Calling All Gun Bloggers and Medbloggers

I need your help.

I’m developing a lecture, anywhere from 1-2 hours in length, that I’m thinking of calling Wound Ballistics: An Idiot’s Guide to Firearms Injuries.

I’m going to cover all the standard stuff – velocity, bullet expansion and fragmentation, sectional density, penetration, wound channels (temporary and permanent), cavitation, yaw, tumbling and all that noise – while at the same time trying to dispel some of the common firearms myths out there.

This is not intended to be a RKBA or political screed in any way. It’s supposed to be an educational offering for EMS and ER providers in assessing and treating gunshot wounds. I’m trying to give practical, real-world knowledge to people who wouldn’t know a ballistic coefficient from a barrel shroud.

If that happens to demystify firearms in general and refute the bullshit prevalent in most media reports, so much the better.

The idea occurred to me after doing a paid review for the new edition of a prominent paramedic textbook. I was given the thoracic trauma chapter to review, and I was struck by the impression that the chapter’s author a) didn’t know beans about firearms, and b) seemed to take his teaching points directly from the Brady Campaign’s press releases. To make matters worse, some of the information on terminal ballistics was just flat-out wrong.

More distressing was the fact that such misinformation had already been promulgated among many thousands of paramedic students through previous editions of the textbook. I got to reading other EMS and nursing texts, and the pattern repeated itself. The misconceptions weren’t limited to one author, or one publisher. The textbooks are full of fuzzy or incorrect information, and blatant hoplophobia thinly disguised as public health education.

So it is to this end I seek your assistance.

To the Gun Bloggers:

1. In your view, what are the most common myths among the firearms community about “stopping power” (now there’s a fuzzy term if ever I’ve heard one), penetration, velocity, caliber, bullet weight and construction, firearms accuracy and reliability? If there are other points of contention I haven’t mentioned, by all means let me know.
2. In your view, what are the most common myths among non-firearms enthusiasts about the same subjects? What are the biggest misconceptions among non-shooters about the destructive power of firearms?
3. Aside from the obvious (the ability to put multiple rounds through a bad guy’s left ventricle while under extreme stress), what do you feel are the most important determining factors in rendering someone quickly and decisively dead or incapacitated? I’m talking about the tools here, folks – the weapon and its projectiles – not the training and mindset of the shooter.

To The Med Bloggers or health care providers (and I especially want to hear from the ones who hate and fear guns):

1. What scares you about firearms? About gunshot wounds? Anything in particular?
2. For those of you who are knowledgeable about firearms, have you ever heard or read something about firearms, in an educational setting, that made you groan and roll your eyes? Ever see something blatantly incorrect or biased in a textbook or continuing education lecture? I’d like to hear your personal anecdotes.
3. What do you think are some of the most commonly held misconceptions among emergency health care providers about gunshot wounds? An example: “A .22 is deadlier than a .45, because it ricochets all through the body cavities like a squirrel in a cage. A .45 just punches a big hole and only damages what’s in its direct path.”
4. Do the terms “assault rifle” or “sniper rifle” hold any particularly ominous connotations for you? Do the terms “deer rifle” or “hunting rifle” conjure the same fear?
5. In your estimation, what type of weapon renders the most serious wounds: rifle or handgun? What caliber, or does the caliber even matter to you?
6. What, if anything, were you taught about wound ballistics when you received your initial medical education? If you received none initially, how about in continuing education

If any of you Gun Bloggers know of some decent video of various bullet strikes on ballistic gelatin (or even real live flesh), I’d love to see it. I’m looking for something that can easily be exported into Powerpoint, and I’m not having any success with Youtube videos. Apparently they require serious geek skillz at encoding video that I do not possess.

Also, I’d love to hear your opinions on this article.

I await your comments.