We know that ‘headshot’ scenarios, which are commonly seen in war scenes or conflict scenes that we find cool in games and movies, result in sudden deaths. These scenarios, which have the same lethality in real life, have a 95 percent kill rate according to the records. In this article, we will talk about the conditions under which we owe the remaining 5 percent.
Although we will have to touch on subjects such as physics or biology from the end, we have combined the information we have gathered from different researches and contents in a way that everyone can understand. Without further ado, let’s take a closer look at why headshot scenarios are so deadly and why in some cases they don’t result in certain death.
What happens when you get shot in the head?
First of all, we need to talk about the gun. We’re going to exclude shotguns or guns with high and large-bore effects. We will only evaluate rifles and pistols, as these spoil the mindset, so to speak, ‘crumbly’, so you will not have a chance to live.
Why are rifles deadlier than pistols?
When you think about the reason why rifles are more deadly than pistols, you may think of factors such as the increase in bullet size. But the main reason for this is the ‘velocity’ of the bullet. Since the bullet, which rotates in the rifle barrel, travels a longer distance before exiting the barrel tip, it moves faster when it leaves the barrel and leaves a greater impact on the area it comes into contact with.
This scenario is also deadly with pistols, but the damage dealt is less than with rifles as the bullet travels a shorter distance inside the barrel. In other words, the faster a bullet that makes contact with the head, the more annoying the damage will be.
In addition, the size and weight of the bullet will increase the damage, but we can say that the most affecting factor among them is speed.
What difference does it make if the bullet goes out of the head or not?
There are multiple scenarios that can be encountered when the bullet enters the head section. In one of them, the bullet can come out of the back of the head with the speed it receives, in the other it cannot catch enough speed and stays in the head, and in the last one, it moves towards the top of the head with a bouncing effect.
But in this case, our brain is not only affected by the bullet:
Meanwhile, as the bullet penetrates your skull in an inward-expanding way, small pieces are scattered inside. You can think of it like pieces of shrapnel that go off when a bomb explodes. Just like in that case, the problems that will arise from these parts will also differ according to the situation. Still, it’s not hard to imagine that none of them will make you happy.
If a bullet enters the head from the front and exits from the back of the head, it is seen that the entry point is small and the exit point is relatively larger. The reason for this is that there is an expanding wave in front of the projectile as it advances. As the bullet, which has a smaller wave in front of it as it enters the head area, this wave also expands as it advances and a larger impact area is seen at the exit point.
Why is head-to-head firing the deadliest scenario?
We said that the damage done by the bullet is directly proportional to its speed. But what if the distance the bullet has to travel is just the barrel? To understand this, let’s briefly talk about the structure of the brain.
It is said that the structure of our brain hardens like a used sponge as we reach adulthood. But that doesn’t mean it’s durable. Our skull already performs the function of protecting the brain. Since it had just been pierced by a bullet, we can say that inside, a completely defenseless, very soft object was alone with a gun bullet.
When the guns are fired, we see a strong wave coming out of the barrel ends. These waves, which come out right after the bullet, turn inward when the gun touches the head.
Picture this: As the bullet travels towards the muzzle, there is a strong and rather heat wave following it. In this case, as soon as the bullet leaves the barrel, it creates a path in your head that that wave can follow. This bullet, which has already done enough damage to your brain, is followed by a very hot air wave and it almost burns the inside.
Considering that the brain is also a very sensitive organ, we can understand why the situations where the gun is touched to the head are the most deadly.
Some people survived by being shot in the head in the ways we just mentioned, so how did that happen?
First of all: What’s the first thing you’ll need to survive after being shot?
It’s medical intervention, of course. If medical attention is not given in a timely manner, even hits from the heel, which are thought to be non-lethal, can kill people. Whether the bullet stays in or exits, any scenario will lead people to death unless blood loss is prevented.
Now, let’s look at the people who survived these scenarios.
Malala Yousafzai, who did not give up on her purpose even though she came back from the brink of death:
Malala Yousafzai, a Pakistani activist and recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014, became known for her efforts to educate girls in Pakistan under the influence of the Taliban in 2009. The young girl, who was in a dangerous position, was hit by a bullet traveling through her head through her neck during an attack in 2012.
Although some parts of his skull had to be removed due to this incident, which caused a tumor in Malala’s brain, with the rapid intervention, he managed to hold on to life with operations performed in different places, and he is still mentioned in the studies on the case he defends.
The miraculous scenario of Gabby Giffords, former U.S. House of Representatives:
During the Tucson attack on June 8, 2011, 19 people were shot, including Gabby Giffords, who was then a Member of the US House of Representatives. Giffords was shot in the head and taken to hospital in critical condition in the attack in which 6 people lost their lives.
Fortunately, the bullet had passed through one hemisphere of the brain, not the middle part of the brain that inflicted the most critical injuries. In this context, he performed the surgery in order to prevent the tumor by removing only a part of the skull. After that, Giffords gradually regained his cognitive activity, albeit very slowly, miraculously, and eventually managed to recover almost completely.
Additionally, next to Giffords, Daniel Hernandez Jr. CPR by CPR once again shows the importance of first aid awareness as it ensures his survival.
Rachel Barezinsky, whose life completely changed three days before her senior year started:
Rachel Barezinsky, who was in the countryside with her friends on August 22, 2006, was near an abandoned barn, when the owner of the place in question heard their voices in the dark and started shooting with a rifle. One of the bullets had entered the back of Barezinsky’s head and followed a path from the right lobe of the brain to the left, stopping in the left eye area.
Again, in a scenario where we understand the criticality of medical intervention, Barezinsky was quickly rushed to the hospital. Here, the bullet and bone remains were removed from Barezinsky’s head, which had damaged all four brain lobes, but the bullet itself could not be recovered. In addition, part of the temporal lobe, one of the four lobes, had to be removed.
Although Barezinsky has completely recovered from this condition, he still suffers from memory problems and is undergoing physical therapy.
“What happens when you get shot in the head?” At this point, we have come to the end of our content on the subject. As you can see from the scenarios, factors such as first aid and early medical intervention play the biggest role in your survival, no matter where you get hit.
We also saw how a gun trigger affects people’s lives with these scenarios. As a result, although none of the headshot scenarios are going well, we can say that it is possible to get rid of them in some cases.
Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
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