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For more than a century, forensic firearms analysts have been telling juries that they can match a specific bullet to a specific gun, to the exclusion of all other guns. This claimed ability has helped to put tens of thousands of people in prison, and in a nontrivial percentage of those cases, it’s safe to say that ballistics matching was the only evidence linking the accused to the crime.

But as with other forensic specialties collectively known as pattern matching fields, the claim is facing growing scrutiny. Scientists from outside of forensics point out that there’s no scientific basis for much of what firearms analysts say in court. These critics, backed by a growing body of research, make a pretty startling claim — one that could have profound effects on the criminal justice system: We don't actually know if it's possible to match a specific bullet to a specific gun. And even if it is, we don't know if forensic firearms analysts are any good at it.

[Source.](https://radleybalko.substack.com/p/devil-in-the-grooves-the-case-against) > For more than a century, forensic firearms analysts have been telling juries that they can match a specific bullet to a specific gun, to the exclusion of all other guns. This claimed ability has helped to put tens of thousands of people in prison, and in a nontrivial percentage of those cases, it’s safe to say that ballistics matching was the only evidence linking the accused to the crime. > But as with other forensic specialties collectively known as pattern matching fields, the claim is facing growing scrutiny. Scientists from outside of forensics point out that there’s no scientific basis for much of what firearms analysts say in court. These critics, backed by a growing body of research, make a pretty startling claim — one that could have profound effects on the criminal justice system: We don't actually know if it's possible to match a specific bullet to a specific gun. And even if it is, we don't know if forensic firearms analysts are any good at it.

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[–] • 1 pt

This is an excellent article about how the "experts" can, will and do stretch the evidence to fit the crime and thus convict the defendant. There have been cases where even a shotgun was "identified" as a murder weapon, even though the victim was shot at close range with a birdshot round. If any of you have ever fired birdshot from a shotgun, you are already wondering how in the hell could a bunch of birdshot taken from a victim's head could be matched to a specific shotgun. Yes, indeed, my head is shaking too. Bottom line, there cannot be a match. Another case involved a rifled deer slug (my personal favorite for eliminating various harmful creatures). One case "expert" purported to match a specific smooth bore shotgun to a rifled one ounce slug. Yet another bullshit testimony. This article reveals that even rifling marks on a solid bullet are suspect due to the hundreds of possible differences in a specific rifle or pistol barrel. But, non-the-less, the "experts" still help the gestapo put innocents behind bars.

Remember, the Go-To weapon at short range is the 12 gauge shotgun, preferably an auto-loading gun, with stacked grades of rounds, beginning with #8 birdshot and then increasing to the last round, a hollow-point deer slug.

[–] • 1 pt

Shotguns are a special case in ballistic analysis, contrary to most firearms they can be loaded with projectiles that are going to turn into pure chaos in terms of markings, that's one of the reasons why it's one of the weapons of choice for contract killers, another reason is also the fact that 12 gauge cartridges are among the most commonly available ammunition on the civilian market. Another popular caliber in that line of "work" is the .22, same deal you have the availability argument, and the discretion, it's not going to be a loud bang and it's powerful enough at close range

>you are already wondering how in the hell could a bunch of birdshot taken from a victim's head could be matched to a specific shotgun

Chemical composition of the powder sample found on the victim and in the firearm, if it matches a link can eventually be established connecting both