Questions - death by close range shotgun

RCtheBanditQueen · Apr 30, 2015

If someone gets shot with a double-barreled shotgun right up against the body, how loud would the blast be? Muffled at all or not? The shot would go all the way through out the back, right? Or not?

No precise gun details yet. Just looking for a general idea.

cmhbob · Apr 30, 2015

Don't know about volume, but I suspect the noise suppression would be relative. The pellets probably aren't going to expand at all on a contact wound, and would most likely just pass on through, so most of the damage (I think) is going to be from the propellant gases. I doubt you'd find even a single pellet in what's left of the body. I've seen photos of facial contact wounds from a shotgun, and there's really little identifiable left.

I'd also guess decent-sized hole, lots of charring at the entrance, and at least some blood splash on the weapon.

Googling "gunshot stippling" will get you a fair amount of info, but be careful clicking the Images part of that search. You can also Google "shotgun contact wound" for some very graphic photos.

Andreas_Montoya · May 1, 2015

Gunshots cause a cavitation within the soft tissues of the body. That is, the force of the high speed projectile delivering its energy cause a large, sudden expansion of tissue destroying it, causing a lot more damage than the path of the projectile (or projectiles in the case of a shotgun.) Different loads are tested on gelatin blocks that simulate soft tissue. Google "ballistic cavitation"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LhBBCOIjkiM

The noise would be significant and the pellets would not spread out but leave a gaping hole on the exit side.

SamjBowden · May 1, 2015

Depends on the shell. It would be very loud, and you would probably blow a very good size hole in the person. Especially if you use 00 Buck shot.

RCtheBanditQueen · May 3, 2015

Thanks very much, all!! Your answers really helped. Now I will have a much better idea of how to craft the scene.

WeaselFire · May 5, 2015

It's loud, the fact that the muzzle is against the body won't muffle the sound. The person shot will have a hole about 3/4 inch in diameter through the body, with any kind of load other than non-lethal. There is almost no expansion and this hole won't seem like a hole, just a bloody spot.

Death is not guaranteed. If you need death, make the shot go through vital organs, heart or aorta.

What do you need for your story?

Jeff

RCtheBanditQueen · May 5, 2015

WeaselFire said:
It's loud, the fact that the muzzle is against the body won't muffle the sound. The person shot will have a hole about 3/4 inch in diameter through the body, with any kind of load other than non-lethal. There is almost no expansion and this hole won't seem like a hole, just a bloody spot.

Death is not guaranteed. If you need death, make the shot go through vital organs, heart or aorta.

What do you need for your story?

Jeff

Thanks! All this stuff from you guys is what I needed to know.

What I need is death, enough blood to get all over someone else, and to keep it simple. The Antagonist goes after the Protagonist, and P then kills A while defending herself. I couldn't come up with anything more original than a gun.

Originally I wanted the death - by whatever means - quiet enough that it wouldn't be heard on the street, happening in the back room of a house. If a shotgun won't work, maybe there's another way. BUT, if a shotgun can be bloody enough, noise is fine. I can change parts of the scene. There can be a sheriff in town to rule it self-defense. (Story is a western.)

Pony. · May 5, 2015

cmhbob said:
Don't know about volume, but I suspect the noise suppression would be relative. The pellets probably aren't going to expand at all on a contact wound, and would most likely just pass on through, so most of the damage (I think) is going to be from the propellant gases. I doubt you'd find even a single pellet in what's left of the body. I've seen photos of facial contact wounds from a shotgun, and there's really little identifiable left.

I'd also guess decent-sized hole, lots of charring at the entrance, and at least some blood splash on the weapon.

Googling "gunshot stippling" will get you a fair amount of info, but be careful clicking the Images part of that search. You can also Google "shotgun contact wound" for some very graphic photos.

Seconded. The path of the expanding gases would be more devestating than the pellets. The gases would enter the abdominal cavity(or thorasic cavity) like a pyroclastic cloud and basicly explode the internal organs.

C.bronco · May 5, 2015

Ew, gross. It never ends well.

SamjBowden · May 5, 2015

A shotgun would most definitely be heard from the back of the house. depending on what room you are in within the house you could use a blunt object to the head. If you are in the kitchen, say the dishwasher was open, and a bunch of knives were sticking out of it, and then the p pushed a and he fell on them.

Taejang · May 6, 2015

A blunt object striking the head repeatedly would be much quieter than a gun and just as bloody, though the blood would spray differently than a shotgun to the chest. If you want quiet and bloody, that's the way to go.

ironmikezero · May 6, 2015

Did you mean for the double-barrelled shotgun to discharge both barrels simultaneously? If so, the damage from a contact wound (torso) would be even more devastating (considerably more than one might expect) than from a sole barrel's discharge. The cavitation/tissue disruption would be massive; survival would be moot in almost all cases.

WeaselFire · May 6, 2015

RCtheBanditQueen said:
What I need is death, enough blood to get all over someone else, and to keep it simple.

Back off a few feet from the victim for the shot, lots more blood (there will be plenty anyway) and both cast off and spatter. Gunfire in a house is not always heard outside, terrain, overgrowth, housing materials and so on will change sounds. Also, people may not relate a loud noise to a gun shot.

In a western, set it in a log cabin with small windows in a wooded area. The shot will get blood on both the shooter and anyone else in proximity.

Jeff

RCtheBanditQueen · May 7, 2015

ironmikezero said:
Did you mean for the double-barrelled shotgun to discharge both barrels simultaneously? If so, the damage from a contact wound (torso) would be even more devastating (considerably more than one might expect) than from a sole barrel's discharge. The cavitation/tissue disruption would be massive; survival would be moot in almost all cases.

Yes, I was thinking both.

WeaselFire said:
Back off a few feet from the victim for the shot, lots more blood (there will be plenty anyway) and both cast off and spatter. Gunfire in a house is not always heard outside, terrain, overgrowth, housing materials and so on will change sounds. Also, people may not relate a loud noise to a gun shot.

In a western, set it in a log cabin with small windows in a wooded area. The shot will get blood on both the shooter and anyone else in proximity.

Jeff

Hmm...yes...that could work nicely.

Pony. · May 7, 2015

RCtheBanditQueen said:
Yes, I was thinking both.

Hmm...yes...that could work nicely.

both barrels id image could pretty effectively cut someone in half. i could just see the one window one the side of a cabin turn red with the shot.

you gotta let us know how this scene works out for ya.

Questions - death by close range shotgun

RCtheBanditQueen

cmhbob

Did...did I do that?

Andreas_Montoya

SamjBowden

RCtheBanditQueen

WeaselFire

Benefactor Member

RCtheBanditQueen

Pony.

Aspiring supervillain

C.bronco

I have plans...

SamjBowden

Taejang

Why not?

ironmikezero

practical experience, FTW

WeaselFire

Benefactor Member

RCtheBanditQueen

Pony.

Aspiring supervillain