Citation

Karger B. Rechtsmedizin 2010; 20(2): 75-79.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2010, Holtzbrinck Springer Nature Publishing Group)

DOI

10.1007/s00194-010-0657-5

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Shotguns are smooth bore long firearms which commonly fire many small sized lead pellets. The special characteristics of the firearm, such as choke bore and of the ammunition, such as secondary ejecta or shotgun slugs are explained. Shotguns are generally used for hunting small but moving game from shooting distances < 50 m. The low mass of the single pellets reduces the effective range as well as the penetration depth in tissue. The shotgun pellet spread (dispersion) in front of the muzzle is used for estimating the firing distance. The morphological characteristics of the entrance wound also depend on the pellet spread and thus on the shooting distance and a corresponding scheme is presented. For shotguns fired from less than 5-10 m, the so-called billiard effect causes pronounced dispersion of the pellets within tissue, thus producing large and funnel-shaped injuries. Sawn-off shotguns and the forensic investigation of cases involving shotguns are reviewed.