Introduction. Currently, cases of illegal use of homemade fi rearms are increasingly common in expert practice. When examining the scene of the incident, experts seize bullets and shells fi red from homemade pistols and revolvers. While examining them, databases of traces are created. Possible reasons for the diff erence in the identification period of homemade fi rearms from factory ones are discussed. Experiment. To establish the identifi cation period in homemade fi rearms, experiments were carried out, during which a signifi cant diff erence was found between the identifi cation period of homemade fi rearms and factory-made fi rearms. Discussion of the results. When studying the dependence of maintaining the individualizing complex of features unchanged in traces on bullets and cartridge cases, it was revealed that the identifi cation period of homemade fi rearms is much shorter than that of factory-made fi rearms, which must be taken into account in expert practice.