Bullet ID: Comparing Apples to Apples

Matching a bullet to a particular firearm used to be a painstaking process. Well, that’s no longer true with software such as Forensic Technology’s IBIS BrassTrax. Now analysts have the capability to examine bullets using both 2D and 3D technology. The software even allows for multiple views of the same object.

Side of bullet fired through a Glock. Shows the markings left in the lead from lands inside the pistol’s barrel.

View looking into a pistol barrel. The raised portions of the spiraled markings are called lands. The slots are called (duh) grooves. The open portion of the barrel is called a bore.

Primer of bullet (flat end of the round that’s struck by the firing pin). This round was fired from a Glock.

Using the 3D computer technology to match two rounds. These are two separate primers.

Angled view of primer.

Two bullets are compared for similarities. The markings look the same, and the line comparisons at the bottom (red line is the test bullet; green is the reference bullet) confirm it.