Citation

Bernard M. J. Can. Soc. Forensic Sci. 2005; 38(2): 69-83.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2005, Canadian Society of Forensic Science, Publisher Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/00085030.2005.10757585

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

The goals of this study were to determine if the Integrated Ballistics Identification System's (IBIS) correlation scores are dependent on the brand of ammunition used, which brand produces better scores, and whether the number of shots fired between correlated rounds is related to the IBIS scores. Twenty-five rounds of Federal, Remington, and Winchester jacketed ammunition were fired through three firearms: a.38 calibre revolver, a.32 calibre semi-automatic pistol and a.45 calibre semi-automatic pistol. Though analysis of variance showed a significant difference in breech face, firing pin, and bullet scores based on the ammunition brand used, no single brand performed best in all calibres or all types of markings studied. Pearson correlation coefficients indicated that there is no consistent or significant deterioration in IBIS scores over 25 firings. Only the.38 calibre bullets consistently showed the expected inverse relationship between IBIS scores and the number of rounds fired between correlated samples, but only in half the cases was this trend statistically significant.