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Contact Shot

Home > Gunshot Residue and Distance Determination > Distance Determination > Contact Shot

Contact shot with tearing of the material
and soot around the entrance hole.

Courtesy of FirearmsID.com

The most basic type of distance determination occurs when the muzzle of the firearm is in contact with the target at the time of discharge. When fired at close range, the bullet, high velocity gases, and residues commonly cause gross physical effects and residue deposits that are easily observed by the unaided eye.

The physical effects that indicate a contact shot may include

  • ripping and tearing of cloth,
  • burning and/or singeing of cloth,
  • melted tips of artificial fibers,
  • heavy vaporous lead (smoke) deposits around a suspected bullet hole.

The Modified Griess Test and the Sodium Rhodizonate Test may yield positive results and are confirmatory in nature if the physical effects are sufficient to support the conclusion of a contact shot. Because these effects indicate a contact situation (regardless of caliber or cartridge type), no suspect firearm is required to confirm distance.

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