Questions about wounds

Status
Not open for further replies.
variables

Based on what I've seen in combat there are no set rules. I've seen some messy ones, and some pretty clean kills. On one hand I have been surprised by what one shot from an M16 could do, and at times I've been surprised by how much one human can take before he is stopped. Head shots are gross!
Sucking chest wounds are ugly and messy. Amputations are pretty bad. Many large muscle hits (flesh wounds) seem like coils of flesh that jump out of the body like one of those old peanut brittle toy cans. Even when they aren't messy, they are gorey. One of the worst things I ever saw was the reaction of a soldier just finished during a contact on what has become known as "Hamburger Hill" in Vietnam. He sat against a tree stump exploded at waist high level on a ridgeline full of gunshot and stump cut tress. He held his rifle in his hands, and his eyes stared into the dust and smoke, alive, but not really seeing. He wasn't even shot, and it was one of the saddest and grossest things I've ever seen. Gross is in the eyes of the beholder.
 
I have never even come close to shooting someone, but treated several when I was working the paramedic unit. As noted above, the 'gore' level depends upon the caliber and location of the wound. What I hated most was the moaning. Usually not screaming, but just deep, gut-wrenching moaning.

The 'goriest' scene I ever responded to was a suicide by 12 gauge in which the subject put the muzzle in his mouth and pulled the trigger with a piece of wire. The oddest thing about the situation was that he did this in his tiled shower, and made a point of mentioning this in the suicide note, from the standpoint of reducing trauma to his family. The note asked the responding police/EMS to hose down the shower once his body was removed and pictures taken. A very unusual situation, and I hope I am equally considerate if the time comes!
 
Mortality can be an abstract thought to a young man and an overbearing thought to an old man. Like the man said,we've all got it coming.
Wounds, like life come in all varieties. Some are full of gore, and some can't be seen and leave the individual mentally wounded. Avoid them all if you can, but cover and concealment go a long way toward staying in one piece.
 
Let's face it. People are curious about things like this. I know that I wondered what various injuries and illness would look like before I saw them. This is nothing to get excited about, it is a natural thing. People are curious about the unknown. Especially when it is closely related to a major interest in their life. Don't try to be holier than thou and talk crap about the guy.

I will never forget the first gunshot wound I ever saw.
A guy asked a girl out. He went over to her apartment to pick her up. Her ex-boyfriend was waiting for him and shot him in the thigh with a .45 ACP. The person that was shot didn't give a damn. He wanted to just go home and forget about it. He had a small hole through his leg with no obvious bleeding. He refused treatment and we left.
I had spent my entire childhood reading gun magazines. I read about hydrostatic shock. Philipinos being knocked down by USGI .45s. Endless discussions about various handgun defensive bullets...........................Then when I saw the real thing, the guy that got shot was more concerned about his date than he was about being shot. Much to do about nothing.
 
isp,

Your posts made me go back and check the initiating post of the thread. I wanted to see if I had missed something. I don't think I did. I see nothing of a lust for the sight of gore in his questions in that post. In fact, he states he has an aversion to gory films and is wondering if it would be anything like that if he were ever forced to shoot someone. In my opinion, that is a normal question for a person who carries for self defense and is also gore adverse to ask. Just trying to be prepared for a situation that could possibly adversely affect his actions in a life threatening situation.

As an emergency nurse, I routinely stop at traffic accidents to see if my assistance is needed. I've had both policemen and paramedics jump to the conclusion that I was a gawker, a gore junky. They were quite abashed to be informed that I was a professional volunteering to help them out.

Yes, there are 'armchair commandos' who have a morbid interest in shooting someone. However, I don't think you can point to a single indication of that attitude on the part of anyone who has posted in this thread.

As Tuner said, take a breath, bro.
 
1911Tuner said:
Yeah, isp...It's the kind of thing that keeps us awake nights.

Them that have done it don't usually talk much about it. Them that talk about it...probably haven't done it.
Click to expand...
As an ex-mental health professional I have to make comment on this statement (not attacking the person whoo wrote it, just wanting to add my two cents). I hope you and others here do not believe this. Many veterans who have seen/done horrible things talk about it all the time. They just want people to listen and validate that they are not a bad person. They just did unpleasant things that were required of them. You also have the ones that talk about it with a bravado that makes them seem souless. This is also another attempt at defusing their own grief and feelings of guilt. This statement is akin to "people who talk about suicide never really do it". We all know that is wrong because the vast majority of people that attempt suicide talk about it before hand. Often extensively. Point of the story. When a vet or anyone else that has been through such things talk about it, do not doubt them or blow them off...listen. It is all they really want. :)
 
It is amazing how much blood is contained inside of a human being. I wish that that you would have not asked the question but felt compelled to reply. I isn't cool, neato or fun when you are washing it out with a hose. I will NOT go into details.
 
