Identification of tandem bullets.

The possibility of identifying tandem bullets, causing separate entry holes on one or two victims, or found separately at the scene of a crime, is investigated. The phenomenon of tandem bullets has been studied to evaluate the physical evidence. The presence of deep indentations of propellant particles on the exposed lead base cavity, along with patches of striations on the inner periphery of the cavity, have been found to be useful physical evidence to conclude that the bullet had moved in tandem and was a lodged bullet. An outward protrusion of the base acts as corroborative physical evidence that the bullet was the striking bullet.