Chapter 8

Question 1

A discipline mainly concerned with determining whether a bullet or cartridge was fired by a particular weapon; not to be confused with ballistics, which is the study of a projectile in motion

Answer 1

Firearms identification

Question 2

Firearms designed to be held and fired with one hand

Answer 2

Handguns (pistols)

Question 3

Requires the hammer to be manually cocked backward each time before the trigger is pulled in order to fire

Answer 3

Single-action firearms

Question 4

The hammer is cocked when the trigger is pulled and then reload the firing chamber after the round is fired

Answer 4

Double-action firearms

Question 5

Has a cylinder that swings out to the side of the weapon

Answer 5

Swing-out revolvers

Question 6

Are hinged so that both the barrel and the cylinder flip downward for loading

Answer 6

Break-top revolvers

Question 7

Have no mechanism to uncover all the firing chambers at once. Instead, a small “gate” at the back of the gun allows one chamber to be loaded at a time

Answer 7

Solid-frame revolvers

Question 8

Feature a removable magazine that is most often contained within the grip of the firearm

Answer 8

Semiautomatic pistols

Question 9

An interior constriction placed at or near the muzzle end of a shotgun’s barrel to control shot dispersion

Answer 9

Choke

Question 10

A firearm that can chamber and fire only one round at a time

Answer 10

Single-shotgun

Question 11

Firearms that use the force of the gas produced during firing to eject the spent cartridge, load a new round, and cock the hammer after a round is fired

Answer 11

Semiautomatic rifles

Question 12

The cut or low-lying portions between the lands in a rifled bore

Answer 12

Grooves

Question 13

The spiral grooves formed in the bore of a firearm barrel that impart spin to the projectile when it is fired

Answer 13

Rifling

Question 14

The interior of a firearm barrel

Answer 14

Bore

Question 15

The raised portion between the grooves in a rifled bore

Answer 15

Lands

Question 16

The diameter of the bore of a rifled firearm; is usually expressed in hundredths of an inch or millimeters - ex. .22 caliber and 9 mm

Answer 16

Caliber

Question 17

Consists of a series of concentric steel rings, with each ring slightly larger than the proceeding one; rotates as it passes through the barrel, giving the grooves their desired direction and rate of twist

Answer 17

Broach cutter

Question 18

Has a steel plug or “button” impressed with the desired number of grooves is forced under extremely high pressures through the barrel. The button rotates to produce the desired direction and rate of twist

Answer 18

Button press

Question 19

A rod of hardened steel machines so it’s dorm is the reverse impression if the rifling it is intended to produce; is inserted into a slightly oversized bore, and the barrel is compressed with hammering or heavy rollers into the mandrel’s form

Answer 19

Mandrel rifling or hammer forging

Question 20

Fine lines present in the interior of the barrel

Answer 20

Striations

Question 21

A technique where weapons are rifled with 8 to 24 grooves impressed into their barrels

Answer 21

Microgrooving

Question 22

Size designation of a shotgun, originally the number of lead balls with the same diameter as the barrel that would make a pound

Answer 22

Gauge

Question 23

The rear part of a firearm barrel

Answer 23

Breechface

Question 24

The mechanism in a firearm by which a cartridge of a fired case is withdrawn from the chamber

Answer 24

Extractor

Question 25

The mechanism in a firearm that throws the cartridge or fired case from the firearm

Answer 25

Ejector

Question 26

The process of determining the distance between the firearm and a target, usually based on the distribution of powder patterns or the spread of a shot pattern

Answer 26

Distance determination

Question 27

A mixture of carbon, dirt, lubricant, primer residue, and lead wipes off the bullet’s surface as it passes through the target

Answer 27

Bullet wipe

Question 28

A chemical test used to develop patterns of gunpowder residues around bullet holes

Answer 28

Greiss test

Question 29

Any impression, cut gouge, or abrasion caused by a tool coming into contact with another object

Answer 29

Tool mark