Discussion The minimum chance of surviving at blowing your head up.

[unevencompromise]

I think think it's pretty obvious but is there a "perfect" way to shoot myself in the head making an instant death without any possibility of rescue?

 

[DeusVult]

There was a case where a kid constructed a suicide helmet that fired 9 shotgun shells from all directions at once into his head.

More info: imgur: Suicide Helmet (SFW)

 

[madameviolette]

There was a case where a kid constructed a suicide helmet that fired 9 shotgun shells from all directions at once into his head.

More info: imgur: Suicide Helmet (SFW)

It was a kid ?!

And how did it turn out ? Did it work as intended ?

 

[DeusVult]

It was a kid ?!

And how did it turn out ? Did it work as intended ?

It says "young man", idk.
And yeah, he ded.

 

[pthnrdnojvsc]

imo rifle or shotgun is 99.9% if practice dry firing and hit around center of head where brain is

 

[pthnrdnojvsc]

imo rifle or shotgun is 99.9% if practice dry firing and hit around center of head where brain is

I tried to simulate a 9mm handgun from 25 meters. and this is without hot gasses exploding into brain as in a contact shot. A contact shot would also have more energy and velocity

I asked ai ( not google ai cause its too censored)
Likelihood of survival for a land animal: bullet 115 grains 1100 fps impact velocity hit in center of head where the brain is?
Answer:
The likelihood of survival for a land animal hit dead-center in the brain with a 115-grain bullet at 1100 fps (≈335 m/s) is effectively **0 %** unless the animal is extraordinarily large and thick-skulled (e.g., adult elephant, rhino, hippo, or very large crocodile). For almost all other land animals, this is instantly fatal.

Here's why, broken down by animal size/class:

| Animal class | Examples | Skull/brain protection | Survival chance with direct brain hit (115 gr @ 1100 fps) | Notes |
|-------------------------------|---------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------------------------|-------|
| Small mammals | Rabbit, fox, coyote, small deer | Very thin bone | 0 % | Complete penetration, massive CNS destruction |
| Medium mammals | Whitetail deer, pronghorn, wild boar, human | Moderate bone, 3–8 mm thick | ≤ 1 % | Almost all modern 115-grain .357 Mag, 9mm +P+, or light 5.56 loads using this exact spec instantly kill with brain hits |
| Large/medium-big game | Elk, black bear, caribou | Thicker bone, but still penetrable | ~0–2 % | Rare survivable cases exist with glancing hits, but dead-center = dead |
| Very large/dangerous game | Grizzly/brown bear, moose, bison | Very thick skull in mature males | 5–15 % in adult males, ~0 % in females/juveniles | 115 gr @ 9mm or .357 can still penetrate bear skulls at <50 yd, but frontal bone on huge boars can stop or deflect it occasionally |
| Mega-fauna | African elephant, white rhino, hippo, large crocs | Extremely thick bone + sinus cavities | 30–70 % (species dependent) | 115 gr @ 1100 fps is far too light; often fails to reach brain even with perfect placement |

Real-world data points (documented cases and forensic/guided-hunting reports):
- 9mm 115 gr FMJ or JHP at 1100–1180 fps is a common police and civilian defensive load → hundreds of documented human brain hits → 0 survivors when the bullet actually reached the brainstem/cerebellum.
- Whitetail deer: thousands of 115-grain 9mm/+P+ or .357 Mag kills on video and in hunting reports → center-brain hit = immediate drop, zero recoveries ever recorded.
- Black bear: a few documented cases where 9mm 115–124 gr failed to penetrate the frontal bone of 400+ lb boars, but when it did penetrate (side/rear brain shots), the bear died instantly.
- Elephants & rhinos: poachers sometimes use AK-47 123 gr @ ~2400 fps and still need multiple brain shots; 115 gr @ 1100 fps is essentially a bee sting to the skull.

Bottom line
For 99.9 % of land mammals that humans normally encounter or hunt (anything from a raccoon to an elk), a 115-grain bullet at 1100 fps impacting the center of the brain is 100 % lethal within seconds. The only exceptions are the very largest species with extremely thick skulls, and even then survival is unlikely rather than impossible.