# Any of y'all been shot before? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 7, 2002, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-of-yall-been-shot-before/131135 "2002-10-07T02:15:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Animalmother](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7cd45c/32.png) [@Animalmother](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Animalmother)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2002, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-of-yall-been-shot-before/131135/1 "2002-10-07T02:15:20Z")
Just curious but I was wondering if anybody out there has recieved a gunshot wound. Thanks ---
**Author:** ![drm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e57/32.png) [@drm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drm)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2002, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-of-yall-been-shot-before/131135/2 "2002-10-07T02:18:16Z")
Got shot in the butt with a pellet gun if that counts. I’m assuming you’re looking for something a bit more serious than that though right? ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2002, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-of-yall-been-shot-before/131135/3 "2002-10-07T02:30:00Z")
> [@](#): > > Got shot in the butt She asked if anyone had been shot _before_, not _behind_. ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2002, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-of-yall-been-shot-before/131135/4 "2002-10-07T03:27:51Z")
I’ve been shot _at_, but not shot. During my first semester of law school I lived in the Third Ward across the street from my school. One night while walking back from the beer store a van pulled up next to me; I saw a blinking light and heard this _vip vip vip!_ like a metallic sneeze going past me. I said “My goodness, those gentlemen are shooting at me”, or something of that nature, and fell flat on my ass Matrix style. I think they were probably only shooting over my head to scare me. It worked. I know a few people who have been sucessfully shot who told me I should (1) Thank my lucky stars, and (2) move, not necessarily in that order. ---
**Author:** ![Balance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Balance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balance)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2002, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-of-yall-been-shot-before/131135/5 "2002-10-07T04:22:21Z")
Yo. As souvenirs I have two scars on my forehead, a funny-after-the-fact story, and a profound distrust of firearms (and of my cousin’s ability to keep the slugs headed downrange). Once upon a time, I was visiting a cousin of mine. Said cousin suggested whiling away an afternoon on the shooting range he’d set up. Not being overfond of guns even then, I was reluctant, but he talked me into it–truth be told, I intended to watch, then mock his poor aim mercilessly on the ride back. Upon arriving at his “range” (a random assortment of vaguely target-like things, none of which appeared to have been successfully shot in the past), I positioned myself a good 10 feet behind him. This was, after all, the cousin who once managed the unlikely feat of shooting himself in the butt with a pellet rifle. After the fact, I recall his first shot making at least one snapping noises and a sort of buzzing sound (not unlike the metallic sneeze **Pravnik** mentioned). Whether I heard them before or after the piece of .38 slug hit me, I have no idea. Regardless, roughly half of the slug hit me at a steep downward angle about 1.5 inches above the bridge of my nose, traced a line of fire under my skin, struck my left brow ridge, and was deflected back out (accompanied by a fine mist of blood and a startlingly mild “Ow”). I was knocked over backwards and possibly knocked out for a second. According to my cousin, I looked dead. Now, he has the perception of a none-too-bright rock, but I have no reason to doubt him. After all, I was sprawled on my back, my eyes were shut, and I had a bloody hole in my forehead moments after a gun was fired. My next clear memory is of snapping my eyes open, seeing him crouched over me, and grabbing him by the throat (A “you sonuvabitch” may also have been uttered.) He made a shrill little squeaking noise and fell over in a dead faint. I shook him awake and made him drive me to the hospital–I wound up with a few stitches and a mild concussion. We never figured out how the slug got all the way back to me. **Pravnik** , some bastards pulled a drive-by on me when I was at LSU, living in a “student ghetto” that was going rapidly downhill. That’s not nearly as fun a story. I did exactly what’s been recommended to you: I moved. I got a second part-time job and a roommate to make up the difference in rent–that was a lot better than getting shot at. If you haven’t moved yet, I suggest you do so. ---
**Author:** ![misstee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/958977/32.png) [@misstee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/misstee)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2002, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-of-yall-been-shot-before/131135/6 "2002-10-07T04:22:46Z")
i have been shot at as well– ---
**Author:** ![Wearia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/13edae/32.png) [@Wearia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wearia)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2002, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-of-yall-been-shot-before/131135/7 "2002-10-07T04:39:35Z")
I once shot a coke bottle with a bb gun at close range only to have to bb bounch back and nail me in the shoulder. Luckily I had a thick sweater on that managed to spread out the force. I got away with a small bruise and a stinging sensation. ---
**Author:** ![ForgottenLore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5e9695/32.png) [@ForgottenLore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ForgottenLore)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2002, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-of-yall-been-shot-before/131135/8 "2002-10-07T04:58:51Z")
I got shot in the head with a bb gun when I was a kid. It hurt like hell. It was my best friend that did it, too. He _claims_ it was an accident. ---
**Author:** ![Bumbazine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bumbazine/32/362_2.png) [@Bumbazine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bumbazine)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2002, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-of-yall-been-shot-before/131135/9 "2002-10-07T05:43:44Z")
I got hit in the front teeth by a ricochet once. Didn’t help my overbite though. ---
