Actually getting shot...

[Bob Lee Swagger]

To anyone here that's had the misfortune of getting hit by a bullet (wearing a vest or not, accident or otherwise), how's it feel?

[armedandsafe]

The first time, I didn't feel anything until after I had rounded up my people and beat feet for the other side.

The second time, I was aware of receiving the shot, but was too busy concentrating on holding my sights to pay that much attention.\

In both cases, once I took the time to notice what had happened, IT HURT!

Pops

[Playboypenguin]

My body has only had contact with a bullet in motion on two occasions.

One, although not pleasant, was not that bad because it was just a grazing from a .22lr fired accidently by my sister while trying to disengage a safety when we were kids. It grazed the top right side of the rear of my skull. It barely nicked me but felt like getting hit with a big rock thrown at close range. I still have a small lump and scar from it.

The second was much worse. I shot myself in the top of my right foot with a .22 revolver. It entered the top of my foot and exited out the left side of my arch on my foot. It was immediately and incredibly painful. It felt like my foot had been torn off and continued to hurt for days after getting to the hospital and getting the wound cleaned and stitched up. My whole foot bruised up to above my ankle and was extremely sore. I have a nice three point star shaped scar on the inside of my arch on my right foot to this day. The doctor said I was lucky that I was not wearing shoes since the bullet sterilized the wound and did not force any foreign matter into it.

[Bob Lee Swagger]

by armedandsafe

In both cases, once I took the time to notice what had happened, IT HURT!

Combat high?

[Chui]

Hurt like a SOB. Immediately. Just instant pain. Odd thing(s):

Adrenaline is f$!@g POWERFUL. And addictive.

You only *think* you're conscious of your surroundings in your day-to-day life. Experience intense pain and it's like everything in your periphery is as clear and concise as if you're staring through a microscope. I call it Superconsciousness for lack of terminology. Perhaps you'll/you'd respond differently. I dunno. One thing for sure Pain will cause Mental Clarity for me. Still does. Oh, breathing. Inhale deeply filling your lungs thru your mouth. Hold three ir four seconds. Exhale thru your mouth for one or 1.5 count. Repeat. Don't know where it came from but I later learned this is the so-called "proper" technique.

It's amazing how strong the smell of iron is in blood...

And I cannot speak for others but I heard a voice as clear as I can see my monitor state, "Control your breathing will control your heartrate which will control your blood flow. You'll be just fine." I did and I am. But I had rehearsed this potential event in my mind for quite some time... I think it's called Imagery.

Every heartbeat was painful but not incapcitatingly so and every 40, then 30, then 20... seconds a wave of pain would make me grit my teeth and focus to deal with it. It continued until eventually I went into shock on the ER table. As more blood was lost the more rapid the "wave of pain" came. It also became increasingly intense as time went on. It's Mind or Unconsciousness as time went on. Focus...

Odd thing else: it hurt more than anything else I've felt but I "knew" I could absorb more - not that I'm ever interested mind you.

Other things is that you realize time isn't what you think it is. It felt like days; it was only minutes. Maybe 35 or so.

I could sense as clear as the sun in the sky who in the ER gave a damn and who didn't. Those that did got direct, calm answers. Those that didn't were barked at. No conscious thought of my own was involved in any of this. I could see, smell and hear everything. I kept looking at my vitals on the machine monitoring my blood pressure and heart rate. I was analyzing my condition: elevated heart rate and decreasing blood pressure.

How long before I would have been incapacitated? Maybe 25 minutes. Maybe more. Depending on whether how much blood loss could be diverted. MUCH more important was my psychological state. I was a judoka (one who competes in judo) and a student of jujitsu. I also dabbled in open track events [sports cars on race tracks], autocross, etc. Why is this important? Because I was in great shape and could INTENTLY FOCUS my Mind - while remaining relaxed - at will for 20 minutes or more (one track session) at a time. I also meditated on driving as well as the judo/jujitsu regularly. I was doing both very well. So performing under pressure wasn't new. I also competed in Track & Field at a high level since I was 11 years old. Applying this nurtured ability to anything is the true goal looking back. Athletes should be the best of the best at just about everything they put their minds to. But that's another story/theory/thread for another time.

Caliber: 9mm JHP
Location of Wound: Left Hand

The psychological trauma was far worst then the physical - including surgery, therapy, etc., questioning will you obtain much use out of my damaged hand. If so, how much? I still play judo, jujitsu, shoot (obviously), mountain bike, canoe, kayak, etc. I'd guess I have 70% use (loss of fine motor control) but shooting, grabbing, etc is fine.

