This is a guest post by my author friend, William R. Bartlett. It continues his discussion of all things firearms. Part 1, Introduction, was published in late October. Today, Bill continues his introduction to firearms with information on bullet impact and silencers. The next parts will be posted regularly, as Bill prepares them. Enjoy and bookmark!
A Writer’s Guide to Firearms by William R. Bartlett
Part 1 (cont’d): Bullet Impact and Silencers
Bullet impact
Just a flesh wound. Image: Travis J. Hanson – DeviantArt
Bullet impact is rarely a smoothly drilled hole. Depending on the type of projectile used, the bullet cuts, tears and plows its way through flesh, deforming as it goes. In addition, a shock wave is transferred through soft tissue that results in greater trauma. Hydrostatic shock, not unlike the ripples expanding from a rock thrown into a pond, can rupture organs and result in complications that cause death. Bones are broken as a bullet transits through flesh and bone fragments are propelled into other soft tissues, causing more trauma. Nerves do more than signal pain. A limb can be immobilized by nerve damage, not to mention all or part of the body paralyzed by nerve damage along the spine. Major blood vessels can be perforated or severed entirely with obvious negative consequences. For these reasons, a ‘mere flesh wound’ seldom occurs.
Consider a shot in the foot, for example, and let’s stipulate that it was fired from a large caliber revolver, possibly a .45 which was popular during late 19th century in the American West. Depending on the range, it would pass through the foot and break at least one metatarsal, possibly three. If the victim was unlucky enough to have the bullet hit a bone ‘head on,’ the projectile would remove a chunk of bone at least the size of the bullet diameter. In addition, ligaments, blood vessels, and nerves going to the extremities would be severed or traumatized. The victim would be unable to walk. Fragments of footwear, possibly contaminated with dirt and other animal products, would be driven into the foot. Bacteria that found a friendly environment within the boot, would also invade. After a few days, tissue may begin to die and rot due to interrupted blood flow. Unless the foot was surgically removed, the foot wound may be fatal. This is hardly what entertainment venues would have us believe, but the reality is that no firearm injury is minor.
Although deadly at close range, shotgun pellets may come the closest at ranges of a hundred yards or more. Since the size of the pellet within the shotgun shell can vary depending on intended use, smaller pellets lose their velocity more rapidly and may not be deadly at longer ranges. Larger shotgun pellets are meant to kill animals up to the size of a deer and will be deadly for a greater distance than smaller shot. As I said at the beginning of this paragraph, a shotgun is deadly at close range and this is regardless of the pellet size. At ultra-close ranges, one meter, give or take, the expanding gasses from the burning powder may be more dangerous than the shot and can carve a substantial hole in an individual.
Silencers
Image: SilencerCo
Despite Hollywood claims, silencers do not really exist–at least, not like you see in movies. There is no noise suppressor that will prevent any noise from a firearm discharge. In semi-automatic weapons, the weapon ejects the spent brass and exposes the chamber and barrel along with any sound waves remaining. In a revolver, necessary and microscopic gaps allow sound waves to escape. As mentioned earlier, almost all projectiles exceed the speed of sound, which is to say they travel (initially, at least) at speeds greater than one thousand feet per second. Since they break the sound barrier, they create a sonic boom as they pass a listener.
That being said, there are noise suppressors and they are effective at reducing the sound of a gunshot, but they will not eliminate the noise. They may, however, disguise the direction of the shot and confuse the target.
I hope you found this information useful. In the next installment, I’ll discuss semi-automatic handguns.
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Interesting to know that there are no actual silencers for guns.
Although there was the man who used the gun on his overly complaining wife as a silencer.
I think that silencers is a misnomer. Mufflers might be more appropriate.
What man?
This was so disturbing to read, but such great info. I’m saving this one too. Thanks for sharing and thanks to William for the excellent overviews. I’m in line for the next one.
Thank you, D! It was amazing to think just how much of a myth the whole Wild-West-gunslinger thing is. Mostly because so few would survive a gun wound in an era without antibiotics!
Agreed. I have a lot of issues with guns (we’ve had 1,500 mass shootings in the US in the past 5 years, and they’re becoming so frequent most of them don’t even make the news) but if we’re going to write about it, best to be accurate.
As I was commenting earlier, I’m lucky enough to live in a country where no weapons are allowed (ranging from knives to tasers to clubs to what have you). I don’t believe I’ve heard of a mass shooting in Greece through my lifetime.
I saw Chuck’s comment and your reply. It’s weird living here now. It’s not safe anywhere: schools, work, restaurants, movies, churches, concerts, bike paths, you name it. I can rant about it for hours, but not here. I appreciate these posts from a writing standpoint. Excellent information, Nicholas. 🙂
My husband and son are my in-house source for weapon questions, but it’s nice to have these articles on hand. I doubt I’ll go into much detail about the weapon when I write it, but it will be nice to know I’m using the right terminology for the right weapon.
You commented about not glorifying weapons, unfortunately the good guys need weapons also. Those times I had my life threatened I wished I’d had my gun with me. I don’t know if I could have shot anyone, but I would have liked to have one to keep things even. I had God at my side and he was better protection than any gun would have been.
I was just saying that I live in Greece, where weapons of any kind are banned (from guns to mace sprays, knives with a blade over 3″, and even tasers). It’s rare for any Greek to come across a gun, save while during our military service. Having said that, thank God you’re safe.
This is great for suspense writers, thanks, Nicholas!
Thank you, Jacquie 🙂
These are all great background tips for anyone writing about the use of firearms, especially in military history.
Best wishes, Pete.
Thank you, Pete! Good to see comments are now working again 🙂
Hurrah! 🙂
Hi Nicholas,
Please do not take my remarks as a personal affront to you. I am tired and sickened by all the shootings here in my country. Anything that hints of proliferation of firearms raises my anger toward our society and especially our leadership. It baffles my mind that we continue to do nothing to protect our children and families from such mindless violence.
What benefit is there with writing about the effects of guns in fiction? Do we need this detail and accuracy? On the other hand, if the writing is for education toward the ending the violence, then it has benefits. In my opinion, the more the public is exposed to violence, the more calloused and unaffected they become. There is a large audience for mystery, detective, police, etc. novels and to be good they need a level of aggression. But, do we need to describe what happens to the body when shot or the detail of the weapons.
I understand you intent was strictly educational. Thank you for allowing me to share my opinion and opposition.
No worries, Chuck. As a European, I am particularly shocked with the news coming over from across the Atlantic. So feel free to vent away. I hope my posts don’t come across as glorifying weapons in any way.
I did not get the idea you were glorifying weapons at all. I needed somewhere to express my anger towards violence. Lucky you, your site was chosen. Thank you for understanding.
No problem. I was telling in another comment that weapons of any kind are banned in Greece (and Europe, in general). I don’t think I’ve ever heard of a mass shooting over here. That makes it easier for me to treat guns as a simple writing prop.
Thank you so much for sharing this, Nicholas. I intend on writing a murder mystery series in the future, and not knowing much about guns, see this article as a valuable tool.
Yay 😀