Vets

Penguin said:

...and others here do not believe this. Many veterans who have seen/done horrible things talk about it all the time...
******************************

This one doesn't...and in case you haven't caught on, many vets will blow smoke up your skirt when you ask. A game....just to see the expression on your face. There are also a few whom the horror simply didn't bother much at all. Most of us weren't like that.

So...my standard response to people who ask pointed questions is and shall remain: "Yes. It was bad. Details will not be forthcoming."

Most take the hint and change the subject. I have a less friendly second response for those who don't.
 
I see nothing of a lust for the sight of gore in his questions in that post. In fact said:
It's the usual question that gets asked, along with "have you ever shot anyone?"; "what's it like to be shot at?"; and even seen the question "what's it like to kill someone?" Just do a search on any commando forum and you'll see the questions get asked. They rank right up there with "what is sex like?" There's no way anyone can describe it that will adequately explain what it's like. If they have to ask they can't understand what it's like. There's no way to explain it to include the full range of what happens. These people seem to think all it amounts to is punching holes in tissue no more different than punching holes in paper or even punching holes in an animal. It just shows the callousness, crassness, and complete misunderstanding what a self defense situation really is all about. We usually get those kinds of questions from 10 yr olds when we do school presentations.
And if he didn't have the morbid curiosity then he wouldn't have asked, regardless of the "Rear Window" statement.
Click to expand...
 
re:

I think I'll bail out on this one. Some of the comments are a lot like the questions that isp pointed to...and they cause me to think about things that I've been trying to forget about for 35 years. Some of the other comments make it hard for me to remain objective and impersonal.

Penguin...Don't let a few sociopaths and liars lead you to believe that they represent the rank and file combat vet. Most just want to forget about it,
and neither want nor need anyone's validation.

Cheers!

Out!
 
I'm bailing too. I can't believe I read the whole thing. A guy told me once you either laugh or cry, There's alot of truth in that.
Jim
 
"I see nothing of a lust for the sight of gore in his questions in that post. In fact, he states he has an aversion to gory films and is wondering if it would be anything like that if he were ever forced to shoot someone. In my opinion, that is a normal question for a person who carries for self defense and is also gore adverse to ask. Just trying to be prepared for a situation that could possibly adversely affect his actions in a life threatening situation."


Thank you. The only reason I asked is because I don't like gore & was wondering if I ever shot someone would it be real graphic. I haven't even been hunting. The only shooting I've ever done was at empty 12oz soda cans. I'm sorry if I upset folks, Yet from reading some of your posts, I don't think the upset people even read my original post. I don't watch CSI or ER. I have no "morbid curiosity". I just wanted to know what to expect.

"There are far far too many internet commandos who think killing, shootings, etc are just like TV or their silly computer games."

You are probably right. I'm not one of those people however.

"So...my standard response to people who ask pointed questions is and shall remain: "Yes. It was bad. Details will not be forthcoming."

My grandpa was the same way. He was at Pear Harbor when the Japanese were bombing it. My own dad didn't find out until years later when my dad was chatting with his mother that he found out.
 
1911Tuner said:
Penguin...Don't let a few sociopaths and liars lead you to believe that they represent the rank and file combat vet. Most just want to forget about it,
and neither want nor need anyone's validation.

Cheers!

Out!
Click to expand...

I think the main difference here is generational. My masters is in psychology and I used to work as a grief counselor. I also remember sitting and listening to my grandfather tell his stories. He would only tell them on the rare nights that he drank enough to be completely wasted but not pass out. He was not a psychopath. He was a man with some horrible memories and was never taught growing up how to express his grief. I think vets from WWII, Korea, etc are alot less likely to talk about their experiences. Vets from Vietnam were really the first ones that felt it was ok to show regret and and share their emotions. Alot of soldiers do not even have any real issue with what they had to do and are kind of matter of a fact about it. Everyone reacts differntly to war. Modern day soldiers are encouraged to seek counseling after a confirmed kill or intense situations (just as LEO's these days). I was in a bad situation in Panama with a small group of engineers (not a firefight, just something bad to see) and the next day our commander had a chaplain and a mental health professional come speak to all of us and offer counseling. It is a new military these days. I think they are trying to help the soldiers deal with their professions much better than in the past. Maybe it will lower the number of combat vets that turn to alcohol to quiet their inner demons. Look at all the war heros through history that had screwed up personal lives later in life. If we can avoid that I am all for the touchy feely stuff.:)
 
