bore is the internal diameter of the barrel. Caliber is that diameter expressed in inches (.32,.38) or millimetres (9 mm, 7.62 mm)....
- Cartridge
- The complete round of ammunition: case plus primer plus propellant plus projectile, assembled as a single unit for breech loading.
- Firearm
- A barrelled weapon that launches a projectile by the rapid expansion of gas from a confined burning propellant. Includes handguns, rifles and...
- Primer
- The small explosive cup at the base of a cartridge that ignites the propellant. Conventional primers use lead styphnate, barium nitrate and...
- Propellant
- The chemical charge that burns rapidly inside the case to generate the gas that drives the projectile down the barrel. Black powder...
- Rifling
- The helical groove pattern cut into a firearm barrel that imparts spin to the bullet, stabilising it in flight. Rifling lands and...