To the question of the possibility of determining the distance of a far range bullet shot when measuring the entry gunshot injury

The article outlines the data of scientific studies of forensic physicians and criminologists on the issues of determining the distance of a gunshot bullet according to the injury (wound). According to the special literature nowadays only a few methods of determining the distance of a far range bullet shot are known: the depth of penetration of the bullet into the target, the degree of deformation and fragmentation of the projectile in the target, the method of laser modeling on bullet holes, the method of sight, etc. These methods are developed for different types of expertise; they are specific authorial developments, have not been tested yet and are not recommended for wide practical use. Previous and current various pilot studies have given rise to the hope for a positive solution of the problem. In expert practice, the distance of a far gunshot is only stated as a fact and is not measured precisely in any units. Forensics and military personnel at non-biological sites, on the one hand, and forensic medics and military surgeons on the other, have confirmed a clear correlation between the speed of the bullet and the extent of the injuries it caused to the body of a person or animal. The medical concept of the volume of gunshot injury was not accurately quantified. It was, therefore, suggested that the entry gunshot injury should be separated from this volume and only the dominant interconnected information characteristics that can be measured in specific units should be identified. The average quantities of these features enable us to calculate the relative indicators that allow getting some "hidden information" about the relationship of the studied features. This set of related and interconnected qualitative and quantitative dominant informational features in the entry gunshot injury at the entrance of the bullet into the affected object was called a measure of input gunshot damage. Moreover, qualitative signs were also taken into account. Using mathematical and technical modeling methods in strictly controlled conditions has allowed achieving the results, which with the appropriate refinement can be recommended in expert practice. The authors have proved the expediency of using reduced cartridges in this kind of studies, i.e., to bring about the bullets to the specified speeds when they interact with the affected object. This allows simulating gunshot damage to any object from specific distances by shots from various firearms samples in the laboratory.

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