Range of Firing
Definition
The distance from the muzzle of the firearm to the target at the moment of discharge. Estimated from wound geometry, soot pattern, powder tattooing, pellet spread and chemical residue patterns on clothing.
- Measures
- Muzzle-to-target distance at discharge
- Close-range indicator
- Soot deposition and powder tattooing
- Mid-range indicator
- Pellet or shot spread pattern
- Confirmation method
- Chemical residue testing on clothing/skin
- Also called
- Distance determination
Common questions
Why does test firing matter for a range-of-firing opinion?+
Soot and powder patterns vary with the specific firearm, ammunition, and barrel condition involved. Test firing the same or an exemplar weapon and ammunition at known distances onto comparable target material lets the examiner calibrate the pattern against distance rather than rely on generic tables.
What limits the accuracy of a range-of-firing estimate?+
Intervening fabric layers, weather, movement of the victim or shooter, and degradation of residue before examination can all alter or obscure the pattern, so estimates are usually given as a range rather than an exact distance.
Related terms
- Bullet Wipe
- Greyish to brownish ring of lubricant, lead and copper rubbed off the bullet onto the margin of an entry hole in clothing....
- Contact Shot
- Muzzle pressed against skin or clothing at the moment of firing. Hallmarks are a stellate (star-shaped) wound from sub-dermal gas tracking, a...
- Modified Griess Test
- A contact-transfer colour chemistry test for nitrite-containing propellant combustion residue. Sulphanilic acid undergoes diazotisation with nitrous acid (from NO2 on the target...
- Powder Tattooing
- Stippling pattern of unburned and partially burned propellant grains embedded in the skin around an entry wound. Cannot be wiped off. Pathognomonic...
- Sodium Rhodizonate Test
- Colour test for lead. The cloth is treated with sodium rhodizonate followed by buffer; lead deposits give a pink-to-red colour, confirmed with...
- Soot (Blackening)
- Submicrometre carbon-rich particles from incomplete propellant combustion, deposited on the garment or skin surface around the entry hole at contact and near-contact...
- Walker Test
- Filter-paper transfer test for nitrites in propellant residue. The cloth is pressed against desensitised filter paper, sprayed with sulphanilic acid and alpha-naphthylamine,...