Primer composition and memory effect of weapons—Some trends from a systematic approach in casework

Since 2008, our laboratory has adopted a systematic approach to the examination of gunshot residues (GSR) in casework by analysing, whenever possible, the inorganic composition present in ammunition (cartridge cases and unused ammunition). By compiling the results of these analyses in a database, it is possible to observe some trends during the period of interest: on the one hand, the prevalence of primers containing lead, barium and antimony is about 50%, and even as high as 70% when including lead–barium–antimony based primers also containing tin; on the other hand, the prevalence of non-toxic primers is for the time being very low. Still using the same approach, test firings were performed with recovered weapons and litigious ammunition whenever possible in order to estimate the influence of the well known “memory effect” of the weapons on the GSR analysis results. The first results show a quite strong memory effect for the .22 and the .32 caliber, unlike the .38 caliber. This is probably due to a high prevalence of lead–barium–antimony based primers for the latter caliber.