Posted: Dec 08, 2016 5:20 pm
chairman bill wrote:There's a belief that a bullet through the mouth = instant lights out, and it's sometimes said to be the sniper's ideal shot. Well if done properly, it will sever the spinal cord at the base of the skull, and the person drops immediately, but it's a shot a sniper is rarely going to take - a high velocity round amidships will usually be enough to ruin someone's day, and it's a more certain hit. But I did see the x-rays of a bloke who'd shot himself in the mouth, aiming up into the brain. The bullet lodged between the brain hemispheres, leaving him with a serious headache & a hole in the top of his mouth, and nothing much more than that. A twelve-bore double-barrelled shotgun would have made sure of the job, though it is rather messy. Tends to be the farmer's choice when it comes to ending it all - they've always got a shotgun hanging around.
BTW, is it just me that thinks euthanasia is fuckwitted & fascist?
From what I understand, it's the high velocity that can make a huge difference. There is a shock wave that results from these rounds as they traverse the body that can cause severe damage well away from the actual hole. Many handgun rounds don't have the necessary velocity to form shock waves.
No one mentioned Phineas Gage? A real staple of Ripley's Believe it or Not.
