A question regarding bloodsplatters.

[Gosnell]

Last night during an acting class,in which i played an assassin ,the question arose as to whether the blood splatter is larger at close range as opposed to long range(I swear to god/science this is true).Now for obvious(im not a psycho)reasons i cant exactly check and see.I was hoping someone here,preferably not a serial killer knows.Apologies for the morbidity of the question,but it is a puzzler.
On a side note the fake gun i was using was a Colt python model, ala rick grimes,which is safe to say would leave a damn big splatter.

[Bishop149]

I have no idea but it might be fun to speculate.

It's reasonable assume that a bullet is travelling its fastest when it leaves the barrel of the gun, and slows down the further it travels. The closer the range therefore the more energy it should be able to impart to whatever it impacts. Amount of energy I imagine would directly correlate to how much tissue damage it can do therefore closer range, more energy imparted, more damage, more "splatter".
How much "splatter" there is at all is probably dependant on bullets characteristics / design of the firearm, but these factors being equal (same gun) I'd still imagine closer is messier.

This conversation reminds me of that story about the filming of LotR where apparently Christopher Lee had a very definite idea about the noise a man might make when stabbed in the back by surprise informed by his experiences in WWII as an intelligence officer.

[pjknibbs]

It's reasonable assume that a bullet is travelling its fastest when it leaves the barrel of the gun, and slows down the further it travels. The closer the range therefore the more energy it should be able to impart to whatever it impacts.

By the same token, a distant bullet would be less likely to penetrate all the way through the target, which would presumably also cause less splatter--the exit wound is usually worse than the entry wound because the bullet deforms as it passes through the body.

[Xenon_Slayer]

I expect there are quite a few videos out there doing serious, full-on analysis based on case studies... but how about two brits shooting various objects filled with paint in slow motion. Some nice exit wounds.

[OmegaKnight]

Define close and long range?
7m/21feet is the distance a person can cover in the time it takes a person to draw their gun
and over 50yards is pushing it for a handgun (in terms of accuracy).

In short it wouldn't, hand guns tend not to cause large amounts of blood splatter.
Not sure on the forum rules regarding linking to a video
showing a police officer lethally discharging their firearm,
but I'm sure you could find them online.

What ammo are you using FMJ/ball or hollow points? super or sub-sonic ammo?
Why use a large, as in bulky, revolver instead of a more concealable gun?
or one with a silencer, so one could be sneaky?

[Morkonan]

Last night during an acting class,in which i played an assassin ,the question arose as to whether the blood splatter is larger at close range as opposed to long range(I swear to god/science this is true)...

Range is not going to be the most significant factor, here. In short - It's not a useful predictor by itself.

A guy getting shot in the head by a .50 cal at a hundred yards is going to produce a pretty big spray. If he's shot in the head with a .22 at ten yards, probably not quite as much.

If you're shooting someone at close range with a low-caliber handgun, with standard ammunition, you'll get a nice hole and maybe an exit wound. If you hit a big fat artery, you'll probably get a bit of a spray, too. If you shoot them in the chest and it "rattles around" in there, they'll still be dead with scrambled organs, but you may not get a lot of blood coming out the entrance wound. They might start coughing it up, though, as they're drowning in it... But, if it's an instant kill? A little hole and some seepage might be all that there is.

And, wtf? It's a play. Slap a squib on it if you gotta have blood or get them to partcially fill up a ziploc and tape it to their chest. They can slam it with their hand and tick off the wardrobe department, every time. (Food coloring stains pretty bad, so use something else. I'm sure there's a decent stage-blood recipe somewhere.)

[Nanook]

..I'm sure there's a decent stage-blood recipe somewhere.)

I hear watered-down tomato sauce works pretty good, and it's close to the right color, at least from a distance. It's also easier to wash out than real blood.

[Ezarkal]

It's reasonable assume that a bullet is travelling its fastest when it leaves the barrel of the gun, and slows down the further it travels.

Considering the initial speed of a bullet and the range implied for a handgun... hell, even for anything bigger... I doubt you'll get any loss of speed big enough to make a significative difference. Otherwise, I'm with what Mork said. The type of gun will be what matter.

