[Durgical](https://durgical.com/en/) › [DurgiPedia](https://durgical.com/en/durgipedia/) › [Forensic medicine](https://durgical.com/en/forensic-medicine/) › [Mechanical injuries](https://durgical.com/en/forensic-medicine/areas/injuries/) › Range of fire: contact, close and distant shots # Range of fire: contact, close and distant shots - Method Range of fire is estimated from the residues around the entry: burning, soot and stippling; no residues does not always mean distant. Updated Nov 5, 2026 ## Key points - Contact: residues inside the wound; stellate wound over bone (Hoffmann's "mine mouth"); muzzle imprint (Puppe-Werkgaertner). - Close range: burning and singeing, soot (washes off) and stippling or tattooing (does not wash off). - Intermediate range: stippling without soot; for handguns, roughly up to about 60 centimetres. - Distant: only the projectile's own features, no residues. - No residues on the skin does NOT prove a distant shot: clothing or intermediate targets can catch them. On this page - The basics Key points - What it is - Accuracy and limits - What it is based on - How it is applied - Range of fire and skin residues (handguns; values approximate and variable) · Sources: StatPearls, Gunshot Wounds Forensic Pathology (NBK556119); review PMC12791185 - Next step: what to do and document - Common mistakes - Elsewhere in DurgiPedia - Study Test yourself - Connections Connections ## What it is When a gun is fired, hot gases, flame, soot and powder grains leave the muzzle along with the projectile. Each travels a different distance: flame and gases very little; soot a bit further; powder grains further still. So the residues around the entry wound let the shot be classed as contact, close range, intermediate range or distant. The figures are approximate and change with the weapon, the ammunition, the angle and clothing; a precise estimate is made by the firearms laboratory, test-firing the same weapon with the same ammunition. ## Accuracy and limits - The ranges depend on the weapon, barrel, powder and ammunition: there is no universal figure. - Flame reaches roughly 15 centimetres with handguns and somewhat more with long guns (approximate). - An intermediate target (glass, fabric) can filter the powder and give atypical stippling. - Shotguns differ: with distance, scattered pellet holes appear around a central wound. ## What it is based on - Soot is light and travels a short way; it settles on the skin and washes off easily. - Unburnt powder grains embed in the skin (stippling) and do not wash off. - Flame causes burning and singed hair only very close to the muzzle. - In contact, gases go under the skin; over bone they tear it in a star shape. ## How it is applied - Photograph the wound and the surrounding area with a scale before washing. - Look for burning, singed hair, soot and stippling; measure the area and density of stippling. - Note the shape of the residue area: circular (perpendicular) or oval (oblique). - Look for a muzzle imprint and residues inside the wound (contact). - Keep the clothing: residues may be on the fabric and not on the skin. - Leave the final estimate to the firearms laboratory, which compares with test shots. ## Range of fire and skin residues (handguns; values approximate and variable) · Sources: StatPearls, Gunshot Wounds Forensic Pathology (NBK556119); review PMC12791185 | Range | What is seen | Possible errors | | --- | --- | --- | | Contact (muzzle against skin) | Residues inside the wound; burnt rim; muzzle imprint; stellate wound over bone; Benassi sign on the bone | Mistaking the stellate entry for an exit | | Close range | Burning and singeing, soot and stippling | Washing the skin before photographing and losing the soot | | Intermediate range | Stippling without soot | Clothing or an intermediate target can filter the powder | | Distant | Only projectile features: hole, abrasion ring and bullet wipe | Concluding distant range when clothing caught the residues | ## Next step: what to do and document - Before washing or debriding, photograph the wound and a wide area around it with a scale. - Describe the residues you see (do not write a distance in centimetres) and their shape. - Keep the clothing without shaking it, air-dry it, pack each item separately in paper and hand it over with chain of custody. - Record thick clothing, intermediate targets or earlier wound care that may have altered the residues. - Law 906 of 2004 (arts. 254 and 255) requires the authenticity of evidence to be preserved and makes health staff responsible for handing it to the authority. - Official text checked on 2026-11-05 at funcionpublica.gov.co. ## Common mistakes - Washing the wound before documenting soot. - Writing an exact distance in the clinical report. - Concluding distant range because there are no residues on the skin, without examining the clothing. - Mistaking stippling for soot: stippling does not wipe off. ## Test yourself Think of the answer, then tap the question to see it. ## What separates soot from stippling? Soot is deposited on the skin and wipes off; stippling is powder grains embedded in the skin and does not wipe off. ## What does a stellate wound with residues inside, over the skull, indicate? A hard-contact shot: the gases go under the skin and tear it against the bone (Hoffmann's "mine mouth" sign). ## Does the absence of residues on the skin prove a distant shot? No. Clothing or an intermediate target may have caught the residues; the clothing must be examined. ## How is range of fire estimated most precisely? In the firearms laboratory, by test-firing the same weapon with the same ammunition and comparing the residue pattern. [Add to my cards (4)](https://durgical.app/estudiar/?add=/en/forensic-medicine/range-of-fire-contact-close-and-distant-shots/) ## Elsewhere in DurgiPedia - [Mandatory reporting: public health, violence and abuse](https://durgical.com/en/medical-ethics/mandatory-reporting-public-health-violence-and-abuse/) ## Connections ## Related 3 - [Gunshot entry wound](https://durgical.com/en/forensic-medicine/gunshot-entry-wound/) - [Gunshot exit wound and telling it from the entry](https://durgical.com/en/forensic-medicine/gunshot-exit-wound-and-telling-it-from-the-entry/) - [Chain of custody (cadena de custodia) in the hospital or rural post](https://durgical.com/en/forensic-medicine/chain-of-custody-in-the-hospital-or-rural-post/) ## Related conditions 1 - [Penetrating trauma (stab and gunshot wounds)](https://durgical.com/en/conditions/penetrating-trauma/) [← All of forensic medicine](https://durgical.com/en/forensic-medicine/) Educational content on forensic and legal medicine; not legal advice and no substitute for the technical guides of Colombia's National Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences. Laws change: each page links the official text and says when it was last checked. For a real case, follow the guide in force and ask the competent authority. Sources: [Gunshot Wound Patterns: A Narrative Review From a Forensic Medical Perspective](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12791185/) (Cureus (PMC), 2026); [Gunshot Wounds Forensic Pathology (StatPearls)](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK556119/) (NCBI Bookshelf, StatPearls Publishing, 2023); [Suicidio mediante el uso de un arma de fuego, con presencia de doble signo de Hoffmann: reporte de un caso](https://www.scielo.sa.cr/pdf/mlcr/v38n2/2215-5287-mlcr-38-02-25.pdf) (Revista Medicina Legal de Costa Rica (SciELO), 2021); [Ley 906 de 2004, Código de Procedimiento Penal](https://www.funcionpublica.gov.co/eva/gestornormativo/norma.php?i=14787) (Función Pública, Gestor Normativo, 2004). ## **Spotted a mistake?** We are always improving for the community. Tell us what is wrong and our team will review it. 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