Shooting a person

[Pipe]

I was taking care of a squirrel problem with my pellet gun this morning, and it occured to me that nothing ever dies nicely when you shoot it. I've been hunting for a number of years and I when I shoot a deer, it tries its darndest to struggle away, but eventually can't get off the forest floor. It lies there struggling, then twitching, until nothing.

In the movies, of course, when someone gets shot (unless they're an important character and a pre-death monologue is required), guys just go down and lie still. I could see that with a head-shot something might go straight down dead, but otherwise, if a person is shot mortally in the torso, what can you expect?

[christopher jon]

if a person is shot mortally in the torso, what can you expect?

In the torso, simplified,

A shot to the heart and it's game over.

A shot to the lungs and you'll probably drown in your own bodily fluids. To survive it, lean on the side that is shot (I think, I forget) to keep your good lung clear of fluid.

A shot to the gut and you'll bleed out. To survive it, stuff your guts back in and pack the wound with something to stop the bleeding. Don't play with the poop in your intestines.

A shot to the shoulder, shrug it off like Rambo. Stuff a tampon in the hole (seriously) and yell This is Sparta!.

Something like that. Blood completely grosses me out.

I think your deer example probably sums it up best when any living creature is shot. Struggling. Twitching. Fading. Baby Jesus meet n' greet.

[Pipe]

As a hunter, I know what to expect. All of my shots have been heart and/or lung shots, and the deer have all gone down with a few steps. But a deer can live for up to a couple minutes after, and every second of that it's trying to get up and run away.

I guess the big difference is going to be that a person knows that he's been shot and knows it's serious, maybe even knows he's gonna die. Whereas a deer might know that he hurts real bad and that something is definitely very wrong, but he doesn't know what's happened or what the consequences are.

[christopher jon]

All of my shots have been heart and/or lung shots, and the deer have all gone down with a few steps. But a deer can live for up to a couple minutes after, and every second of that it's trying to get up and run away.

A doctor or anatomy expert could probably give a better answer but I don't think there is going to be much of a difference between a deer and a human. It's the same organs in a different package.

I'm not a hunter but I think the quick drop shots are when you hit the deer from the side and pierce both the lung and the heart. Taking out two vital organs.

I think when you only hit the lung is when the deer gets all frothy but keeps on going for a while.

[dangerouscreenwriter]

Originally Posted by Pipe

In the movies, of course, when someone gets shot (unless they're an important character and a pre-death monologue is required), guys just go down and lie still... if a person is shot mortally in the torso, what can you expect?

Tim Roth's situation in Reservoir Dogs felt pretty spot on. Except the 90 min. it took the bastard to bleed out.

Originally Posted by Pipe

I was taking care of a squirrel problem with my pellet gun this morning,

And, um... you don't live in L.A., do you?

[Todd Karate]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrostatic_shock

[Fortean]

Originally Posted by Pipe

In the movies, of course, when someone gets shot (unless they're an important character and a pre-death monologue is required), guys just go down and lie still. I could see that with a head-shot something might go straight down dead, but otherwise, if a person is shot mortally in the torso, what can you expect?

Techncally, pages 8 to 10:

http://www.firearmstactical.com/pdf/fbi-hwfe.pdf

Blame the Hays Code for the fictional deaths in films, where actors fell dead without any blood or any death struggle. Televiision continued to maintain the same PG level of violence for many years afterwards, thus inhibiting a realistic portrayal of gunshot wounds and deaths.

Discussing the use of various guns and ammo with Ivan T. Sanderson, large-bore shotguns with double-aught or triple-aught buckshot were our preferred choice against Yeti and Sasquatch, at close range. They're expected to be a bit more dangerous, when angry and wounded, than squirrels and deer.

[BChristgau]

I remember hearing an old story about Tom Mix.

Good ol' Tom, being a bit of a stickler for authenticity, was doing a scene where his character was going to be shot in the belly. So, Tom being Tom, decided the best way to do the scene was to strap a wooden board to his belly and have a marksman shoot it.

What happened when the bullet hit? It knocked Tom flat on his ass. It didn't look cool, it didn't look dignified, but it gave him the realism he was looking for.

As it happens, if the story can be believed, the bullet actually went through the board and into Tom, but not deep enough to do any damage.

Say what you want about Tom Mix's acting ability, but there's no denying that this cat was HARD-CORE.

Cheers,

B

[Pipe]

Originally Posted by BChristgau

I remember hearing an old story about Tom Mix.

Good ol' Tom, being a bit of a stickler for authenticity, was doing a scene where his character was going to be shot in the belly. So, Tom being Tom, decided the best way to do the scene was to strap a wooden board to his belly and have a marksman shoot it.

What happened when the bullet hit? It knocked Tom flat on his ass. It didn't look cool, it didn't look dignified, but it gave him the realism he was looking for.

As it happens, if the story can be believed, the bullet actually went through the board and into Tom, but not deep enough to do any damage.

Say what you want about Tom Mix's acting ability, but there's no denying that this cat was HARD-CORE.

Cheers,

B

Scary dangerous. I once saw a guy shoot a 9mm in his basement, and it went through a lot of wood before it stopped in the last piece.

[GI_Jeep]

In most cases people do drop like a sack of potatoes after taking a round. The initial impact can take anyone off their feet including those wearing body armor. How they react after that entirely depends on location of entry and caliber used. I've been told it feels like an enormous amount of pressure and then overwhelming pain.