Now for theatrical purpose, it depends on whether you want to show a big blood spray or not. If you don't, then don't. If you do, then pull out the tomato sauce.

The choice is better explained in Brutal Legend's opening cinematic

[Morkonan]

...Now for theatrical purpose, it depends on whether you want to show a big blood spray or not. If you don't, then don't. If you do, then pull out the tomato sauce.
..

There's also the impact it may have on the audience. Does the director want the audience to remember the "blood splatter" or the dialogue and story? If it's the former, go big or go home - Hand out plastic tarp and disposable rain-ponchos like at a Gallagher show and then cut the victim's head off with a spoon. Use a hose hooked up to a strawberry soda syrup-keg and blast everyone in the first ten rows with "blood."

Who cares about lawsuits? THIS IS ART!

But, if there's a "story" there, it'd be best to keep such dramatic special effect very low key. No blood at all is necessary to tell the story. (Usually, unless some mother is crying about hand-washing.) "Realism" isn't really necessary on-stage as that's not what it's all about. Nobody lives in a four-walled house, even though there is a fourth wall there on stage...

[OmegaKnight]

Use a hose hooked up to a strawberry soda syrup-keg and blast everyone in the first ten rows with "blood."

Who cares about lawsuits? THIS IS ART!

Why does this spring to mind

[Morkonan]

Use a hose hooked up to a strawberry soda syrup-keg and blast everyone in the first ten rows with "blood."

Who cares about lawsuits? THIS IS ART!

Why does this spring to mind

It "springs to mind" because it's awesome.

You know, that would be a great gimmick for a play. "Audience Participation." Oooh... Imageine a play that changed, depending upon the audience. A sort of "choose your own adventure" kind of thing! That'd be kinda neat.

[Masterbagger]

I think the Hollywood version of what vision people have of someone being shot is because the real thing isn't all that spectacular. I'd say just do what your audience expects to see. Maybe think about the poor guy who has to clean up the fake blood.

[mrbadger]

Having worked in operating theatres, in Accident and Emergency (are those called Trauma centres in the US?) and on Trauma wards, I have that perspective.

If any injury intersects/punctures an artery and is close to the surface, you will get one hell of a spray. Cleaning it off high ceilings used to be a real pain. It didn't seem to relate to impact velocity, just what the injury intersected in the body and where.

I never saw any actual bullet wounds. Plenty of bottlings and stabbings. Those were messy enough.

Then there was one teenager whose intestines exploded out over the cubicle floor when I undid his shirt. I was like that scene from the Catch 22 film, only more gory. I'd never seen a liver quite that flattened before.

Quite put me off watching that movie again

[birdtable]

Ah...but did a little sharp toothed alien run around the cubicle....

[Alan Phipps]

One of the many underestimated advantages of an older-style kevlar flak jacket (compared with ballistic ceramic plates); it may not stop a high velocity round entering the body in all circumstances, but if properly fitted its wrap-around compression does hold the body together and prevent a massive exit wound leading to associated complications on a through and through.

[Morkonan]

One of the many underestimated advantages of an older-style kevlar flak jacket (compared with ballistic ceramic plates); it may not stop a high velocity round entering the body in all circumstances, but if properly fitted its wrap-around compression does hold the body together and prevent a massive exit wound leading to associated complications on a through and through.

I watched a guy on a motorcycle (donorcycle) run a red-light, once. He was going an insane speed for the area he was in, one of the most dangerous intersections in the city. I had a good view of the accident, sitting right beside the window with my friends in the fast-food joint at the intersection.

The motorcycle mated with a car. It inserted itself into the back seat, permanently. There was nothing but a hunk of iron and chrome left of it. But, he was wearing all his safety gear including a nice leather cycle outfit/jumper/suit thing. I don't know for how far he was airborne, it had to have been sixty-yards if it was an inch.

That suit kept everything together so the coroner didn't have to do much else other than put it in the back of the wagon. A serious case of all the funniest jokes having an edge of truth.) The police moved the vehicle to a nearby parking lot, right in front of the intersection, and left the wreck there for month or so, just to make a statement. (That whole cycle fit in the back seat of that car. All of it.)

Without that suit and helmet, he would have just been a long red stripe on the pavement with a big of hamburger at the end of it. Still, he's dead as Adam's house-cat.