I hope ALL get something out of this:

• Lose control/focus and you die.
  
• A bullet not in a vital will NOT kill you immediately.
  
• You can take far more punishment than you can imagine and bounce back.
  
• You may wish to use visualization techniques of injuries, shootings, ..., anything that will paralyze most persons in fear such that you'll "know what to do" if you ever "meet the elephant" - no matter what "YOUR elephant" may be. Mind over matter - or you'll not long matter.

'Hope this answers your question.

I'd be interested in the psychological aspects of anyone else whose been hit.

Addendum:

I was hit with the jacket of a 9mm while training. It dug into the skin of my leg. It felt sharp but I finished the drill. I didn't think much of it until I could feel the blood trickling down my leg. I managed to pull it out - it was weird because it took a while. It definitely causes a flinch response but I managed to get good hits but they were just left of intended target.

[X Poacher]

I was shot at 60 yards or so accidentally with a 12 guage #6 bird shot if this qualifies me as getting shot. I got hit in the back of the head, back, arms and hands. It took about 2 or 3 seconds before it actually started hurting. Only 3 pellets actually penetrated, the other bounced off. Thank God.

[dragonfirex]

I took a 12 ga to the back also , felt like a linebacker hit me full speed from behind ,burned at first ,then the pain came in waves , to this day i still have a large amount buried in my back , and yes the smell of iron is really strong in the blood and so is smoking flesh .

[Bob Lee Swagger]

by dragonfirex

to this day i still have a large amount buried in my back

They couldn't get it all out?

[dragonfirex]

A good part of the shot that is still there went flat when it hit bone ,they took out all they could get that might cause problems around the spine and so on ,the rest was left because it wasnt a threat to any vitals .

[Playboypenguin]

A good part of the shot that is still there went flat when it hit bone ,they took out all they could get that might cause problems around the spine and so on ,the rest was left because it wasnt a threat to any vitals .

My grandfather had a bullet still in his back for as long as I could remember. I do not recall if it was from Korea or WWII.

[hoytinak]

Combat high?

Yep...adrenaline is a wonderful thing. I've never been hit with a bullet direct but got shrapnel (metal and glass both) in the neck and face from my M68 that a bullet hit while I was firing. I didn't feel it till I seen the blood. Here's the M68:

Edit: Also got hit with rocksalt out of a 12ga at about 30yrds in the back, had to go the the hospital to get it taken out...stung pretty good. (I was young a stupid..lol)

[Hawg]

It hurts like a mutha.

[Spectre]

Hoyt,

That's a waste of a perfectly good CCO!

Glad you're alive.

[tony pasley]

Getting shot screws up your whole day not to mention the next few weeks.

[Bob Lee Swagger]

Hit by anything stronger than .223/5.56mm NATO?

[OnTheFly]

Glad to say this hasn't happened to me.

However, my uncle related a story to the family about invading Germany during WWII. He was shot in the arm and while in the Army hospital the chaplain came to his bedside to provide comfort. He asked my uncle "What was your first thought after being shot?" expecting some religious epiphany. My uncle just looked at him and answered "ouch!".

Fly

[Captain38]

"Getting SHOT AT is no big deal, but getting SHOT SUCKS!!!

[armedandsafe]

by armedandsafe


Quote:
In both cases, once I took the time to notice what had happened, IT HURT!

Combat high?

Combat high is a good term for it. The first time, we were on the wrong side of a border in Europe and a bouncing betty went off. That got the high started, and then a border guard drove up. He and I wrestled for a couple of hours (or, perhaps, seconds) and he put a round from his rifle through my right hand, which was holding his muzzle in a "safe" direction. I think "combat high" pretty well covers it.

Second time was in a fire fight in a rural city with some unfriendlies who thought they had a grudge against me. I had reloaded my 1917 once already when I got hit in the shin. Yes, I think "combat high" would apply there, also.

Actually, I forgot to mention the first time I got shot. However I was a young lad in someone else's melon patch, so that doesn't really count, does it?

Pops

[TexasSeaRay]

To anyone here that's had the misfortune of getting hit by a bullet (wearing a vest or not, accident or otherwise), how's it feel?

Why not go sign up to stand in harm's way and see for yourself?

Jeff

[Derius_T]

I posted my experience in a thread around here a long time ago, but since I'm lazy, I'll give a bit of info.

