RESEARCH CARRIED OUT IN ROMANIA REVEALED THAT THE SOUNDS OF SHOTS FIRED BY A GUN POSSESSED CERTAIN GENERAL AND INDIVIDUAL CHARACTERISTICS THAT WERE RELATIVELY CONSTANT, CAUSED BY THE WEAPON'S PARTICULARITIES OF CONSTRUCTION, ITS SPECIFIC DEGREE OF ELASTICITY TO VIBRATIONS, CERTAIN DEFECTS, AND THE WEAR AND TEAR TO WHICH IT HAD BEEN SUBJECTED. THIS ARTICLE OUTLINES THE PRINCIPLES BEHIND THIS CRIMINALISTICS ANALYSIS, THE DIFFERENT STAGES OF THE IDENTIFICATION PROCESS, THEIR CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER, THE METHODS AND TECHNIQUES USED TO EXAMINE THE WEAPON, AND STANDARD PROCEDURE FOR OBTAINING COMPARISON SAMPLES. ...ELW