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I was reading Mathew Reilly's Scarecrow and the Army of Thieves. In the book, a guy is shot in the forehead, but miraculously he does not die because his forehead is that strong.

Is it true, can a shot like that not kill?

Dave
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HackToHell
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  • Related Question: http://skeptics.stackexchange.com/questions/4488/can-a-metal-plate-in-the-head-stop-a-bullet – Oddthinking May 05 '12 at 15:46
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    What we've seen in questions like these is: depends on the gun, depends on the bullet. – Oddthinking May 05 '12 at 15:47
  • No, there is no metal plate in his head, just bone, as for the gun please w8 – HackToHell May 05 '12 at 15:48
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    There has been lots of discussion about whether [claims from fictional stories](http://meta.skeptics.stackexchange.com/questions/1148/random-claims-from-fantasy-stories-and-movies) are notable. I am not familiar with the book or author. Is it reasonable to say he expected his readers to believe the claim that this was possible in real life? – Oddthinking May 05 '12 at 15:52
  • Hmm, i have no idea, if he expected the readers to believe that, it's just something that happens and turns the plot of the story. – HackToHell May 05 '12 at 15:55
  • @Oddthinking: Reilly's books often have his characters performing implausible feats of skill, but this is a different sort of claim. – Jivlain May 05 '12 at 16:28
  • He did tell that, you know, unlike the maghook this might be real. – HackToHell May 05 '12 at 17:03
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    From how far away is he shot? Guns don't reach the infinite - the farer you're away, the less power the projectile has. Depending on the gun and amunition, the distance, where your chance to survive increases, differs. Of course, in such a distance you can only be hit by luck. – user unknown May 05 '12 at 23:01
  • @userunknown point blank, gun's muzzle at forehead. – HackToHell May 06 '12 at 02:55
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    [Phineas Gage](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phineas_Gage) would probably say you can stand even more than a bullet... – nico May 06 '12 at 07:43
  • Not sure that a claim from a work of fiction is appropriate for this site. – Larian LeQuella Mar 09 '16 at 02:06

2 Answers2

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Gabrielle Giffords Source


Former Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords was shot in the head on January 8, 2011. She survived.

From The New York Times (January 14, 2011):

Ms. Giffords needed surgery immediately. She had skull fractures, dead brain tissue that had to be removed, and increasing pressure from swelling that could further damage her brain as it expanded and pressed against her skull. In addition, her eye sockets had fractures.

The bullet had passed through her skull. Fortunately, it had not severed arteries or veins.
...


Giffords - 2012 Gabrielle Giffords on January 2012


More:

Oliver_C
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  • There's also this story about an American copper getting shot in the head and surviving http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2094764/Kevin-Brennan-Miracle-NYPD-cop-survives-shot-head.html – kotekzot May 06 '12 at 12:19
  • A family memember of mine is a neuro-surgeon and she is often performing emergency operations on gunshot victims. She operates on point-blank gunshot trauma maybe once a month. Next time I see her I will have to ask her what the survival rate is. – Mark Henderson May 09 '12 at 04:24
  • @MarkHenderson: Did you ask her? :D – Saturn Jan 12 '13 at 22:07
  • @omega - no, I've seen her a bunch of times since then and I totally forgot to ask. She doesn't do much trauma any more as she now does private patients for pain relief neuro surgery. – Mark Henderson Jan 13 '13 at 06:31
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    Don't forget the story of Phineas Gage. A railroad pike right through the eye socket. Not a bullet per se, but still... – Bigbio2002 Mar 19 '13 at 22:35
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    I know this answer has been accepted, but the question specifically asked about the possibility of the skull resisting penetration - *this* answer instead deals with someone who had a bullet go *right through* her skull. – Grimm The Opiner May 18 '15 at 16:33
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The publication Missile Wounds of the Head and Neck states the following:

If a bullet is fired straight-on into the head, bullet deflection is unlikely; however, if the bullet is fired at an angle or hits a curved portion of the skull, deflection will usually result. In some cases, the bullet will form a wound track as it follows the curved bone, and may even exit without perforating the skull.

Therefore, is it possible? Yes. Is it likely? No.

Steve V.
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  • Exactly my thought. Light bullets have a very definite possibility of bouncing off if they don't come straight in. It's more of an issue for suicides, though. – Loren Pechtel Mar 07 '16 at 23:34
  • It's really hard to shoot yourself in the **forehead**. Most people go for the temple, which has much weaker protections. – Nelson Sep 30 '16 at 09:25