Taking out the pellets

CMichael · April 12, 2002, 10:10 AM

This is going to be a weird question.

If you shoot someone with 8 or 9 shot there are about 350 pellets.

This is going to sound weird but I wonder what the ER does to treat the person who got shot. Do they try to take out each individual pellet? Does it not matter because the person is dead anyway?

Michael

Navy joe · April 12, 2002, 11:30 AM

Well, if it was at enough range to expand picture youself sitting in the ER and a bunch of forceps tweezers and alcohol swabs while the stuff gets picked out. If your at range where the shot never leaves the cup, picture yourself in a suit with flowers. I think the only time projectiles are left in is when they are lodged dangerously close to a vital nerve, blood vessel or organ.

I suppose if you were shot by someone enviromentally aware you could just be stuck in the MRI for a sec while all the steel shot flew out of ya!

SDC · April 12, 2002, 12:07 PM

Like Navy Joe said, it depends on the range. If you're at close range, the mass of shot acts like a big pre-fragmented slug, and odds are you won't be worrying about ANYTHING after that hits. If you're at an extended range, where the shot has spread out and started to lose velocity, penetration is likely going to be a lot less, and a doctor would cause as much damage trying to take it out as it caused when it went in. The body's an amazing thing though, and most people who've been shot and survived have a rejection mechanism that forces foreign objects out. These people develop something like a pimple with a piece of shot, jacket, or whatever inside it, and that tries to burst out through the skin.

ENC · April 12, 2002, 12:43 PM

My brother and my friend both have .177 BB's lodged in their bodies one copper the other steel. In both cases the Doctor said it would be alot easier to leave them in, they won't hurt anything. My friend gets some weird looks from the hygenist when he has dental x-rays taken.

My other friend caught one in the forehead and it worked itself out over a months time.

Don't look at me that way! I wasn't even there for any of these instances. BTW this was three cases of unloaded guns being loaded

Zorro · April 12, 2002, 09:16 PM

Getting the pellets out causes damage too!

Unless there is a good reason to go after it mostly bullets are left in.

Lead Sulfide forms around the lead quickly, and prevents lead poisoning and ossification locks it up in a bone cocoon soon enough.

Lead Sulfide is among the least water soluble chemicals known to man, maybe they should add sulphur to the soil at gun ranges to mollify the environmentalists?

Badger Arms · April 13, 2002, 12:18 AM

If somebody I shoot has to go to the hospital, I shoulda shot him again! I don't really plan on leaving anybody alive that I have to shoot. If they didn't need to be killed to stop them, I wouldn't have shot them in the first place.

On the off chance that they do survive ( I use #7 1/2 shot) I'd hope that they try to remove every damn one of them buggars with rusty pliars.

Benjamin · April 13, 2002, 01:17 AM

Gentlemen - I have never gone hunting, nor do I make a habit of shooting up old roasts. Water jugs in my area do not attack me, at least not while I have a loaded shotgun handy (clever buggers, aren't they?)

That said, I have no idea how far a trap or buck load will penetrate.

I understand that some members here have experience in this vein, and that there is at least one EMT on the board. Is the removal of lead shot a valid concern? To re-phrase, is it likely that the whole charge would simply penetrate a person?

April 12, 2002, 10:10 AM	#1
CMichael Senior Member Join Date: November 12, 2001 Location: MI Posts: 1,516	Taking out the pellets This is going to be a weird question. If you shoot someone with 8 or 9 shot there are about 350 pellets. This is going to sound weird but I wonder what the ER does to treat the person who got shot. Do they try to take out each individual pellet? Does it not matter because the person is dead anyway? Michael

April 12, 2002, 11:30 AM	#2
Navy joe Senior Member Join Date: January 28, 2001 Location: VA, USA Posts: 1,804	Well, if it was at enough range to expand picture youself sitting in the ER and a bunch of forceps tweezers and alcohol swabs while the stuff gets picked out. If your at range where the shot never leaves the cup, picture yourself in a suit with flowers. I think the only time projectiles are left in is when they are lodged dangerously close to a vital nerve, blood vessel or organ. I suppose if you were shot by someone enviromentally aware you could just be stuck in the MRI for a sec while all the steel shot flew out of ya! __________________ FY47012

April 12, 2002, 12:07 PM	#3
SDC Senior Member Join Date: January 23, 2001 Location: People's Republic of Kanada Posts: 1,652	Like Navy Joe said, it depends on the range. If you're at close range, the mass of shot acts like a big pre-fragmented slug, and odds are you won't be worrying about ANYTHING after that hits. If you're at an extended range, where the shot has spread out and started to lose velocity, penetration is likely going to be a lot less, and a doctor would cause as much damage trying to take it out as it caused when it went in. The body's an amazing thing though, and most people who've been shot and survived have a rejection mechanism that forces foreign objects out. These people develop something like a pimple with a piece of shot, jacket, or whatever inside it, and that tries to burst out through the skin. __________________ Gun control in Canada: making the streets safer for rapists, muggers, and other violent criminals since 1936.

April 13, 2002, 12:18 AM	#6
Badger Arms Senior Member Join Date: July 2, 2000 Location: Harnett County, NC Posts: 1,700	If somebody I shoot has to go to the hospital, I shoulda shot him again! I don't really plan on leaving anybody alive that I have to shoot. If they didn't need to be killed to stop them, I wouldn't have shot them in the first place. On the off chance that they do survive ( I use #7 1/2 shot) I'd hope that they try to remove every damn one of them buggars with rusty pliars. __________________ We may or may not worship God, but John Moses Browning made sure we can choose.

April 12, 2002, 12:43 PM	#4
ENC Senior Member Join Date: August 31, 2001 Location: Grand Lake, OK Posts: 658	My brother and my friend both have .177 BB's lodged in their bodies one copper the other steel. In both cases the Doctor said it would be alot easier to leave them in, they won't hurt anything. My friend gets some weird looks from the hygenist when he has dental x-rays taken. My other friend caught one in the forehead and it worked itself out over a months time. Don't look at me that way! I wasn't even there for any of these instances. BTW this was three cases of unloaded guns being loaded

April 12, 2002, 09:16 PM	#5
Zorro Senior Member Join Date: October 28, 2000 Posts: 1,072	Getting the pellets out causes damage too! Unless there is a good reason to go after it mostly bullets are left in. Lead Sulfide forms around the lead quickly, and prevents lead poisoning and ossification locks it up in a bone cocoon soon enough. Lead Sulfide is among the least water soluble chemicals known to man, maybe they should add sulphur to the soil at gun ranges to mollify the environmentalists?

April 13, 2002, 01:17 AM	#7
Benjamin Senior Member Join Date: December 27, 1999 Location: Massachusetts Posts: 358	Gentlemen - I have never gone hunting, nor do I make a habit of shooting up old roasts. Water jugs in my area do not attack me, at least not while I have a loaded shotgun handy (clever buggers, aren't they?) That said, I have no idea how far a trap or buck load will penetrate. I understand that some members here have experience in this vein, and that there is at least one EMT on the board. Is the removal of lead shot a valid concern? To re-phrase, is it likely that the whole charge would simply penetrate a person?