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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?

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Related Question: skeptics.stackexchange.com/questions/4488/… – Oddthinking♦ May 5 '12 at 15:46
What we've seen in questions like these is: depends on the gun, depends on the bullet. – Oddthinking♦ May 5 '12 at 15:47
No, there is no metal plate in his head, just bone, as for the gun please w8 – HackToHell May 5 '12 at 15:48
There has been lots of discussion about whether claims from fictional stories 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 5 '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 5 '12 at 15:55
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2 Answers

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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:

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There's also this story about an American copper getting shot in the head and surviving dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2094764/… – kotekzot May 6 '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 9 '12 at 4:24
@MarkHenderson: Did you ask her? :D – Omega Jan 12 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 at 6:31
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 at 22:35
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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.

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