Comments on: Is it big enough?

By: Phelps

Phelps — Mon, 13 Nov 2006 23:52:48 +0000

Depends on the type of round like Tam says, too, not just the caliber. And barrel length. And as for it being enough: do you think that she had any interest in doing anything but getting away from him after he shot her? I don’t care if my mother kills the goblin coming after her (it is a nice bonus, but not the aim). I just want him heading the other direction. And if bouncing .38 JHPs off his skull does the trick, it is just as good as putting them through. (Not that I expect them to bounce off.)

And my recollection is that hardest bones in the body are heel, then elbow, then front of the skull above the brow.

By: chuck from redneckin

chuck from redneckin — Mon, 13 Nov 2006 22:56:23 +0000

I have to agree with agpilot.
A big gun that you’re scared of the recoil and can’t hit squat is more worthless than a tiny caliber.
Proper target selection and shot placement with a gun you can handle and know it’s limitations is best

By: BobG

BobG — Mon, 13 Nov 2006 14:23:36 +0000

Hell, I knew a guy who took a round in the head from an AK over in Vietnam; it didn’t kill him or affect him mentally. He does have a plate in each side of his head now though. If it had been anything other than a full metal jacket, it probably would have killed him.

By: AlanDP

AlanDP — Mon, 13 Nov 2006 11:30:11 +0000

It wouldn’t have to have been a .32 ACP either, especially since it looks like he emptied his gun in a rage. Could have been some archaic .32 caliber revolver that’s even wimpier than the ACP.

By: Tam

Tam — Mon, 13 Nov 2006 05:08:07 +0000

Round-nose bullet + rounded noggin bone = bullet skidding off target rather than penetrating.

It’s happened with calibers a lot larger than .32 before.

By: ben

ben — Mon, 13 Nov 2006 03:49:43 +0000

Hey, , and I think my hypothesis is best. Brazillians are kinda like cave people anyway, which makes my idea even more plausible.

By: therep

therep — Mon, 13 Nov 2006 02:24:42 +0000

Check my new post about Lumpy Lambert.

By: agpilot

agpilot — Mon, 13 Nov 2006 02:13:09 +0000

Sometimes you just have to go with what they can handle. A .22 is better than nothing. My wife & I teach women beginners for a hobby at no charge and very few of the general female population can handle the more powerful calibers reliably. None want to carry the extra weight of a large seel framed HG nor do very many have the strength to rack a slide with an extra power recoil spring.

By: Greeblie

Greeblie — Mon, 13 Nov 2006 01:35:11 +0000

tkdkerry hit it right on, the skull is the strongest bone structure in the body (i think). My wife has a PA63 in 9mm Mak. In teaching, I told her to shoot for the chest. The MAK might do for a head shot, but why aim at a “well-defended” small target when a better one is available? IMHO…

By: AughtSix

AughtSix — Mon, 13 Nov 2006 01:34:22 +0000

There are stories of folks who survived multiple shots of all sorts of calibers. Heck, there was one out of Iraq where a soldier got shot in the face with a 9mm from spitting distance. It disloged his front tooth and got stuck in his upper lip. He thought the guy missed him. I saw the story over at The Castle Argh (his search function's broken. It was probably little more than a squib load. Maybe these were some very weak loads? Or she's got a really hard head. .32 would still be way down the list of calibers I'd want to carry, but I'm a little leary of reading too much into one case of something bizarre happening.

By: tkdkerry

tkdkerry — Mon, 13 Nov 2006 01:08:38 +0000

Hmmm. .32 is too small in my estimation, too, but wouldn’t a softer target such as the gut or even the chest have offered a lot less resistance? I’m gonna go out on a limb and guess the lady’s still alive because ex-hubby was taking the head-shots out of rage.