surviving a headshot

Johan Larson · 10-29-2016, 04:48 PM

She walked up to him, pointed her pistol, and shot him in the head. But somehow, he survived.

How?

- The shooting was staged; she had loaded the pistol with blanks.
- He had tampered with the pistol; it was loaded with blanks.
- He was lucky, and he had a crack medical team standing by. The bullet didn't hit anything absolutely vital, so with some very expensive treatment and therapy he has back to his old self a year later.
- The bullet didn't expand properly, and went clean through. A Phineas Gage case.
- The bullet bounced off a metal plate installed after an earlier head injury.

whswhs · 10-29-2016, 05:32 PM

The first person to map out cortical localization of sensory functions was a Japanese doctor after the Russo-Japanese War. A lot of men were coming back who had had bullets pass through the occipital lobe, and whose vision was impaired. So this doctor started mapping which bullet paths went with which parts of the visual field. This only happened because a lot of men survived being shot in the head.

I'd also note that the big peril in shooting yourself in the head is that the bullet won't penetrate your skull; instead you just shoot your face off and are left alive and mutilated. (Do the job right; stick the barrel into your mouth and shoot upward.)

David Johnston2 · 10-29-2016, 05:32 PM

He was actually a dullahan concealed by an illusion.
He fell backward in a panic and the shot only grazed the top of his head
She didn't put enough black powder in her 18th century heirloom pistol.
He was Clark Kent. Or Dracula.
Her hand was shaking so much she ended up blowing his ear off.

Celjabba · 10-29-2016, 05:40 PM

He is not human.
It happened in virtual reality.
The 'him' and the 'he' in the sentence are 2 different beings.
He survived but is comatose.

Flyndaran · 10-29-2016, 05:43 PM

She's right eyed but left handed. She missed badly... or goodly if you're on the guy's side.
Literal smoke and mirrors. That's the go to explanation for cheesy classic mysteries anyway, right? ;)

Not "that" head. He wished he hadn't survived.

Anaraxes · 10-29-2016, 05:43 PM

She shot him in the head, but the bullet passed between the lobes of his brain without contacting the brain tissue.

(I'm not making that one up. 2 cases out of 53 studied, no less, involving military centerfire rifle cartridges.)

sir_pudding · 10-29-2016, 05:50 PM

I was on a mission once where a guy got shot by a sniper (while he was doing crowd control for a convoy that I was on), the weapon was a 7.62mm Dragunov, and the bullet penentrated his kevlar but wasn't able the penetrate his skull, it went around his head (leaving a gnarly scar) and exited out of the the back of the helmet. He was back on duty in few weeks.

Johan Larson · 10-29-2016, 05:52 PM

The ammunition was faulty, causing the bullet to exit the barrel quite slowly. It hit him in the head all right, but it did not penetrate the skull.

Fred Brackin · 10-29-2016, 05:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sir_pudding

I was on a mission once where a guy got shot by a sniper (while he was doing crowd control for a convoy that I was on), the weapon was a 7.62mm Dragunov, and the bullet penentrated his kevlar but wasn't able the penetrate his skull, it went around his head (leaving a gnarly scar) and exited out of the the back of the helmet. He was back on duty in few weeks.

I either read or heard on TV of a generically similar incident involving a German and a Stahlhelm and was dubious but if you saw the scar that's good enough for me.

It's a shame we no longer have any Mythbusters to take a crack at it.

Johan Larson · 10-29-2016, 06:02 PM

He was Jesus.

Well, the gritty, urban, indie reboot set in modern-day LA, anyway.

10-29-2016, 04:48 PM	#1
Johan Larson Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Toronto, Canada	surviving a headshot She walked up to him, pointed her pistol, and shot him in the head. But somehow, he survived. How? - The shooting was staged; she had loaded the pistol with blanks. - He had tampered with the pistol; it was loaded with blanks. - He was lucky, and he had a crack medical team standing by. The bullet didn't hit anything absolutely vital, so with some very expensive treatment and therapy he has back to his old self a year later. - The bullet didn't expand properly, and went clean through. A Phineas Gage case. - The bullet bounced off a metal plate installed after an earlier head injury. Last edited by Johan Larson; 10-29-2016 at 04:57 PM.

10-29-2016, 05:32 PM	#2
whswhs Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Lawrence, KS	Re: surviving a headshot The first person to map out cortical localization of sensory functions was a Japanese doctor after the Russo-Japanese War. A lot of men were coming back who had had bullets pass through the occipital lobe, and whose vision was impaired. So this doctor started mapping which bullet paths went with which parts of the visual field. This only happened because a lot of men survived being shot in the head. I'd also note that the big peril in shooting yourself in the head is that the bullet won't penetrate your skull; instead you just shoot your face off and are left alive and mutilated. (Do the job right; stick the barrel into your mouth and shoot upward.) __________________ Bill Stoddard I don't think we're in Oz any more.

10-29-2016, 05:32 PM	#3
David Johnston2 Join Date: Dec 2007	Re: surviving a headshot He was actually a dullahan concealed by an illusion. He fell backward in a panic and the shot only grazed the top of his head She didn't put enough black powder in her 18th century heirloom pistol. He was Clark Kent. Or Dracula. Her hand was shaking so much she ended up blowing his ear off.

10-29-2016, 05:40 PM	#4
Celjabba Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Luxembourg	Re: surviving a headshot He is not human. It happened in virtual reality. The 'him' and the 'he' in the sentence are 2 different beings. He survived but is comatose.

10-29-2016, 05:43 PM	#5
Flyndaran Untagged Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Forest Grove, Beaverton, Oregon	Re: surviving a headshot She's right eyed but left handed. She missed badly... or goodly if you're on the guy's side. Literal smoke and mirrors. That's the go to explanation for cheesy classic mysteries anyway, right? ;) Not "that" head. He wished he hadn't survived. __________________ Beware, poor communication skills. No offense intended. If offended, it just means that I failed my writing skill check.

10-29-2016, 05:43 PM	#6
Anaraxes Join Date: Sep 2007	Re: surviving a headshot She shot him in the head, but the bullet passed between the lobes of his brain without contacting the brain tissue. (I'm not making that one up. 2 cases out of 53 studied, no less, involving military centerfire rifle cartridges.)

10-29-2016, 05:50 PM	#7
sir_pudding Wielder of Smart Pants Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Ventura CA	Re: surviving a headshot I was on a mission once where a guy got shot by a sniper (while he was doing crowd control for a convoy that I was on), the weapon was a 7.62mm Dragunov, and the bullet penentrated his kevlar but wasn't able the penetrate his skull, it went around his head (leaving a gnarly scar) and exited out of the the back of the helmet. He was back on duty in few weeks.

10-29-2016, 05:52 PM	#8
Johan Larson Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Toronto, Canada	Re: surviving a headshot The ammunition was faulty, causing the bullet to exit the barrel quite slowly. It hit him in the head all right, but it did not penetrate the skull.

10-29-2016, 06:02 PM	#10
Johan Larson Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Toronto, Canada	Re: surviving a headshot He was Jesus. Well, the gritty, urban, indie reboot set in modern-day LA, anyway.