Question:
The range of fire by a rifled firearm per the image
The range of fire by a rifled firearm per the image
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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: Aug 27, 2026
- Contact
- Close
- Distant
- Cannot be opined
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Verified By Collegedunia
The Correct Option is B
Solution and Explanation
Step 1: Read the wound morphology. The photograph shows a central circular entry wound surrounded by a fairly dense zone of reddish-brown discrete spots (tattooing / stippling) scattered over several centimetres of skin around the hole. Tattooing is the abrasion-and-embedding of partly burnt and unburnt gunpowder grains into the skin; it cannot be wiped off.
Step 2: Link range to the surrounding marks. In firearm wounds, the range of fire is estimated from which secondary marks accompany the entry hole:
• Contact / near-contact: muzzle imprint, blackening of seared wound margins, cherry-red carboxyhaemoglobin discolouration, and cavitation - powder is driven inside the wound.
• Close (intermediate) range: a zone of tattooing (stippling) around the wound, with or without scorching/blackening, because individual powder grains travel only a limited distance and embed in skin.
• Distant range: only the entry hole with an abrasion collar; no tattooing, scorching or blackening, since powder grains fall short of the target.
Step 3: Apply to this image. The presence of a clear ring of tattooing around the entry wound, without features of contact firing, places this within the intermediate or close range of fire. For a rifled weapon, tattooing is generally seen up to roughly \(60\,\text{cm}\) (about 2 feet); its presence here indicates close range.
Step 4: Eliminate the distractors. Contact (A) would show muzzle imprint, charring and internal soot, none of which are the dominant feature. Distant (C) would show only a clean hole with abrasion collar and NO tattooing - contradicted by the obvious stippling. 'Cannot be opined' (D) is wrong because the tattooing is a reliable, opinable sign of range.
Final answer: B - Close range.
Step 2: Link range to the surrounding marks. In firearm wounds, the range of fire is estimated from which secondary marks accompany the entry hole:
• Contact / near-contact: muzzle imprint, blackening of seared wound margins, cherry-red carboxyhaemoglobin discolouration, and cavitation - powder is driven inside the wound.
• Close (intermediate) range: a zone of tattooing (stippling) around the wound, with or without scorching/blackening, because individual powder grains travel only a limited distance and embed in skin.
• Distant range: only the entry hole with an abrasion collar; no tattooing, scorching or blackening, since powder grains fall short of the target.
Step 3: Apply to this image. The presence of a clear ring of tattooing around the entry wound, without features of contact firing, places this within the intermediate or close range of fire. For a rifled weapon, tattooing is generally seen up to roughly \(60\,\text{cm}\) (about 2 feet); its presence here indicates close range.
Step 4: Eliminate the distractors. Contact (A) would show muzzle imprint, charring and internal soot, none of which are the dominant feature. Distant (C) would show only a clean hole with abrasion collar and NO tattooing - contradicted by the obvious stippling. 'Cannot be opined' (D) is wrong because the tattooing is a reliable, opinable sign of range.
Final answer: B - Close range.
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