**Author:** ![Wikkit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c0e974/32.png) [@Wikkit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wikkit)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2002, 7:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-of-yall-been-shot-before/131135/10 "2002-10-07T07:38:13Z")
**Sam Stone** has. In this recent GQ thread: > [@](#): > > I was actually shot with a .22 when I was younger. It was a ricochet from a flat angle, so the bullet still had most of its energy (ricocheted off of a steel railroad track). Luckily for me, the bullet was flattened by the track, and was tumbling when it hit me - it hit me on the ‘flat’, not on edge. The result was a bruise on my shoulder with a slight dot of blood in the middle where the skin broke a little. The bullet didn’t penetrate at all, and wound up stuck inside the lining of my jacket. The range was about 30 ft or so. I shot a pellet at short range at a piece of wood, and it reflected off a knot and scraped the side of my face, an inch from my eye. I almost shot my eye out. ---
**Author:** ![Wikkit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c0e974/32.png) [@Wikkit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wikkit)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2002, 7:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-of-yall-been-shot-before/131135/11 "2002-10-07T07:41:15Z")
…in [this recent GQ thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=138290&highlight=)… ---
**Author:** ![Jervoise](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d2c977/32.png) [@Jervoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jervoise)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2002, 9:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-of-yall-been-shot-before/131135/12 "2002-10-07T09:40:18Z")
Anticipating a great sequential titles line-up: **SDMB black rifle club Any of y’all been shot before?** 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![airdisc](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e19adc/32.png) [@airdisc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/airdisc)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2002, 11:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-of-yall-been-shot-before/131135/13 "2002-10-07T11:06:29Z")
I’ve been shot in the back, foot, and ankle with a BB gun. Nothing else, though. And yes, it hurts. ---
**Author:** ![Sebhal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@Sebhal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sebhal)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2002, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-of-yall-been-shot-before/131135/14 "2002-10-07T12:26:21Z")
I’ve been ‘shot’ by an arrow. You know the sort of thing, a sharpened 30cm garden cane and a home-made bow fired across the street at each other. Notwithstanding the rudimentary materials, you should have seen those things fly. Come to think of it, it might have worked out better for me if _I’d_ been paying more attention. And no irresponsible children were (seriously) hurt in the making of this story! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![dantheman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dantheman/32/9421_2.png) [@dantheman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dantheman)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2002, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-of-yall-been-shot-before/131135/15 "2002-10-07T12:27:42Z")
I’ve been shot through the heart, and you’re to blame… ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2002, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-of-yall-been-shot-before/131135/16 "2002-10-07T13:30:12Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Balance \* > Upon arriving at his “range” (a random assortment of vaguely target-like things, none of which appeared to have been successfully shot in the past), I positioned myself a good 10 feet behind him. > > […] > > We never figured out how the slug got all the way back to me. I remember when using a pellet rifle as a kid, and shooting at cans balanced on sawhorses, occasionally the pellets would ricochet back and hit the back of the garage perhaps 15-20’ behind me. I don’t know about the physics of ricocheting bullets vs. lead pellets, but it’s a thought. Never been shot, myself. My husband was once stung in the leg by some ‘bird shot’ while hunting pheasant. ---
**Author:** ![Spit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/76d3ee/32.png) [@Spit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spit)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2002, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-of-yall-been-shot-before/131135/17 "2002-10-07T13:35:31Z")
I was shot by birdshot once. It stung like hell, but no real damage. ( I had to pick out a couple of pieces) I then decked the moron who shot me. ---
**Author:** ![Simetra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/278dde/32.png) [@Simetra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simetra)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2002, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-of-yall-been-shot-before/131135/18 "2002-10-07T14:14:22Z")
Yes. The scar’s faded a lot. ---
**Author:** ![Black\_Lizard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e480ec/32.png) [@Black\_Lizard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Black_Lizard)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2002, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-of-yall-been-shot-before/131135/19 "2002-10-07T14:27:16Z")
Well if BB guns count, then I’m in. We were playing war games in my friends back yard and I took one right between the eyes, yes it hurt, no the parents didn’t find out (I told them I fell on a stick). ---
**Author:** ![Tripler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripler/32/21807_2.png) [@Tripler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tripler)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2002, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-of-yall-been-shot-before/131135/20 "2002-10-07T14:59:46Z")
Yes. I was in a gully in Arizona, shooting some pistols with a friend of mine. Next thing I know, little pellets of lead are falling onto us. I look up, and clay pigeons are coming over an embankment rather high over our heads, and exploding into teeny-tiny shards Apparently, some shotgunners either A) didn’t hear or see us shooting 40SW pistols, B) didn’t think to check where their rounds were going, or C) some combination of both. We lobbed a round in the air and they quickly stopped and apologized. So FWIW, I was in the ‘beaten zone’. Does that count? Tripler I’ve been fragged by a 40mm M203 round but that only sorta stung a little. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-of-yall-been-shot-before/131135.md?page=2)