The purpose of our work was to assess the capabilities of the SEM in the framework of expert studies of gunshot injuries of targets made of cotton fabric. In the study of experimental injuries resulting from shots fired from the KO-M1-98 carbine with 8x57JS cartridges at various distances (from the stop to 3.5 m), the presence of features of the soot morphology was established, by which it is possible to judge the distance of the shot. Thus, by examining fragments of target tissue from the central and peripheral zones of soot deposition, electron microscopy revealed a change in the ratio, intensity, and topography of soot particles. The energy-dispersion analysis revealed that with increasing distance, the number of chemical elements that make up the capsule decreases, with the exception of tin, which has an unstable inversely proportional bond.