Firearm Injury From Hunting .30 Caliber Bullet Passing Through an Intermediate Target (Binoculars): A Reconstruction of Events.

This article presents the results of research relating to the ricocheting of hunting ammunition and the application of these results to the investigation of a specific gunshot death, which occurred during a hunt for boars. The scene and autopsy findings revealed that a bullet had first struck a pair of binoculars around the victim's neck before entering his body. As the investigation proceeded, however, questions were raised as to whether the shot was a direct one or a ricochet. The case was thus referred to forensic medicine experts for their opinion. Experiments were conducted, which demonstrated that, although test ammunition could ricochet, the rebound fragments possessed insufficient kinetic energy to pierce the binoculars. On the basis of the experiments, it was determined that the victim had been killed by a direct shot and that the bullet had pierced the intermediate target of the binoculars before entering his body. The possibility of a ricochet producing the injuries found, that is, the victim being struck with a bullet or fragments rebounding from an obstacle, was considered unlikely.