posted
I was wondering if anyone knew anything about gunshot wounds. I am trying to write a section of my story that deals with a non-lethal gunshot wound, but I don't know anything about that type of injury. Help?
posted
Okay, a usually fatal wound would be in a central area: gut, heart/lungs, head, and determined by caliber, a .22/ 38 special in the shoulder livable... a .44? nope, You'd bleed out in a few minutes. (Friends brother did this ) Legs away from the artery, survivable, shoulder, yes, lung not unless you had a good EMT available and soon. Gut, survivable depending where and caliber... if you hit your spleen with a 9mm maybe, again .44 um... What caliber and situation? I can help.
Although a .22 can bounce around and create alot of mess...
I use guns in RL and writing all the time, and my Poor MC's get shot ALL of the time; it is one way they are imperfect, not a Superman...
Destiny
I am deeply sorrowfull for anyones lives that are traumatized by violence of any kind... My heart goes out to those at VA tech, and Trolley Square.
Edited because I transpose the E and A on my key board all of the time Grrrrr!
[This message has been edited by I am destiny (edited April 20, 2007).]
posted
You may want to check out a book called <i>Body Trauma: a writer's guide to wounds and injuries</i>. It's not a great book, but it does have some information on gunshot wounds. The book mostly covers treatment of wounds, rather than how to best describe them, which is what I was interested in.
There is also a book called <i>Armed and Dangerous: a writer's guide to weapons</i>. I haven't read it, though. I do know it covers ballistics, at least a little.
Here's a few things paraphrased from the book I have:
The important factors are: weight and diameter (caliber) of the projectile, muzzle velocity, design of the bullet jacket, point of impact (on the victim), pathway through the body (specific tissues encountered), and secondary bone fragment missiles.
Gunshot wounds are unpredictable.
If it's a closer range, shotguns are great for non-lethal wounds. Multiple pellets chew up flesh with less penetration than a single bullet. You get massive damage to skin and soft tissue near the surface (the amount depends on the type of shot used.)
posted
Ummm, a shot gun at close range can be fatal, it is a high powered charge and is very damaging at close range. The least damage is at a far range, because the trajectory and speed decreases the farther the bullet or shot is away from the barrel.
posted
Any bullet can be fatal if it hits a major blood vessel. The singer Selena had absolutely no injuries to vital organs, but bled to death in minutes from a wound to the back. This can happen with arm and leg wounds, too.
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posted
I said "closer" range, not close range--meaning, a shotgun doesn't have the same range as other projectiles, so it may not apply to the story in question. I certainly didn't mean a shotgun is never lethal.
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posted
if you are neer a military base go and talk to the medics they are usuly happy to ansewr and questions you may have.usuly during their lunch. however find the ones with a deployment patch and combat medic patch. they usuly have worked on gun shot's or shratmal, etc. hell if the medic attached to my PLT would i get him to answer but convensing him will be hard. Romel Fenrir Wolf II
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posted
Unless you are writing a medical/forensic mystery, we don't need to know too many details.
Stick to the reader expectations and use them to build drama, show resiliance.
A chest or head wound is more likely fatal than a leg wound. A gut wound is less instantly fatal.
But there are ways a bullet can enter the skull and do virtually nothing. A bullet can pass through a person's chest and hit nothing vital. It can miss the arteries in the shoulder by a hair's breadth. (the bigger the caliber, the less chance of it missing)
And there are shots to a leg that can kill in seconds.
It's all about organs, arteries and traumatic shock.
Printer-friendly view of this topic
) Legs away from the artery, survivable, shoulder, yes, lung not unless you had a good EMT available and soon. Gut, survivable depending where and caliber... if you hit your spleen with a 9mm maybe, again .44 um... What caliber and situation? I can help. 
