Analysis of fracture and gunshot entrance pattern of skull caused by 0.22-caliber CZ 75 and 0.38-caliber Smith & Wesson

During shooting incident reconstruction, the assessment of the firing range and determination of entrance and exit wounds are critical. However, when the firing is done on a harder surface of the human body such as the skull, it becomes difficult for the forensic examiner and the ballistic expert to determine the range of firing and caliber of the bullet through the severity of the fracture of the skull. The fracture pattern of the skull depends upon a number of factors like site of the fracture, distance of firing, any intermediate target, type and nature of the projectile, etc. The present study aimed to investigate the fracture pattern on the imitated human skull using different types of firearms and ammunition at a defined firing distance. The firing was initiated using 0.22-caliber CZ 75, 0.38-caliber Smith & Wesson firearms. The range of firing was fixed to 10 meters. The frontal and temporal positions of the skulls were chosen for the study. The projectile impact ratio of length and width at the entrance wounds were studied and compared for both the firearms. There was no significant difference observed in the projectile impact ratio of the entrance wound of skulls fired with 0.22-caliber at the frontal and temporal position. However, due to the immense damage of the skulls shot by 0.38-caliber, we could determine the projectile impact ratio for only one skull fired at temporal position. Altogether, our findings provided a better understanding of the range of firing and firearm caliber through the fracture pattern on the imitated human skulls.