# Gun based suicide Temple vs Mouth **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 15, 2012, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gun-based-suicide-temple-vs-mouth/631605 "2012-08-15T20:57:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Darth\_Panda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ee7513/32.png) [@Darth\_Panda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Panda)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2013, 11:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gun-based-suicide-temple-vs-mouth/631605/61 "2013-04-17T11:26:28Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Now that’s willpower. I figure most people would have drilled two or three holes in their head, maybe four tops, and decided it wasn’t working and switched to another power tool. Up next: the belt sander. ---
**Author:** ![hotflungwok](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/edb3f5/32.png) [@hotflungwok](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hotflungwok)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2013, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gun-based-suicide-temple-vs-mouth/631605/62 "2013-04-17T18:25:22Z")
> [@Leo\_Bloom](#): > > Worrying about leaving a clean corpse–that’s a chick thing?, mentioned down thread–is one idea, but not for me. I just wanted to be considerate (hi \*\*TriPolar!\*\*and not have my wife come home to carnage; hell, I felt bad about the hotel maids (in other fantasies). I thought about this alot. The best way I came up with was to get a canoe/rowboat and bomb. You go out to the middle of a big lake or something in the middle of the night, and hug the bomb. The boat sinks, you’re chummed, and no one else even knows. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2013, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gun-based-suicide-temple-vs-mouth/631605/63 "2013-04-17T18:26:33Z")
I think a guy won a Darwin award for trying to rub one out with one. Time to Google… ETA: to **Darth** ---
**Author:** ![gracie\_girl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/5e9695/32.png) [@gracie\_girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gracie_girl)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2013, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gun-based-suicide-temple-vs-mouth/631605/64 "2013-10-21T06:39:09Z")
that’s exactly why i’m here! ---
**Author:** ![Kenm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bc79bd/32.png) [@Kenm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kenm)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2013, 7:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gun-based-suicide-temple-vs-mouth/631605/65 "2013-10-21T07:21:10Z")
> [@echo7tango](#): > > Very inconsiderate, and this time I’m not being tongue-in-cheek. I saw what you did there. ---
**Author:** ![Chickenwrangler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chickenwrangler/32/91_2.png) [@Chickenwrangler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chickenwrangler)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2013, 8:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gun-based-suicide-temple-vs-mouth/631605/66 "2013-10-21T08:44:00Z")
Interesting topic. Long time ago I read somewhere that the best way was gun in the mouth with mouth full of water. Sounds like it might work ! ---
**Author:** ![Superhal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Superhal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superhal)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2013, 9:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gun-based-suicide-temple-vs-mouth/631605/67 "2013-10-21T09:18:13Z")
To answer the OP, i think it’s just a film cliche. Back in the day, they weren’t really that careful about reality, much like how phone calls go to the dial tone if one person hangs up, or all bombs use digital clocks as timers. Regarding suicide, I don’t think it matters. If you want to bad enough you’ll find a way. ---
**Author:** ![handsomeharry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9c0ed/32.png) [@handsomeharry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handsomeharry)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2013, 9:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gun-based-suicide-temple-vs-mouth/631605/68 "2013-10-21T09:53:39Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > In the 1949 movie\* Adam’s Rib\*, Spencer Tracy stuck a revolver in his mouth. Being a prank (the gun was made of licorice), this was played for laughs. However, it’s interesting that they shot the scene that way, rather than, say, having Tracy bite through the gun’s chamber or grip. Also, in The Onion Field [The Onion Field (film) - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Onion_Field_(film)) from 1979, there is the gun-to-the-mouth-thing. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2013, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gun-based-suicide-temple-vs-mouth/631605/69 "2013-10-21T16:09:13Z")
Zombie thread. (and I’m on my way straight to hell). ---
**Author:** ![robert\_columbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2013, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gun-based-suicide-temple-vs-mouth/631605/70 "2013-10-21T17:47:43Z")
> [@echo7tango](#): > > True enough. Where I live it happens once or twice a year on the local commuter train tracks. The train conductors have to get counseling because they see the whole thing. > > Very inconsiderate, and this time I’m not being tongue-in-cheek. The Washington, DC Metro (subway) now has “Suicide Hotline” numbers posted on platforms, apparently to reduce the number of people who decide to jump in front of a train. We don’t seem to get as many “jumpers” nowadays, but there has been a refocus on [Suicide by cop](http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/attempt-ram-white-house-gate-ends-conn-woman/story?id=20460948) and [self-immolation](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/04/man-sets-self-on-fire-national-mall_n_4046249.html). ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2013, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gun-based-suicide-temple-vs-mouth/631605/71 "2013-10-21T17:49:15Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > Zombie thread. Headshots, then. Definitely. Double tap. ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2013, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gun-based-suicide-temple-vs-mouth/631605/72 "2013-10-21T18:25:02Z")
