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PerspectivePure2169 t1_iy1z4cw wrote

Reply to comment by brainwired1 in Can bullets fired from the same gun be traced after thoroughly cleaning/polishing of the barrel?Would the bullet have the same imperfections? by Dapper_Team_2593

I've always wondered about this, as the whole point of mass production and interchangeable parts is to make functionally identical components.

So if two barrels from the same lot of steel are made on the same machines and rifled with the same button, one after the other - how much difference can there really be? There should be nothing but the tooling wear to change it.

Sure one could tell by looking at a bullet if there's a difference in number lands and grooves. Or with some knowledge of various designs' barrels you could say Beretta vs Ruger 9mm etc. But to tell between two Rugers of the same model?

Seems like a stretch to me. But idk.

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brainwired1 t1_iy20jyl wrote

You have identified the problem exactly. There's virtually no difference at all between the two barrels as you described. Eventually, maybe, there might be microscopic differences between the two if both of them have been used a lot, but even then it's not the "focus, magnify, magnify, enhance" crap from NCISSICCIENDUF:New Orleans:SPUWIOM.

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PerspectivePure2169 t1_iy2174a wrote

Interesting. Had never really thought through it before now. But reasoning through it with an understanding of manufacturing makes sense that the ballistics matching wouldn't be anywhere near a "fingerprint"

More like a copy of a fingerprint 😄

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