Menu
Menu
How Does It Feel to Get Shot

What Does It Feel Like to Get Shot?

According to gunshot survivors.

Watching a favorite actor shooting the antagonist in the movie is certainly thrilling. After a high-speed car chase, many feel victorious once their favorite actor catches up with the villain and then points a gun at them. This scene often signifies that the protagonist finally won.

However, the scenes we so often see in action movies play out quite differently in real life. Being shot, regardless of the reason or your role in the situation, is very traumatizing. The experience of being shot is often difficult to imagine if you haven’t been through it yourself.

Most people have ever imagined, “What does getting shot feel like?” or “How does it feel to get shot?”, here we will relay others’ real experiences to put a more accurate picture in your mind of what it’s like to be shot.

“There Was a Lot of Loud Buzzing.”

People who know what getting shot feels like describe how the experience affected their sense of hearing. According to one online user, when he was shot in the head, he heard very loud buzzing as though bees were inside both of his ears.

“It’s Like Your Finger Was Hit With a Hammer.”

When someone was accidentally shot in the index finger, he described the experience as if his finger was pounded by a hammer. After a few seconds of being in shock, he noted that the pressure from the bullet hitting his finger turned into a dull, hot pain. 

“It Felt Wet.”

“What does getting shot feel like?” The loud noises and pain may not be too surprising an answer to this question, but a wet feeling may. Another account provided details on what getting shot feels like. He didn’t experience pain at first but felt that his arm was very wet from the blood. It took him a couple of minutes to realize that he was shot, and a bullet caused his arm to bleed profusely.

“Intense and Prolonged Numbness”

“How does it feel to get shot?” For some, there is no feeling at all. For one online user, his experience was quite different as the bullet missed his femoral artery by a couple of inches. Once the bullet entered his body, he felt nothing but numbness. According to him, it was similar to the kind of numbness you experience when your foot falls asleep but for a longer period.

“Binding Pain”

For some people, being shot didn’t immediately cause pain. Some were clearly aware they were shot but weren’t quite sure where the pain was coming from, or if there was any at all.

One user reported that she didn’t feel any pain on the spot when she was shot in the leg. She only noticed that she was shot after she picked up her leg. When she put it down, she experienced the worst pain, and the lower half of her body felt like jelly.

“Like Electricity Running Through the Body”

The experience of being shot is different for everyone, which is especially evident in one account. One online user described his experience as if electricity hit the body. When he was shot in the right forearm with a .22 caliber, he felt as though he was hit with a baseball bat. Then, the vibration traveled through his hands as if electricity was running through his body.

“Intense Burning From Deep Inside”

Someone who survived a bullet that entered his right arm described his experience as “intense burning and pain from deep inside.” This user felt the pain in his arm and immediately noticed that his arm went numb.

Because the bullet hit his lung, liver, and intestine, he mentioned that he heard the sound of air escaping from his lungs and then felt intense pain shortly thereafter. 

“It Was Like Having Many Bad Bruises at the Same Time.”

Someone commented that being shot felt like having multiple significant bruises simultaneously. This person was shot in the leg and immediately felt unbearable pain through his buttocks and his thigh.