Today some people and I were stating which weapon we’d rather go up against: gun or knife. I said gun, believing that knives can inflict surprisingly serious wounds if a person knows what he’s doing. Not that the same can’t be said for guns, but I always thought kniving injuries are more serious than gun shot wounds, given equal skill level of the perpetrators.
Am I right? Do knife wounds tend to be more dangerous than gun shot wounds?
Too broad a question. Getting shot by a .22 is VERY different from getting shot by a magnum .44… Likewise, knives vary from switchblades to bayonets…
But in general, assuming a fairly powerful round (9mm and up) , the pistol will do more damage. A knife is, in general, too short to harm anything other than soft tissue (the neck, the eyes, the gut, between the ribs). It just doesnt generate enough leverage to cut through bone. Plus, it takes some skill to use, and you have to be standing right next to the enemy to use it.
A pistol, on the other hand, can be used fairly effectively by anyone (just point and squeeze the trigger!), has a much longer range, and will go right through you.
I would say gun because you don’t need any physical strength to use a gun. And a gun is harder to run away from. Seems obvious to me because policemen and soldiers carry guns around and not knives.
Far too big a range of circumstances to accurately gauge the answer. But to be honest every time I think of it, gun wins every time for several reasons.
A knife first of all requires strength from the attacker, i.e if they are weak they may not get the knife all the way in, whereas a gun just needs a trigger pulled, which a baby could do.
Secondly a knife if it’s going to kill you really needs to hit an artery, and induce bleeding. The shock of a bullet impact alone can be enough to kill you, regardless of where it hits.
Thirdly a bullet flattens on inpact and it’s not true that it cleanly goes through, it will create a tunnel of destruction much wider than the bullet inside you, so if I knife goes in one inch from your heart you can survive, if I bullet passes through the same distance away, the shock wave will probably stop your heart or tear it.
Finally, a gun can be used from distance, so the attacker can judge where they shoot you more calmly than a knife attack which is at close quarters so more rushed an random.
P.S I hope this is a mere casual query… bit worrying.
P.P.S All of the above is just me own opinion, and none of it is based on expert evidence or any personal experience I have.
P.S. I guess that doesn’t really prove that gun wounds are worse but I think it proves that you’re better off against the guy with the knife vs. the guy with the gun.
Ex-EMT checks in
Generally speaking a GSW is going to be worse almost across the board.
A knife in the hands of an inexperienced or minimally determined assailant is not very likely to kill consistently. It takes serious cojones and determination to engage point blank and stick someone hard enough to do serious damage with a knife. Even then unless you are talking about a decent length blade 4+ inches driven all the way in you are probably not even going to hit anything critical.
Now if you start talking LONG blades say short sword 12-18", and the wound penetrates deep…bad news, I might prefer to be shot.
Bullets almost always penetrate deep enough to damage and or lacerate a major blood vessel or highly vascular organ.
People survive being stabbed several times on many occasions multiple gunshots are far more serious. Given a choice between 4 sticks with a 4" blade or 4 shots with a .22 I would take my chances with the knife.
Joetimg, don’t worry. We were just talking about something in the news.
And basically I was talking out of my behind. :(