"Ballistic Truth and the Survival Myth: A Technical Rebuttal to Fear-Based Narratives"
When discussing firearms in the context of end-of-life decisions, we often encounter statements that pose as technical advice but are, in reality, carefully crafted deterrent rhetoric. These narratives rely on selective statistics, horror stories of mutilated survivors, and worst-case scenarios presented as the norm.
This response aims to return the discussion to its proper ground: clinical, anatomical, and ballistic truth—free from moral bias and ideological fog.
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1. "Don't do it like in the movies" – but what do movies actually show?
This phrase is meaningless unless clarified.
Films typically depict three scenarios:
temporal shot (Taxi Driver)
under-the-chin shot (Full Metal Jacket)
intraoral shot (The Deer Hunter, Christine Chubbuck)
Saying "don't do it like in the movies" without specifying which trajectory is being criticized explains nothing.
In reality, failure occurs due to:
low-caliber weapons
incorrect angles
poor ammunition choice
mechanical issues (unloaded weapon, safety on, misfire)
Copying a movie is not the cause of failure—technical error is.
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2. "Only 10% survive" – a real statistic, but twisted into fear
The phrase often cited is:
> "Only 10% of gunshot attempts to the head result in survival."
Statistically correct—but the narrative built around it is manipulative:
> "And almost everyone in that 10% ends up tetraplegic, blind, faceless, or trapped in a vegetative state."
Survival becomes a punishment, not a chance.
But that 10% figure is bloated and misleading, because it includes:
non-penetrating wounds
graze injuries, jaw or neck hits
failed homicide attempts
birdshot wounds removed without surgery
cases like the Trump assassination attempt, where the bullet never struck the skull
If we isolate actual suicide attempts involving:
intraoral shots
close-range, contact distance
medium to high caliber
expanding or slug rounds
…the real survival rate drops to well below 10%, often to zero.
And in the rarest of survivors, consciousness rarely remains intact.
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3. Caliber matters – and the vehicle analogy proves it
We often hear:
> "It's not about the caliber, only about where you hit."
This is technically false.
Caliber defines kinetic energy, which dictates:
tissue destruction
penetration depth
temporary and permanent cavitation
cranial fracture
shockwave dispersion
To illustrate how absurd it is to claim "only angle matters", consider this:
> In a crash, angle matters.
But it's a very different outcome if you're hit while on a bicycle, a motorbike, in a Mercedes, on a freight train, or in a warship.
Same angle, wildly different results depending on the mass and energy of the object.
So it is with bullets. A .22 LR and a .50 BMG do not produce the same effect, even at the same angle.
Approximate energy values:
.22 LR: ~120 Joules
.357 Magnum: ~800 Joules
.308 Winchester: ~3000 Joules
12-gauge slug: ~3500 Joules
.50 BMG: 15,000+ Joules
With such energy, precision is no longer critical—the effect is overwhelming.
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4. "Survival instinct ruins your aim" – no clinical proof
Another favorite phrase:
> "Your survival instinct will make you flinch at the last second."
There's no neuroscientific evidence proving a reliable, measurable reflex that ruins the shot.
And more importantly:
in an intraoral, contact shot, there is no aiming
the barrel is naturally aligned with the cranial base
the distance is zero
Saying "you'll mess it up" is not science.
It's just emotional manipulation.
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5. 12-Gauge Shotgun – where survival doesn't exist
A 12-gauge slug, fired intraorally at contact distance:
destroys jaw and palate
ejects brain matter
fractures the cervical spine
causes immediate neurological death
No documented case exists of survival from an intraoral 12-gauge slug wound.
Not anecdotally. Not clinically.
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6. "You have to hit the brainstem" – another reductive myth
Another lie repeated as technical advice:
> "If you don't hit the brainstem, you'll survive."
This is false.
Autopsies show that fewer than 10% of fatal head gunshots directly hit the brainstem.
And yet, death occurs from:
destruction of both hemispheres
trauma to thalamus, limbic system, midbrain
catastrophic rise in intracranial pressure
The brain is not resilient. It's vulnerable.
You don't need neurosurgical precision—just sufficient energy.
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7. The final stronghold of fear: "But what if…?"
When all arguments fail, we're left with panic-mongering:
"What if the weapon jams?"
"What if it's unloaded?"
"What if the cartridge is damp?"
"What if you forgot the safety?"
All technically possible—but statistically negligible when the weapon is maintained and properly prepared.
These are not precautions.
They are tactical injections of doubt, meant to paralyze.
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Conclusion
Modern deterrence doesn't say "don't do it."
It says:
> "It won't work."
"You'll survive—ruined."
"You'll miss."
"You'll suffer more."
But none of that is physics.
None of that is trauma science.
Ballistics doesn't lie.
Anatomy has no ideology.
Neurons don't respond to moral panic.
If someone seeks truth, they deserve facts—not filtered threats.
