Ballistic Testing for Evidence

[MikeBjerum]

I am currently watching an episode of Wardens.  They are attempting to solve a case of a poached elk in Michigan.  At this point they have confiscated two rifles, from different men, with search warrants.  Two months after taking them, they are finally starting the testing.

First question:  What does it take to clean the orange sticker and its residue off your stock?

Second question:  Why do they use a water tank rather than ballistic gelatin to gather the test bullet.  They have issues of the bullets fragmenting in water, however gelatin replicates tissue closer and does not damage the bullets as much.

It was interesting to look at the test fired bullets.  They were bent from hitting the water at an angle, and they had no mushrooming.  I don't know how many shots he had to take, but the first two they showed both bullets fragmented.

[PegLeg45]

I didn't stay at a Holiday Inn Express, so I don't know the definitive answer, but I heard on some forensics show once that the water was more consistent than gelatin and once they recover a mostly intact bullet it makes microscopic examination of the marks left by the lands and grooves easier to examine for comparison. And it's cheaper.