Mystery Writer's Guide to Forensic Science - Bang, Bang, you're dead!

I often fall asleep to the sound of gunfire. Ah, the smell of gunpowder in the morning. However, I'm not going to talk about Mexico today. I'm going to talk about guns - handguns to be specific. I'm going to take the most important questions and give you my research.

What do handguns look like?
Here are two examples of popular service pistols used by law enforcement. Do more research to find out what type of weapon the shooter would use.

Browning Hi-Power

SIG Sauer P226

Where is the safety on a gun? 
Well, every gun is different. And, in all honesty, when writing mystery fiction, do we really say more than, "he/she took the safety off"?

However, some popular guns have safety in the grip -such as the 1911 guns. For such a gun to fire, even if you press the trigger if the back of the grip is not pressed in – which it always is in when you hold it for firing but never otherwise as it is spring loaded to stay out – even if you press the trigger that gun will not fire. The grip safety must be pressed in to go BANG. Some popular guns such as Glocks have no safety switches but they have little levers on the trigger. To fire the gun, whether cocked or not, you must first press the little trigger lever and then pull the trigger.
Revolvers have no safeties but they are much harder to pull the trigger (relative to a semi-auto).  

What are the parts of a handgun called?

The Simple Diagram

The More Complex Diagram

What do handgun shots sound like?
Well, again, it depends on the gun, where you are (indoors or out), how far away you are. I once was a few houses away when police started shooting but it was with rifles so it was loud. Also, I was running to my car, so I wasn't trying to think of what it sounded like either. From far away (like a few streets away, they are much quieter and sound more like popping to me. I put a video on my youtube account, you can go watch it here. You do NOT see any dead bodies - no one dies. (Keep in mind, it sounds different on TV.) If any of you have heard a gun go off, what did it sound like to you?

What happens when you shoot a gun in the air? 
The bullet comes down. And hard. Some idiot on New Years Eve shot a gun outside of my father's house into the air and the bullet came down through my father's Honda Civic roof and down into the drivers seat. Had my father been sitting behind the steering wheel, he'd be dead. If you shoot a gun in the air, it can kill someone.

Is this all I need to know?
Of course not. But, I have this word of advice. You don't want to get your facts wrong, don't go into to much detail. The average reader does not need to know much more than someone was shot. However, when doing witness statements or forensics, research is good to have.

I want to hear your gun stories, people!  What kind of experience do you have with firearms? Anything you want to know for my next gun post?

Next week: Gunshot residue. Bullet holes. Can bullets go through concrete? What about glass?

Sources: Rightnerve.com
 Smith and Wesson