Question:medium
The range of fire by a rifled firearm per the image
The range of fire by a rifled firearm per the image
Show Hint
Powder grains embedded around the hole (tattooing that cannot be wiped off) without a muzzle imprint or charring point to one specific range.
Updated On: Jun 22, 2026
- Contact
- Close
- Distant
- Cannot be opined
Show Solution
The Correct Option is B
Solution and Explanation
Approach - build the range from the spread of powder marks.
In forensic ballistics the single most useful sign for estimating distance of fire is the pattern of gunpowder deposition around the entry wound, because burnt soot and unburnt powder grains have a fixed, short flight distance from the muzzle.
Soot (blackening): Fine carbon soot is deposited only when the muzzle is within about $30$ cm of the skin and can be wiped away.
Tattooing (stippling): Coarser, partly burnt and unburnt powder grains strike with enough force to abrade and embed in the skin, producing reddish-brown punctate marks that CANNOT be wiped off. This is the hallmark of the close / intermediate range and, for a rifled firearm, is typically present up to roughly $60$ cm.
What the picture shows: A central perforating wound encircled by a halo of discrete, embedded powder dots - i.e. true tattooing - without the muzzle imprint, charred margins or intense central blackening that would indicate contact firing.
Mapping to the options:
- If it were a contact shot we would expect a stellate/punched wound, muzzle abrasion, seared blackened edges and internal soot - absent here.
- If it were a distant shot, only the bullet hole with an abrasion collar would be present, with NO surrounding powder - also contradicted.
- 'Cannot be opined' is invalid because tattooing is a definite, opinable marker of range.
Therefore the encircling tattooing without contact features points to firing from a close range.
Answer: B (Close).
In forensic ballistics the single most useful sign for estimating distance of fire is the pattern of gunpowder deposition around the entry wound, because burnt soot and unburnt powder grains have a fixed, short flight distance from the muzzle.
Soot (blackening): Fine carbon soot is deposited only when the muzzle is within about $30$ cm of the skin and can be wiped away.
Tattooing (stippling): Coarser, partly burnt and unburnt powder grains strike with enough force to abrade and embed in the skin, producing reddish-brown punctate marks that CANNOT be wiped off. This is the hallmark of the close / intermediate range and, for a rifled firearm, is typically present up to roughly $60$ cm.
What the picture shows: A central perforating wound encircled by a halo of discrete, embedded powder dots - i.e. true tattooing - without the muzzle imprint, charred margins or intense central blackening that would indicate contact firing.
Mapping to the options:
- If it were a contact shot we would expect a stellate/punched wound, muzzle abrasion, seared blackened edges and internal soot - absent here.
- If it were a distant shot, only the bullet hole with an abrasion collar would be present, with NO surrounding powder - also contradicted.
- 'Cannot be opined' is invalid because tattooing is a definite, opinable marker of range.
Therefore the encircling tattooing without contact features points to firing from a close range.
Answer: B (Close).
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