A high-speed study of the dynamic bullet–body interactions produced by grazing gunshots with full metal jacketed and lead projectiles

Abstract

Experimenting upon a synthetic, non-biological Skull–Brain Model, our goal was to document and study the bullet–body interaction of grazing (glancing, tangential) gunshots. Thanks to the high-speed study of the dynamic bullet–body interaction it was possible to document the glancing behavior of projectiles with a resolution of 50 million pictures per second. It was possible to demonstrate the differing deformation and fragmentation patterns between the 9 mm Luger full metal jacketed projectile and the 38 Smith & Wesson (S & W) lead round nose projectile. In a true-to-life manner the morphologic fracture systems could be documented by utilization of the model in dependence of the projectile’s behavior, deformation, and fragmentation. Based on these experimental studies with body models, conclusions could be drawn for surgical and reconstructive forensic questions in real cases. In summary, model substitutes offer a suitable basis for the study of the bullet–body interaction because the experiments are reproducible, totally independent of the biological variances of corpse and animal experiments, and are harmless from the ethical perspective.