> [@Superhal](#): > > Regarding suicide, I don’t think it matters. If you want to bad enough you’ll find a way. Actually it turns out that a lot of suicide is opportunistic. You’re feeling low, and there’s the gun, or the train, or the coal gas oven. And this time you just go through with it. If the gun, or the train, or the coal gas oven isn’t there, then the suicidal impulse doesn’t get completed might pass. Yes, people who really want to commit suicide will find a way. Eventually. But lots of people think about suicide and attempt it and survive and then don’t go on to attempt suicide again. If the tool isn’t present a lot of times the suicide attempt doesn’t occur. So there was a permanent reduction in suicides when they stopped using coal gas (which kills via carbon monoxide) in ovens and started using natural gas. With the quick and easy method of suicide removed from homes, people who had a momentary suicidal impulse didn’t complete the attempt, and the impulse passed. If you have lots of suicidal impulses that come and go, then if you have a method ready at hand you’re much more likely to use it. Plus lots of people with depression have trouble taking actions. If they had a gun in the house they might use it, but they don’t have the strength to go out and get themselves a gun. ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2013, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gun-based-suicide-temple-vs-mouth/631605/73 "2013-10-21T18:29:29Z")
Or as Dorothy Parker put it: > [@](#): > > Razors pain you; > Rivers are damp; > Acids stain you; > And drugs cause cramp. > Guns aren’t lawful; > Nooses give; > Gas smells awful; > You might as well live. ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2013, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gun-based-suicide-temple-vs-mouth/631605/74 "2013-10-21T19:43:09Z")
> [@gracie\_girl](#): > > that’s exactly why i’m here! Why? What is exactly why you’re here? ---
**Author:** ![JBDivmstr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b4bc9f/32.png) [@JBDivmstr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JBDivmstr)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2013, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gun-based-suicide-temple-vs-mouth/631605/75 "2013-10-21T21:11:57Z")
> [@TheChileanBlob](#): > > What about putting the gun under your chin, like the warden in _The Shawshank Redemption_? Would the result be similar to the mouth shot? It seems like that would be the easiest place to stablilize the gun barrel: a soft spot with a triangle of bone to rest the gun between. Since this zombie has already been brought back to life, I have a response to this . I personally know someone that did exactly as you describe. She failed, and not only did she fail, the only obvious damage is a slight depression in the middle of her forehead where the 9mm JHP exited. :eek: Until she had corrective surgery, she had to deal with having a hole in her upper palate. Other than the depressed spot in her forehead and a small scar, she seems to be perfectly normal. No loss of brain function or motor skills. The general consensus is that in the process of pulling the trigger, she inadverdantly tilted the gun barrel forward causing the bullet to angle toward the front of her head. So it seems that the method used in the movie is not the best approach, if you’re seriously trying to off yourself. YMMV 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2013, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gun-based-suicide-temple-vs-mouth/631605/76 "2013-10-21T21:19:58Z")
Jesus Christ. If putting a gun to your head and pulling the trigger isn’t a sure-fire method of suicide, then I quit. That’s like ironic hell punishment division. Oh, you wanted to kill yourself? OK, now we send you back to life, only now with half your face blown off. Have fun! ---
**Author:** ![drewtwo99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d07c76/32.png) [@drewtwo99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewtwo99)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2013, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gun-based-suicide-temple-vs-mouth/631605/77 "2013-10-21T22:32:16Z")
To be fair, a self inflicted bullet wound to the head is a very effective way to kill yourself, it’s just not the 100% foolproof method people think that it is. There are dozens to hundreds of head-shot survivors every year (if my memory is correct), but for every survivor there are many, many more deaths. Best way to kill yourself is almost certainly to jump off a tall building onto concrete. But even falling from a good great height is not 100% either. There is one method that is 100% effective at committing suicide: just wait. You’ll be dead soon enough. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2013, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gun-based-suicide-temple-vs-mouth/631605/78 "2013-10-21T23:09:34Z")
> [@Lemur866](#): > > Jesus Christ. If putting a gun to your head and pulling the trigger isn’t a sure-fire method of suicide, then I quit. That’s like ironic hell punishment division. Oh, you wanted to kill yourself? OK, now we send you back to life, only now with half your face blown off. Have fun! Stay away from Google. Yeugh! ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2013, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gun-based-suicide-temple-vs-mouth/631605/79 "2013-10-22T03:00:20Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > That’s nothing. I’ve mentioned before I once read an article about a man who committed suicide with a power drill. He had to use it six times to successfully kill himself. > > Now that’s willpower. I figure most people would have drilled two or three holes in their head, maybe four tops, and decided it wasn’t working and switched to another power tool. I’m an EMT, I’ve seen a number of gun-based suicides; they ain’t pretty. However, the single most horrific thing I ever saw was a power tool based one. It was about 15 years ago & it’s still occasionally upsetting to me. I. Will. Not. Share. Specifics. ---
**Author:** ![JBDivmstr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b4bc9f/32.png) [@JBDivmstr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JBDivmstr)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2013, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gun-based-suicide-temple-vs-mouth/631605/80 "2013-10-22T04:31:54Z")
> [@Spiderman](#): > > I’m an EMT, I’ve seen a number of gun-based suicides; they ain’t pretty. However, the single most horrific thing I ever saw was _ **a power tool based one** _. It was about 15 years ago & it’s still occasionally upsetting to me. _ **I. Will. Not. Share. Specifics** _. (bolding mine) Spoil sport. 😉 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gun-based-suicide-temple-vs-mouth/631605.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gun-based-suicide-temple-vs-mouth/631605.md?page=5)