Effect of shortening the barrel in contact shots from rifles and shotguns

In a suicidal gunshot fired to the chest from a carbine, the barrel of which had been shortened to half its original length, an unexpectedly large degree of destruction of the anterior thoracic wall with extensive undermining of the subcutis was found. This phenomenon was investigated for reconstructive purposes by firing test shots from two different long guns (caliber 7.92 x 57 repeating rifle with full-jacketed pointed bullet and caliber 12/70 single-barreled shotgun with shotgun slug) into blocks of soap (38 x 25 x 25 cm). The contact shots were fired before and after shortening the barrels (repeating rifle from 60 to 30 cm and single-barreled shotgun from 72 to 36 cm). The volume of the cavities in the simulant was visualized three-dimensionally with the help of a multislice computed tomography (CT) scanner and calculated sectionally. With the repeating rifle and the single-barreled shotgun, the shots from the sawed-off barrels produced significantly larger cavity diameters in the first section of the bullet track. This effect is attributable to the fact that, with a shortened barrel, the gas pressure at the muzzle is higher, thus, leading to increased expansion in the initial part of the wound track in contact shots.

The book of rifles

Revised and enl. ed. of W. H. B. Smith's The N.R.A. book of small arms, v. 2, Rifles, published in 1948.

The 1st King George's Own Gurkha Rifles, the Malaun Regiment, 1815-1921.

Mode of access: Internet.

History of the Royal Irish rifles,

In 1881 the 86th (Royal County Down) regiment was

James Bown & Son's illustrated catalogue and price list : text : gives price and description of all kinds of double & single barrel shot guns : also, their celebrated Kentucky rifles, and a general variety of sporting goods.

Title from yellow printed wrappers.

A sketch of the war record of the Edisto rifles, 1861-1865,

Mode of access: Internet.

King--of the Khyber rifles : a romance of adventure /

Frontispiece and double plates inserted between p. 36-37, 58-59, 116-117, 172-173, 228-229 and 268-269.

Army ammunition data sheets : artillery ammunition : guns, howitzers, mortars, recoilless rifles, grenade launchers, and artillery fuzes (federal supply class 1310, 1315, 1320, 1390).

"April 1977."

Direct support and general support maintenance manual (including repair parts and special tools list) for artillery ammunition for guns, howitzers, mortars, recoilless rifles and 40-mm grenade launchers.

"January 1975."

Organizational maintenance manual (including repair parts and special tools lists) : artillery ammunition for guns, howitzers, mortars, recoilless rifles, and 40-mm grenade launchers.

"December 1973."

Soldiers standing with rifles, ca. Spanish-American War era

Glass negative is overexposed. Adjusted EPSON scanner to allow for image to come through