After my tours in Iraq i have lots of horrible memories, that i think about often, but i don't really talk about them that much because the only people i am around are the ones that were there with me or my wife and I tell her almost 99 precent of what happened, she is my rock that keeps me steady, she can help me through anything. If I talk about it to people outside of that circle it is when some sorry sob makes a stupid comment about what I did or what we the U.S is doing. then I will say something like well have you ever seen........ or when young young people want to go to war because it looks cool on Rambo 1through 5. I hit them with a bit of reality so it dosen't hit them at the wrong time like in the middle of a firefight. But more than anything i talk about the funny stuff and the fun i had, doing crazy stuff like goin' muddin in the john deere gator! and etc.:D
 
possum said:
After my tours in Iraq i have lots of horrible memories, that i think about often, but i don't really talk about them that much because the only people i am around are the ones that were there with me or my wife and I tell her almost 99 precent of what happened, she is my rock that keeps me steady, she can help me through anything. If I talk about it to people outside of that circle it is when some sorry sob makes a stupid comment about what I did or what we the U.S is doing. then I will say something like well have you ever seen........ or when young young people want to go to war because it looks cool on Rambo 1through 5. I hit them with a bit of reality so it dosen't hit them at the wrong time like in the middle of a firefight. But more than anything i talk about the funny stuff and the fun i had, doing crazy stuff like goin' muddin in the john deere gator! and etc.:D
Click to expand...

Yeah, there are some fun things to remember. Also some things that piss me off about my tour in Iraq. I was playing volleybal with some marines and I fell and put a gash on my knee and fractured my ankle. I did not ever get a purple heart! Can you believe that! My commander said that being dumb and clumsy did not qualify as a battle wound. :D

My tour did do some damage to my political stance though. I was more right leaning of a republican when I went but some of the things we had to deal with soured my view of some of our current politicians. I have not voted for a republican president since. I voted for Nader once and did not even vote last election because I did not see a viable canidate and could not decide which would be the lesser of two evils.:(
 
It depends... most shootings (unlike hunting) you don't haul the body off, open it up and fileld dress it. I've seen grown men who eat nails for breakfast turn green and yak at the sight of blood, much less brains or the smell of a gut shot deer.

So I have this rule. I'll HELP you with your first one... I'll show you how to do it, where to cut etc. heck if it's that bad I might do it for you. (I never mind helping out. But I will only do it FOR you once.) Dressing game is a part of hunting and if you can't do that part too, you shouldn't be out in the woods with a rifle.

Just my opinion.

Worst 'gore' I ever saw was a smallish doe wounded by a buddy with a .54 cal muzzle loader... it ran off after the shot hit in one lung andthe liver and when we went chasing after it the tree trunks, high grass and ground looked like Freddy Kruger had gone through there with a garden hose full of blood... wierdest thing I'd ever seen...

Then again I saw the same buddy shoot an antelope witha 7mm mag and hit it a bit too far back quartering... after hours of tracking the wounded animal and bagging it with a head shot we found the first bullet passed through the animal completely, hitting NOTHING. Just a .28 cal hole through the body. No internal damage save a creased diaphragm.
 
i guess it depends on the power of the weapon and the target mass. its kinda a family tradition to go prarie dog shooting on my papas land and let me tell you, they explode when you shoot em with .308
 
Reminds me,

I was once wathcing a TV show. May have even been on MTV, true life or somesuch. It had an iraqi (2nd) war veteran doing a presentation at an elementary school.

One of the kids asked, "Whats it like to kill someone?"
The kid probably didnt know any better, but my memory of watching that poor soldier, standing there, trying to explain that the person he killed would never live again,that he was dead.

That was terrible. Im not one to be very emotional, but right then that was the saddest thing ive ever seen.

After that i decided i would never ask anyone about their experiences in life or death situations. If they bring it up, fine. But im not going to make them relive that hell just so i can hear about it.

This wasnt meant as a dig at V4, i found alot of the responses really...interesting.
 
"This wasnt meant as a dig at V4, i found alot of the responses really...interesting."

No offense taken. I really am sorry if I upset anyone.:( That was not my intention.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

J
  • Locked
Just saw The Grey, question about 'bang stick'
2
Replies
43
Views
5K
Ryanxia
Ryanxia
H
  • Locked
Question about Lung shots
Replies
16
Views
1K
Shifty
S
L
  • Locked
New movie coming for those who are fans of all things Mosin...
2
Replies
28
Views
2K
flynlr
F
4
  • Locked
Dawn of the Dead
Replies
24
Views
2K
pax
P
L
  • Locked
Question about a concealment device.
Replies
14
Views
929
rlq9thrk
R
Back
Top