Question:medium

An entry firearm wound demonstrates an abrasion collar and a grease collar but completely lacks gunpowder tattooing (stippling), soot, and singeing of hair. The most appropriate interpretation of the firing distance is:

Show Hint

No stippling, no soot, no singed hair - the muzzle was beyond powder range.
Updated On: Jun 25, 2026
  • Distant range
  • Contact (tight) range
  • Close range
  • Intermediate (near) range
Show Solution

The Correct Option is A

Solution and Explanation

The forensic reading of firing distance rests on the reach of muzzle products. The bullet alone makes an abrasion collar (AC) from skin indentation and a grease collar (GC) from wiped lubricant; both occur at any range and are non-discriminating.

Range markers are the accessory effects: singeing from flame, blackening from soot, and stippling from unburnt powder. Powder tattooing typically reaches no farther than roughly $60\,cm$, soot roughly $30\,cm$.

In this case all three accessory effects are missing, leaving only AC and GC. The logical conclusion is that the muzzle lay beyond the distance any powder grain could travel.

This is the textbook description of a far/distant shot. Contact, close, and intermediate ranges would each leave at least one of soot, burning, or stippling, which are absent here.

\[\boxed{\text{Only AC + GC, no powder/flame marks} \Rightarrow \text{Distant range}}\]
Was this answer helpful?
0