Was hit by a high caliber round in a very intense combat situation. I had absolutely NO IDEA that I was shot until the medic dove on me and wrestled me to the ground. It kinda felt like someone punched me or hit me with a blunt object really hard, but I got up and kept going. Once I realized I was hit, the brain kicked in and it started to hurt.

(says alot about the brain and various chemicals)

[gvf]

deleted

[Rant Casey]

I've had the misfortune three times, and would like to not experience it again. Once as a young teenager, took some rock salt in my calf trespassing. Boys will be boys I suppose. Later in life a "friend" had an ND and put a FMJ 9mm through my forearm, that hurt quite a bit more than the rock salt but didn't actually hurt or bleed for about 10 seconds. Then the granddaddy of all my idiotic bullet wounds would have to be a a 7.62x39 that managed to go through a door deflect off my pelvis and find a cozy spot in my small intestine, take a nap and stay for a while. That one, didn't so much feel like getting shot but more like getting hit with an RPG that didn't want to go bang that day. Not a pleasent experience. The next day a buddy of mine took three shoots to the face and mangled him up something awful, coma for weeks and still has some facial deformity. All in all, bullets are nasty, avoid them

[gvf]

No, I haven't, but because it's instructive about stopping-power as well as a specific description I was given of being shot, I'll relate the experience of a friend, from years ago:

In his apt. alone, there was a knock at the door, mid-afternoon. Opening it he saw a man with a gun standing there who demanded his wallet. He complied. The man ran away and just as he turned to do so, my friend heard a couple of faint pops.

He said he closed the door, and just stood there, feeling disoriented, he assumed from the shock of the event. He felt nothing else for a bit, then became aware of a feeling of wetness on his shirt around his abdomen, and absent-mindedly put his hand there. It got wet and when he looked at it, it and his mid-section were covered in blood. He's been shot 2x with a .22 in the guts. He called 911, and then fell over and passed out.

Luckily, medics came in time to get him into a hospital, but they almost lost him. He had multiple major surgeries, removal of parts of his intestine - and was generally screwed up physically and psychologically for over a year.

He's OK now. The shooting is thankfully in the remote past.

(The part about "stopping power" is the length of time it took for him to realize even that he'd been shot.)

[simonkenton]

"I could sense as clear as the sun in the sky who in the ER gave a damn and who didn't. Those that did got direct, calm answers. Those that didn't were barked at. No conscious thought of my own was involved in any of this. I could see, smell and hear everything. I kept looking at my vitals on the machine monitoring my blood pressure and heart rate. I was analyzing my condition: elevated heart rate and decreasing blood pressure.

How long before I would have been incapacitated? Maybe 25 minutes. Maybe more. Depending on whether how much blood loss could be diverted. MUCH more important was my psychological state. I was a judoka (one who competes in judo) and a student of jujitsu. I also dabbled in open track events [sports cars on race tracks], autocross, etc. Why is this important? Because I was in great shape and could INTENTLY FOCUS my Mind - while remaining relaxed - at will for 20 minutes or more (one track session) at a time. I also meditated on driving as well as the judo/jujitsu regularly. I was doing both very well. So performing under pressure wasn't new. I also competed in Track & Field at a high level since I was 11 years old. Applying this nurtured ability to anything is the true goal looking back. Athletes should be the best of the best at just about everything they put their minds to. But that's another story/theory/thread for another time.

Caliber: 9mm JHP
Location of Wound: Left Hand"

Chui: All this sturm and drang for a pistol wound to the hand?
I hope this was written as a joke.
If not, you take yourself way too seriously.

I feel sorry for the dedicated ER personnel who had to put up with a Mall Ninja with a pistol wound to the hand.

[evan1293]

Chui: All this sturm and drang for a pistol wound to the hand?
I hope this was written as a joke.
If not, you take yourself way too seriously.

I feel sorry for the dedicated ER personnel who had to put up with a Mall Ninja with a pistol wound to the hand.

I feel bad at laughing at someone's pain but this is a pretty funny comment.


Personally I was never shot but I had a .30" rod go through my right hand. It was about 8" long and it was a part from a table saw that rattled loose and launched at me. It hit me so hard it seemed to spin me around. When I looked at my hand about 4" of it was sticking out of my palm. I instantly pulled it out and ran about 50' just from the shock of it. My hand was completely numb for about 15 minutes. Then when my adrenaline settled down I felt like I was going to throw up and pass out.

After that experience, I really, really don't want to get shot.