# Shot in the heart—die immediately? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 5, 2003, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shot-in-the-heart-die-immediately/205654 "2003-10-05T03:20:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2003, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shot-in-the-heart-die-immediately/205654/21 "2003-10-05T21:24:04Z")
So if I get shot in the heart, and you’re the one who is to blame, does that really give love a bad name? ---
**Author:** ![Quercus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/7ab992/32.png) [@Quercus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quercus)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2003, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shot-in-the-heart-die-immediately/205654/22 "2003-10-06T14:05:38Z")
Apex – the moving slide doesn’t keep moving forever, so all of its momentum reaches the shooter’s hand (and it’s a tiny amount of momentum anyway). Now the impact of a bullet could knock someone off balance if they’re not ready for it, but the person’s reaction is probably more important that the relatively small physical push of the bullet. ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2003, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shot-in-the-heart-die-immediately/205654/23 "2003-10-06T14:17:45Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by spogga \* > \*\*Slight Hi-Jack > > In some western films the good guy shoots the gun out of the bad guys hand, bad guy shakes hand (flap, flap, flap) wouldn’t the impact have broken his wrist? \*\* Not necessarily. There’s a video clip shown on reality shows quite often of a guy on a bench with a gun. After a long standoff, a police marksman shoots the gun out of his hand. The guy sits there with a dazed look on his face as the cops rush in and cuff him. After they get the cuffs on him and pull him up (during which it’s fairly evident that there’s no major damage to his hands), he looks at the guy who shot the gun and says something along the lines of damn, that was a nice shot. On the other hand, there’s another clip shown fairly often that’s quite similar. A man has a hostage in an apartment, and while he’s standing near the window with the gun sticking out, a marksman shoots the gun. The reaction of his hand is quite different, and you can tell he’s been hurt, and there’s also a small patch of blood left on the window sill. ---
**Author:** ![jimpatro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b9e5f3/32.png) [@jimpatro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jimpatro)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2003, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shot-in-the-heart-die-immediately/205654/24 "2003-10-06T18:47:47Z")
I’m wondering who are good shots in comparison to cops being bad shots as Susanann proposes. The point in aiming for the center of any target is that if you miss the center you still have a chance of hitting some part of it. Especially a hostile, moving target. Due to stress factors involved in combat, one’s aim might be a little off. It’s just plain foolish to try for a head shot or to try and shoot a gun out of someone’s hand. ---
**Author:** ![Dag\_Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@Dag\_Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dag_Otto)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2003, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shot-in-the-heart-die-immediately/205654/25 "2003-10-06T21:36:06Z")
On April 11, 1986, there was a shootout in Miaimi, Florida that involved several FBI agents and two suspects. There was a fierce firefight between the agents and the suspects. The following is a link to a rather long account of what happened: [http://www.firearmstactical.com/briefs7.htm](http://www.firearmstactical.com/briefs7.htm) Note that the two suspects, while eventually killed, had been shot 6 and 12 times respectively. I beleive that this is the incident that prompted the FBI to re-evaluate the 9mm as the standard sidearm. ---
**Author:** ![patchbunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/dc4da7/32.png) [@patchbunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/patchbunny)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2003, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shot-in-the-heart-die-immediately/205654/26 "2003-10-06T22:15:03Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by chorpler \* > **Ms. Roach then goes on to describe some tests she witnessed involving ballistic gelatin, which is used to simulate human tissue and which is very useful in studying the temporary stretch cavity because it is relatively transparent and doesn’t snap back into place like human tissues do, making it easy to get a detailed look at the stretch cavity a particular bullet causes.** ??? Ballsitic gelatin doesn’t maintain a temporaty cavity. Were they shooting into clay? > [@](#): > > \*\*And apparently there is at least a rough correlation between the size of the stretch cavity that a particular type of ammunition causes and the stopping power that is generally ascribed to that ammunition by its users (police officers and soldiers, I assume). > > It’s not proof, by any means, but it’s certainly interesting, if a bit gruesome. \*\* I’ve read the research by Dr Martin Fackler, who did ballistics research for the Army during the 1980’s, and even had chance to meet the man once. All the research he’s done hasn’t indicated such a correlation. The [Firearms Tactical Institute link](http://www.firearmstactical.com/) has some interesting articles on the subject. You can also find out more at the International Wound Ballistics Associaiton’s [website](http://www.iwba.com). –Patch ---
**Author:** ![patchbunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/dc4da7/32.png) [@patchbunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/patchbunny)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2003, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shot-in-the-heart-die-immediately/205654/27 "2003-10-06T22:28:28Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Apex Rogers \* > \*\*Because of this, I don’t think it is a fair assumption to say that because someone does not fall down when they fire a gun, a person hit by the same bullet would be capable of remaining standing. \*\* Hang a bag filled with 150lbs of sand from a tree and shoot it. Notice how little it moves. Strap on Class IV Tactical Body armor, and have a buddy shoot you with a 7.62mm NATO FMJ round at point blank range. Do it again while standing on one foot. Marvel at how you don’t fall over. I saw the former at a video presentation by Lucien Haag, an Arizona forensic investigator. The latter can be seen in the video, “Deadly Weapons”, by Anite Productions. A bullet doesn’t knock you over. Your reaction to the bullet knocks you over. –Patch [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shot-in-the-heart-die-immediately/205654.md?page=1)