How could you survive this?

Question

my friend i met at sunday school said there was a story on the news about a man getting shot seven times in the face/head/and neck with a .22 caliber semi-auto smith+wesson. I said BS but they did it on myth busters and it proved possible to survive. So if I took a handgun pointed it down my throat and loaded my upper body with lead 7 times, there is a chance I'd live? The magazine supposedly held 8

Answer 1

Given my choice, if I were going to get shot, I'd rather get shot with a .22 LR Pistol than any other caliber. I'd be more likely to survive and shoot my attacker.

To begin, only about 26% of gunshot wounds result in death.

It is not unusual for people to survive multiple gunshot wounds if they get prompt and intelligent medical care.

Just last week, a 7-year old girl was shot six times in the head, face, and neck with a 9 mmP pistol, and her mother was shot three times in the head, neck, and arm with the same pistol. Both survived and will make a full recovery.

Another instance from Evan Marshall's Stopping Power study:

A Detroit hooker went to the ER complaining of a severe head ache. X-Rays revealed seven .25 ACP full-metal jacket bullets in her head. It turned out that one week before, her pimp had gotten mad and emptied his cheapo .25 into her head. None of the bullets penetrated her skull, and the bullets just burrowed around under the skin. She only went to the ER because the bullets pressing on her skull were giving her a head ache.

Now if you stick a handgun in your mouth and pull the trigger, I seriously doubt if you will be able to pull the trigger a second time. With the gun in your mouth, the bullet, even from a .22 or .25 will penetrate the soft palate and enter your brain, or it will go through the back of your throat and either enter the brain or strike the spinal column causing paralysis, and probably rapid death due to suffocation. If such and underpowered bullet as a .22 or .25 enter your brain case, it is unlikely to have enough energy to exit. Therefore, it will bounce around in there turning your brain into soup.

Lots of odd things happen when people, or even animals get shot. Some folks get a very minor wound and scare themselves to death via shock. Other folks get wounds that should not only incapacitate them, but should result in almost immediate death, in stead, they continue to fight, and refuse to die because they don't believe they are going to get killed. It is all about mindset. If you are determined that you will not give up, you can continue to fight even if you are severely wounded. And the harder you fight, the more likely you are to survive.

Doc

Answer 2

To your question:

"So if I took a handgun pointed it down my throat and loaded my upper body with lead 7 times, there is a chance I'd live?"

Seriously? NOT very likely. Your other question:

The guy that supposedly was shot seven times with a .22 was probably shot in cranial area. The skull is made to protect the brain and the bullets probably just skimmed the surface of the bone never entering the cranial cavity itself. The ones that struck the face were not necessarily life-ending. Stranger things have happened.

H

Answer 3

You are asking a statistics question. The answer is that it is statistically possible for you to survive seven shots to your body, head, etc. but the probability is very small. It is not zero, but it is pretty small. The story that your friend told you is not unique. Several years ago there was a man in Houston, Texas who was shot in the top of his head several (I don't remember the actual number) times with a .22 and he survived. Amazingly, none of the bullets struck a vital part of his brain and some were lodged in between the hemispheres of his brain where thay did no significant damage at all. How often is a person likely to survive something like this? Once in million? Once in ten million? I don't know. Obviously it is POSSIBLE but the PROBABILITY is pretty darned small.

Answer 4

People survive all sorts of bad news. Last week seven year old Alexis Goggins decided to stop her mother's ex boyfriend, Calvin Tilie, from killing her and got between them after her mom had already taken two rounds in the head and arm. Alexis took the next six in her head and upper body and was described as recovering in hospital.

Doesn't say anything for the effectiveness of the 9mm, but I expect mother and daughter were just lucky to both survive head shots at short range.

But seriously, how could you survive something like that? Rounds that don't expand much, basically jacketed rounds. Glancing shots, grazes count as hits but don't stop anyone. But most of all just pure luck.

My friend Wyn Bryant took the sixth execution shot in a 7-11 holdup, the first round went in to the ceiling to get everyone to pay attention, the crook took $50 or so then put two in the clerk, two in the first customer and the last in Wyn. He was released from hospital that night, he has a scar on the back of his wrist where the 38 lodged after passing clean through his chest without doing serious damage. The other two died.

Answer 5

Oh yes and it was all so thrilling. Please write the book. I love to read books that make me laugh out loud or ooh and aw. Just talked with the kids last week about the all the equipment they have to entertain the newborn babies. My goodness they move them from station to station and after 5 minutes decide the baby is tired in being in that position/place. Before my time but I know my grandmother left an infant or two under a shade tree at the end of row of crops while she worked the fields. There were not many fat kids when I was a young 'un we made our own entertainment. Had tree houses for Tarzan, played army crawling on our bellies through the woods, rode bikes to the landfill and pilfered the trash. Stole a watermelon ocasionally. Climbed trees. Only one in four broke a bone or had stitches each summer.

Answer 6

First, although rare, yes, there are times when multiple hits in non vital areas, or in areas of thick muscle and bone, can leave a person badly hurt, but they survive. I remember a case with a guy who was very high on PCP getting hit 200 times with 9mm rounds that didn't drop. he lived long enough to walk towards the officers before he died. Would you survive firing a gun down your throat? don't be foolish.
I have seen guys hit in the head with a round, that deflected off the skull and the person survived. Then again, I have seen guys hit once in the head with a 25ACP that died instantly.
Firearms handled safely, can be an asset, firearms handled incorrectly, can be deadly. Remember, once you have pulled that trigger, you cannot undo the results. Never play with firearms.

Answer 7

When I was in Alaska I remember 2stories:

I read this in the newspaper myself----a man was shot 6 times point blank with a .44 magnum revolver, taken to hospital and made full recovery !! He was a very heavy set fellow and wounds were in mid-section.


One of the crew member told of how when he was 14 he killed a (54" spread) moose with one shot with a 22 long rifle ! Of course he was close and the shot was in its eye. His father took away the rifle after that !

So Placement is what counts.

Answer 8

Not likely, but people have lived through some pretty ridiculous things. Like some kid in africa took a .45 or a .44 handgun round to the head and is still living as normal a life as he can. He is missing a huge chunk out of his head though, which would suck.

Answer 9

One can kill you, 20 sometimes won't. Seen deer drop dead, and seen deer run miles. People are always surviving weird things, like people with nails in their heads and don't realize it until they get a headache. Anything is possible.
But if your suggesting to test this out, i'd bet on death 99.99 percent of the time. All else is plain old luck. Please keep the gun away from your head.

I know someone who tried to kill themselves w/ a 30-06. Found on floor alive, now disfigured , but very much alive.......

Answer 10

People have survived far worse in combat. The human body can survive some amazing wounds. As long as the bullets didn't sever any arteries or rupture a major organ, if you could survive the blood loss, you should make it.