Damage Evaluation of Ballistic Gelatin Penetrated by Rigid Bullets

Introduction Terminal performance of a bullet in the human body is critical for the treatment of the wounded person and the optimization of the bullet. The effects of the initial velocity and the initial attack angle of the bullet on the terminal performance needs to be investigated.Methods Ballistic gelatin was used to simulate the human body. Rigid 7.62 mm rifle bullets were fired into the gelatin blocks. The damaged gelatin was analyzed using the proposed expansion method. Relations between the damaged gelatin and the initial velocity, the initial attack angle were obtained using the fitting method.Results The damaged gelatin block could be divided into two parts: the less damaged part and the severely damaged part. The length of the less damaged part depends mostly on the initial attack angle. The average damaged area of this part depends on both the initial attack angle and the initial velocity. The cracks contribute significantly to the total volume of damaged gelatin, particularly when the expansion becomes larger than 1.9 mm. The total damaged gelatin increases with the initial velocity, the initial attack angle and the expansion extent. The increasing rate may diminish if the contribution of the cracks to the damaged gelatin is ignored. Conclusions The expansion method is suitable to investigate the influences of factors of the bullet on the terminal performances. The characteristics of the damaged gelatin have a linear relationship with the initial attack angle and the initial velocity of the bullet.

Heads in the sand: public health and ecological risks of lead-based bullets for wildlife shooting in Australia

Lead (Pb) is a toxic element banned from fuel, paint and many other products in most developed countries. Nonetheless, it is still widely used in ammunition, including rifle bullets, and Pb-based bullets are almost universally used in Australia. For decades, poisoning from Pb shot (shotguns) has been recognised as a cause of disease in waterfowl and Pb shot has been subsequently banned for waterfowl hunting in many jurisdictions. However, the risks posed by Pb-based bullets (rifles) have not been similarly recognised in Australia. Pb-based rifle bullets frequently fragment, contaminating the tissue of shot animals. Consuming this Pb-contaminated tissue risks harmful Pb exposure and, thus, the health of wildlife scavengers (carrion eaters) and humans and their companion animals who consume harvested meat (game eaters). In Europe, North America and elsewhere, the environmental and human health risks of Pb-based bullets are widely recognised, and non-toxic alternatives (e.g. copper-based bullets) are increasingly being used. However, Australia has no comparable research despite widespread use of shooting, common scavenging by potentially susceptible wildlife species, and people regularly consuming shot meat. We conclude that Australia has its collective ‘head in the sand’ on this pressing worldwide One Health issue. We present the need for urgent research into this field in Australia.

DETERMINATION OF THE BALLISTIC CHARACTERISTICS AND THE DAMAGING PROPERTIES OF SELF-MADE LOADING CARTRIDGES OF 7.62*39 CALIBER

In practice of forensic medicine and forensic ballistics there are quite often the cases of different types ofgunshot wounds infliction by atypical damaging elements which were used in illegal independent loading of cartridges to the rifle weapon. The purpose of the researches being performed - studying on a concrete example from criminalistics practice of damaging properties of 7.62 mm rifle bullets of type FMJBT (Full Metal Jacketed Boat Tail) which were used for loading by self-made way cartridges of 7.62 * 39 caliber. Originally, during natural tests in the conditions of a ballistic track the ballistic characteristics of the shot bullets and the value of their ballistic coefficient were established. At the following stage of researches the losses of kinetic energy of rifle bullets on punching blocks of ballistic plasticine with the thickness of 100-140 mm were determined. As a result of tests the character of formation of the damage channel in the thickness of biological tissues simulator is established at the stable and unstable movement of the bullets in the visco elastic medium. Besides, during the researches the values of the parameters necessary for calculations ofpenetration depth of the bullets into a fabric of biological object depending on their speed at the moment of hit in the target, were determined. In particular it was established that at unstable movement of an investigated bullet in thickness of the simulator the value of boundary speed amounts 138.1 m/s, and the value of the medium drag factor - 1.782. Using estimated values offlight speed of the bullets in the trajectory the values of depth wound channels in biological tissues were calculated and the conclusion was drawn on the guaranteed causing of penetrating wounds in all established distances of shooting. Thus, use of the methodfor estimation of damaging properties of investigated bullets, the criterion of which is the length of the wound channel and its boundary value was obviously demonstrated.