How are firearms and ammunition collected in CSI?

How are firearms and ammunition collected in CSI?

Richard Saferstein (Former Chief Forensic Scientist) gives expert video advice on: How does the study of firearms help in CSI?; How does a gun work?; How are firearms and ammunition collected in CSI? and more...

What's important with respect to the forensic characteristics of firearm evidence are the markings that are left, whether it be on a bullet or a cartridge casing, as the weapon, or as the bullet traverses through the firearm. You don't want to disturb those markings. You want to be careful with the way that you handle a collected or fired bullet at a scene, or a cartridge casing at a scene. You do not want to disturb the markings on those items. Likewise, you don't want to disturb the markings within the barrel of the weapon. You don't want to, for example, pick up a weapon with a pencil by inserting it in the barrel because that will disturb the markings, and those are things that are "no-nos" at crime scenes. An important point to be made here is to preserve the markings on the bullet, preserve the markings on the cartridge casings, and preserve the markings within the barrel of the weapon.