Forensic Disciplines and Methods

Forensic Ballistics

Also Known As Firearms and toolmark examination

Citation Formats

General Reference

Crime and Justice Atlas. "Forensic Ballistics." Accessed August 30, 2026. https://crime.interactiveatlas.org/forensic-disciplines/forensic-ballistics.

APA Style

Crime and Justice Atlas. (n.d.). Forensic Ballistics. Retrieved August 30, 2026, from https://crime.interactiveatlas.org/forensic-disciplines/forensic-ballistics

BibTeX

@misc{crimeandjusticeatlas-forensic-ballistics,
  author = {Crime and Justice Atlas},
  title = {Forensic Ballistics},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://crime.interactiveatlas.org/forensic-disciplines/forensic-ballistics},
  note = {Accessed August 30, 2026}
}

The examination of firearms, bullets, cartridge cases and toolmarks to determine whether they are linked to a specific weapon. Calvin Goddard pioneered the comparison microscope for matching fired bullets and cases to a specific firearm.

Facts

What It Examines

Firearms, fired bullets and cartridge cases, comparing toolmarks left by a weapon to link ammunition components to a particular firearm and reconstruct shooting incidents. 1

Formalized Year

1925 2

the subject's own accountThe year Calvin Goddard and colleagues established the Bureau of Forensic Ballistics in New York.

Known Limitation

The 2009 National Academy of Sciences report placed firearm and toolmark comparison among the pattern-matching disciplines whose conclusions rest on examiner judgment without an adequately validated statistical foundation. 3

Cross-Tradition Connections

Cases Where Used

Beltway Snipers Case

A firearms match through the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network linked shell casings across shooting scenes and helped connect the attacks to a single weapon.

Source Wikipedia: D.C. Sniper Attacks