Method Most lethal/effective headshot trajectory

[legacyzero]

What is the most lethal, highest-certainty trajectory for a self inflicted gunshot to the head? Is there a trajectory that allows for a margin or error and still provides high certainty of an instant death?

Looking for as definitive of an answer as possible. If you understand the anatomy of it, please explain the best you can. Searching the web for this kind of thing brings up a lot of anti-suicide content, and questionable answers.

The most certain answer I've found so far is:

Entering through one of the eyes and aiming towards the base of the skull.

I'm mainly skeptical about this because it enters through soft tissue, and it seems like entering through the skull (bone material) would cause more overall destruction.

Assume for the sake of this discussion that a large round (.45 cal or larger) is used.

Thank you.

 

[iloveyouihateyou]

if i were to kill myself with a gun, i'd put it right in the middle of my forehead at a very slight downwards angle and i would assume that there the bullet would go through the entirety of my brain lengthwise if that makes any sense. i'm not sure how ballistics or anything work in depth (i live in canada, i only know guns fron media) but maybe the fact that it's going through bone too would send bone fragments through your brain aswell but even without that i don't think anyone would survive getting hit in that spot. through the eye sounds a bit too risky to me like depending on the angle i think you could potentially survive that if it went lower than your brain or out the side of your head yknow?

 

[looking4partner]

if i were to kill myself with a gun, i'd put it right in the middle of my forehead at a very slight downwards angle and i would assume that there the bullet would go through the entirety of my brain lengthwise if that makes any sense. i'm not sure how ballistics or anything work in depth (i live in canada, i only know guns fron media) but maybe the fact that it's going through bone too would send bone fragments through your brain aswell but even without that i don't think anyone would survive getting hit in that spot. through the eye sounds a bit too risky to me like depending on the angle i think you could potentially survive that if it went lower than your brain or out the side of your head yknow?

I'm pretty sure through the eye (soft tissue, bullet won't have to travel through hard surface of skull to get to brain if it stays on intended path which is partly up to chance/luck for any gunshot & most headshot deaths are caused by brain damage/swelling/increased pressure from hard skull on soft but inelastic brain tissue and bleeding out) would be more lethal, but most people are not able to think about doing that to their eye, let alone taking the action.

And ballistics can be extremely variable & unpredictable. The more you read about them, the more you will realize that.

I have also found that softer spots in the skull are right next to the hardest spots and it could be difficult to tell where is which unless you are a doctor who has extensively studied the human body and even then, everyone's anatomy is individual and not in exactly the same spots on each person.

I think that I have read about negative experiences aiming where you are planning and so I wanted to warn you because the firearm method is not as simple as it seems when ideation is still somewhat passive and people don't know about all the additional details which I now wish I had researched more when I was more capable of that :(

 

[itsgone2]

I'm pretty sure through the eye (soft tissue, bullet won't have to travel through hard surface of skull to get to brain if it stays on intended path which is partly up to chance/luck for any gunshot & most headshot deaths are caused by brain damage/swelling/increased pressure from hard skull on soft but inelastic brain tissue and bleeding out) would be more lethal, but most people are not able to think about doing that to their eye, let alone taking the action.

And ballistics can be extremely variable & unpredictable. The more you read about them, the more you will realize that.

I have also found that softer spots in the skull are right next to the hardest spots and it could be difficult to tell where is which unless you are a doctor who has extensively studied the human body and even then, everyone's anatomy is individual and not in exactly the same spots on each person.

I think that I have read about negative experiences aiming where you are planning and so I wanted to warn you because the firearm method is not as simple as it seems when ideation is still somewhat passive and people don't know about all the additional details which I now wish I had researched more when I was more capable of that :(

Hello. I noticed you comment on a few of these threads. Do you have opinion on where to aim? I see above the ear a lot. But idk.

 

[imontheloose]

Well, ideally you'd shoot yourself at the brainstem. You'd place the barrel just below the base of the skull, at the back of your head, near the upper neck area. A shot here even with a small-calibre pistol would destroy the brainstem; you'd be dead immediately.

I know this is practically impossible to do to yourself, so alternatively, a shot to the middle of the forehead, right above the bridge of the nose, will be lethal too, granted less than a brainstem shot. You say a .45 or larger, so a shot here would penetrate the frontal bone easily (already thinner than other parts of the skull), and drive directly into the frontal lobe, probably reaching the thalamus, hypothalamus, or maybe even brainstem depending on the angle of the shot. A .45 would also expand significantly; the wound cavity would be many times the bullet's diameter and the gas and pressure wave from the muzzle would just amplify internal destruction. Your brain tissue would be obliterated far beyond the bullet's direct path.

Something else you should note, the sheer concussive force of a .45 is insane. The muzzle blast alone with the barrel pressed practically anywhere at the head will explode tissue and bone outward from the entry point. Your skull will rupture and fracture all over, far away from the impact site too. Tissue would liquefy simply due to the hydrostatic shock from such a round. You can practically shoot anywhere.

Even a off-target shot at this range would obliterate your skull.

 

[traingirl]

Hello. I noticed you comment on a few of these threads. Do you have opinion on where to aim? I see above the ear a lot. But idk.

Intraoral for handgun if you've never shot a gun before. With a high enough caliber, you'll still be dead even if you flinch.