# Where do police snipers aim for an instant kill shot? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 3, 2012, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-police-snipers-aim-for-an-instant-kill-shot/639764 "2012-11-03T15:33:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2013, 7:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-police-snipers-aim-for-an-instant-kill-shot/639764/21 "2013-08-05T07:26:53Z")
According to a police officer friend (who was on the county SWAT team), the best location depends on where the sniper is, where the criminal is, and where/how he is holding the hostage. He said the head triangle (eye-eye-mouth), the middle part of the throat (spinal cord) , or the central upper chest (heart or spinal cord) are all pretty immediate kill shots. So the sniper will aim for whichever of those gives the clearest shot, with the lowest risk of hitting anyone else. ---
**Author:** ![Sicks\_Ate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Sicks\_Ate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sicks_Ate)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2013, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-police-snipers-aim-for-an-instant-kill-shot/639764/22 "2013-08-05T12:55:19Z")
Everybody so far assumes you’re looking at the guy face-on? From the side, the snipers I worked with aimed for the ear opening. ---
**Author:** ![Ryanemerson83](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/53a042/32.png) [@Ryanemerson83](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ryanemerson83)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2020, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-police-snipers-aim-for-an-instant-kill-shot/639764/23 "2020-12-03T22:52:05Z")
Snipers, if given the chance, will aim around the nose to top lip, purposely to hit the medulla oblongata, this will immediately severe brain waves to the body. Someone can survive a simple headshot but not this ---
**Author:** ![md-2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9d8465/32.png) [@md-2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md-2000)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2020, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-police-snipers-aim-for-an-instant-kill-shot/639764/24 "2020-12-04T20:35:23Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > I understand the reason for aiming for the “T” that **Raguleader** mentioned is that by severing the brain stem, there’s no reflexive clenching of the target’s hand that could fire the gun he’s holding. As I recall this was a minor plot point in “Shawshank Redemption” but regarding different clenching. Is this the case, would a shot or injury in the wrong place (or any place in the brain) case a reflexive action that might include pulling a trigger? I always thought it was a bluff. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2020, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-police-snipers-aim-for-an-instant-kill-shot/639764/25 "2020-12-04T20:37:53Z")
> [@md-2000](#): > > Is this the case, would a shot or injury in the wrong place (or any place in the brain) case a reflexive action that might include pulling a trigger? I always thought it was a bluff. It doesn’t always happen but it can. I don’t think there’s any way of predicting. ---
**Author:** ![Gray\_Ghost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c0e974/32.png) [@Gray\_Ghost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gray_Ghost)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2020, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-police-snipers-aim-for-an-instant-kill-shot/639764/26 "2020-12-04T23:05:27Z")
In his biography, _One Shot, One Kill_, the US Marine Corps sniper, Carlos Hathcock drily noted to an observer after Hathcock had shot a Viet Cong, something to the effect of, 'Don’t worry; they flop around a bit after you shoot ‘em in the head. He ain’t going anywhere.’ OTOH, there’s been plenty of police and other video, where head-shot human beings collapse exactly like the “marionette with its strings cut” metaphor used upthread. Like everything else in terminal ballistics, it sounds like ‘it depends.’ ---
**Author:** ![Frazzled](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frazzled/32/3368_2.png) [@Frazzled](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frazzled)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2020, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-police-snipers-aim-for-an-instant-kill-shot/639764/27 "2020-12-04T23:34:00Z")
I remember once seeing a video from that heist in LA back in the late 90’s where the robbers were wearing body armor. One of them was on a sidewalk trying to escape when a bullet finally found a weak spot and killed him. As mentioned above, it was like watching a marionette fall. What struck me about it was how different that looked from how a living person falls. He was alive while standing and instantly became just a sack of meat. It was very unsettling. ---
**Author:** ![Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/marvin_the_martian/32/2898_2.png) [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marvin_the_Martian)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2020, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-police-snipers-aim-for-an-instant-kill-shot/639764/28 "2020-12-05T05:00:15Z")
A more relevant question: where does a sniper aim to instantly create a zombie? ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2020, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-police-snipers-aim-for-an-instant-kill-shot/639764/29 "2020-12-05T05:02:55Z")
> [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](#): > > A more relevant question: where does a sniper aim to instantly create a zombie?  Head shot, based on all the documentaries I’ve seen. ---
**Author:** ![StarvingButStrong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/starvingbutstrong/32/335_2.png) [@StarvingButStrong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StarvingButStrong)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2020, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-police-snipers-aim-for-an-instant-kill-shot/639764/30 "2020-12-05T16:00:27Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > > [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](#): > > > > A more relevant question: where does a sniper aim to instantly create a zombie? > > Head shot, based on all the documentaries I’ve seen. According to the documentaries I’ve seen, that’s how you END a zombie, not create one. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2020, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-police-snipers-aim-for-an-instant-kill-shot/639764/31 "2020-12-06T04:56:24Z")
> [@StarvingButStrong](#): > > According to the documentaries I’ve seen, that’s how you END a zombie, not create one. That’s what I get from not reading carefully! (although it should work either way) ---
**Author:** ![ZurBob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/71e660/32.png) [@ZurBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZurBob)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2020, 8:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-police-snipers-aim-for-an-instant-kill-shot/639764/32 "2020-12-06T08:14:11Z")
Who here amongst us is qualified to answer the OP as a factual reply? ---
**Author:** ![Toxylon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f05b48/32.png) [@Toxylon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toxylon)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2020, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-police-snipers-aim-for-an-instant-kill-shot/639764/33 "2020-12-06T12:29:51Z")
> [@Gray\_Ghost](#): > > 'Don’t worry; they flop around a bit after you shoot ‘em in the head. He ain’t going anywhere.’ Small game animals, hit in the head, flop around a quite bit as well, without going anywhere. Instant marionette drops occur only rarely. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2020, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-police-snipers-aim-for-an-instant-kill-shot/639764/34 "2020-12-06T13:26:34Z")
I recall from Spielberg’s first theatrical release, _The Sugarland Express_, this exchange between the police captain and the sniper: _Tanner_: What’ve you got there? _Waters_: A 7mm Magnum, four-power scope, Mauser action. I’ll be shootin’ a 148-grain bullet. At 300 yards, hit a dime. _Tanner_: Can you guarantee Slide won’t be hit? _Waters_: At this distance? Absolutely. _Tanner_: How will I know they’ll be killed outright? _Waters_: If you’re worried about a spasm shot, I figure to hit the boy in the brain, in the medulla and cut his motors. _Tanner_: What about the girl? _Waters_: Same thing, Captain. She’ll be dead before the sound gets there. ---
**Author:** ![Tristan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tristan/32/18058_2.png) [@Tristan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tristan)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2020, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-police-snipers-aim-for-an-instant-kill-shot/639764/35 "2020-12-10T16:08:42Z")
> A more relevant question: where does a sniper aim to instantly create a zombie? Right at the reply button. Works every time. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-do-police-snipers-aim-for-an-instant-kill-shot/639764.md?page=1)