Plausable or not?

'88Scrat · March 30, 2013, 06:45 PM

I wasn't really sure where to put this (possibly very dumb) question but here in the relaoding forum seemed like the best place.

I recently watched Jaws 2 and there is a scene where Chief Brody fills in hollow point bullets with cyanide. This got me wondering if something like that would even be possible or was simply a movie gimick.

WIL TERRY · March 30, 2013, 07:00 PM

SINCE WHEN HAS ANY KNUCKLEHEAD MAKING A MOVIE known anything about guns and portrayed same in a knowledgable manner ??

gundog5 · March 30, 2013, 07:02 PM

Could be wrong, but, I thought it was mercury or quick silver. I have seen this done in several shows and always believed it was to make the bullet fully expand faster. But it is hollywierd so who knows

ScottRiqui · March 30, 2013, 07:05 PM

Pretty much a movie gimmick. There's no way a dose of cyanide that would be lethal to a great white shark would fit in the cavity of a hollowpoint bullet.

SL1 · March 30, 2013, 07:23 PM

Considering cyanide's mechanisms for being deadly, I would think that shooting it into a wound where it would quickly be swept back out of the body by blood flow would be the least effective way of killing with it. Certainly, I would not expect it to be absorbed well from a wound channel. Injection by needle, inhalation, ingestion and maybe even transdermal absorption would seem to be more effective than injection by bullet.

SL1

rlc323 · March 30, 2013, 09:25 PM

A good topic for the Mythbusters TV show to explore.

Especially if the episode requires Kari Byron to be in a swimsuit.

birdshot · March 30, 2013, 09:30 PM

I met some Cajun bow hunters who had a dose of some sort of drug on the shaft of their arrows, that released upon entering the skin. They claimed it made up for a bad shot. In their defense they were the best blood trackers I had ever seen. I learned alot from watching them.

reynolds357 · March 30, 2013, 09:37 PM

If I remember correctly, he was covering the cyanide with candle wax? My thougts are the wax would disintegrate in flight and release the cyanide long before impact.

Evan Thomas · March 30, 2013, 10:58 PM

From a previous thread on this topic:

Quote:

Originally Posted by shield20

Jaws 2 - Sodium Cyanide

From the screenplay avilable on line:
http://home.online.no/~bhundlan/scri...arly-draft.htm

"ON HIS DESK is a photograph. He's smiling, shaking hands with Matt Hooper.
And a plaque: "Martin Brody, Amity Man of the Year, 1975."
Beyond the desk is the sea. A storm is coming. He unlocks
a drawer and takes out: a box of .38 caliber hollow-point
bullets, a twenty-five cc vial of sodium cyanide, and a dispos-
able plastic syringe. From a cupboard in the dining room he
gets a red candle. He turns the desk lamp on, opens the box
of bullets. Carefully, one by one, he stands them on end.

So, yes, in the movie, it was cyanide.

That said, individual possession of sodium cyanide is against the law, and discussion of illegal activities is against TFL policy.

Closed.

March 30, 2013, 06:45 PM	#1
'88Scrat Senior Member Join Date: July 11, 2011 Location: Kansas Posts: 549	Plausable or not? I wasn't really sure where to put this (possibly very dumb) question but here in the relaoding forum seemed like the best place. I recently watched Jaws 2 and there is a scene where Chief Brody fills in hollow point bullets with cyanide. This got me wondering if something like that would even be possible or was simply a movie gimick. __________________ BOOM

March 30, 2013, 07:00 PM	#2
WIL TERRY Senior Member Join Date: July 6, 2000 Location: BLACK HILLS Posts: 1,322	SINCE WHEN HAS ANY KNUCKLEHEAD MAKING A MOVIE known anything about guns and portrayed same in a knowledgable manner ??

March 30, 2013, 07:02 PM	#3
gundog5 Senior Member Join Date: January 27, 2013 Posts: 116	Could be wrong, but, I thought it was mercury or quick silver. I have seen this done in several shows and always believed it was to make the bullet fully expand faster. But it is hollywierd so who knows

March 30, 2013, 07:05 PM	#4
ScottRiqui Senior Member Join Date: January 27, 2010 Location: Norfolk, VA Posts: 2,905	Pretty much a movie gimmick. There's no way a dose of cyanide that would be lethal to a great white shark would fit in the cavity of a hollowpoint bullet.

March 30, 2013, 07:23 PM	#5
SL1 Senior Member Join Date: November 8, 2007 Posts: 2,001	Considering cyanide's mechanisms for being deadly, I would think that shooting it into a wound where it would quickly be swept back out of the body by blood flow would be the least effective way of killing with it. Certainly, I would not expect it to be absorbed well from a wound channel. Injection by needle, inhalation, ingestion and maybe even transdermal absorption would seem to be more effective than injection by bullet. SL1

March 30, 2013, 09:25 PM	#6
rlc323 Senior Member Join Date: January 23, 2013 Location: Forgottonia, Il Posts: 217	A good topic for the Mythbusters TV show to explore. Especially if the episode requires Kari Byron to be in a swimsuit.

March 30, 2013, 09:30 PM	#7
birdshot Senior Member Join Date: January 17, 2008 Location: north platte nebraska Posts: 344	I met some Cajun bow hunters who had a dose of some sort of drug on the shaft of their arrows, that released upon entering the skin. They claimed it made up for a bad shot. In their defense they were the best blood trackers I had ever seen. I learned alot from watching them.

March 30, 2013, 09:37 PM	#8
reynolds357 Senior Member Join Date: December 10, 2012 Posts: 6,165	If I remember correctly, he was covering the cyanide with candle wax? My thougts are the wax would disintegrate in flight and release the cyanide long before impact.