PREDICTIVE DEFINITION OF THE SEVERITY OF CLOSED CHEST AND ABDOMINAL TRAUMA CAUSED BY SHOTS FROM 12-GAUGE "FORT-500" RIFLES WITH SHOCK-TRAUMATIC BULLETS OF "TEREN-12P" CARTRIDGES
Authors: Hurov O.M. , Sapielkin V.V. , Shcherbak V.V. , Hladkykh D.B. , Lys D.O. 
Published: December 2021

Objective – the predictive definition of the severity of closed chest and abdominal traumaaccording to the reduced AIS injury scale when firing at various distances from "Fort-500" rifles with shock-traumatic bullets of "Teren-12P" cartridges, depending on theirballistic and energetic characteristics in contact with the human body.Material and methods. To establish the speed of bullets of cartridges "Teren-12P" atvarious distances of the shot in the conditions of KhNSC «Hon. Prof. M. S. BokariusForensic Science Institute» experimental shots from the "Fort-500A" and "Fort-500M1"pump-action guns were conducted. In total, two series of 25 shots were fired from eachgun. The values of the velocities of the bullets at the moment of the firing were measuredusing optoelectronic complexes. The determination of the parameters of the trajectory ofthe flight of bullets was carried out by a combined method by means of calculations basedon the results of experimental shots. The obtained data were processed using licensedMicrosoft Excel spreadsheets.Results. According to the research results, it has been found that the ballistic coefficient of the bullet of the "Teren-12P" cartridge is 47.3 kg/m2. This made it possible to determinethe ranges of minimum and maximum speeds of bullets at different shooting distances.Analysis of the data showed that in some cases the speed of bullets at a distance of 3.5m significantly exceeded the speed range declared by the manufacturer of the cartridges.According to the calculated values, according to the literature data, the graphs of thedistribution of the BC blunt injury criterion and the reduced AIS damage scale wereplotted depending on the distance of the shot for the minimum and maximum bullet speedsof the "Teren-12P" cartridges. According to the graphs, when the "Teren-12P" bulletsare fired at their maximum speeds, there is a 50% risk of a closed chest and abdominalinjury according to AIS -2 – AIS-3 at all distances up to 50 m. Even at minimum bulletspeeds cartridges "Teren-12P" there is a 50% risk of formation of a closed abdominaltrauma according to AIS-2 – AIS-3 with shots from a distance of up to 40 m, and chestinjuries – up to 30 m. Closed trauma to these areas of the body according to AIS-4 can bepredictably caused by shots from a distance of up to 10 m.Conclusions. A significant range of variability in the initial speeds of elastic bullets canlead to an incorrect expert estimate of the firing distance due to the fact that similargunshot wounds can be caused by both a bullet with a high initial speed from a longrange of a shot and a bullet with a low initial speed from a close firing distance. Whenthe "Teren-12P" bullets are fired from "Fort-500" rifles, there is a 50 % risk of a closedchest and abdominal injury according to AIS -2 – AIS-3 at all shooting distances up to50 m. Chest and abdominal injuries according to AIS -4 can be predictably caused whenfired from distances up to 10 m. The results obtained can be used in carrying out complexforensic examinations in cases of the use of "Teren-12P" cartridges.