Charlie Kirk is dead... A sad day in history

[Joe]

Since Niall used Grok...

I asked:

"If a human is shot by a .30-06 bullet in the neck area and the bullet deviates downwards after entry and stays in the upper body cavity, is it possible that the skin/fascia of the lower neck and upper chest area could "balloon" out significantly as a result of the transfer of energy of the bullet into the body?"

Yes, it is possible for the skin and fascia in the lower neck and upper chest area to balloon out significantly following such a gunshot wound. This effect can occur due to the high-velocity .30-06 bullet's energy transfer creating a large temporary cavity in the tissues, which stretches and displaces them outward—potentially visible as a momentary bulge or ripple. Additionally, if the bullet path or cavitation damages airway structures (e.g., trachea or larynx) without directly perforating them, it could lead to subcutaneous emphysema, where escaped air accumulates under the skin, causing more sustained swelling or ballooning in the affected regions

 

[Brewer]

I only found one video with a ballistic dummy wearing any sort of clothing - but it is wearing a necklace of sorts. It's not directly analogous, for several reasons: this guy is using joke ammunition and shotguns, it's a dummy and not a real body, and the shots are to the chest, not neck. But it could still give some idea of the transfer of force involved when a stationary body is hit with a fast projectile. Look what happens to the ribbon and medallion when shot just above it, and then again just to the right (three timestamps here, here and here). In the first shot, the whole ribbon gets pulled out in all directions, then the hanging medallion launches up over the head, the weak connections with the fabric of the cape break, and the medallion flies back over the left shoulder. In the second, the medallion launches straight up in front of the face and then gets pulled back down to the chest. In the third, it launches over the right shoulder.

Kentucky Ballistics! Good find but not the best example, he's using an 8 gauge shotgun which can deliver up to 9000 foot pounds of muzzle energy; at a dozen yards; a 30-06 delivers a little over 3000. Also the projectile he uses would begin to tumble if not stabilized and possibly hit the target sideways, imparting more energy on the surface. Exiting blunt fragments would move fabric but wouldn't briefly inflate a shirt around the body. When I've taken deer at close range all you see is a minor ripple on their hide, nothing dramatic. The exit wound and wound channel is.

This is a ballistics chart for a typical soft tipped 30-06 round. This is what it does to a deer's neck at 200 yards. Exit wound

Doubt very much CK was hit directly in the neck by a 30-06 using standard ammo. The shirt wouldn't move that way unless it was struck by something or affected by some propellant nearby.

 

[Benjamin]

Just look at that massive upward movement of the shirt and those 'stripes' – it looks almost like a strong blow of air hit him slightly from underneath!

When it comes to Charlie being hit with something nearby with compressed air, I thought of something like a confetti cannon only smaller. I don't know if these were there or not. I don't remember seeing any in videos.

Also considering that throughout the whole explosive event, the magnetic clip didn't even detach.

Exactly. The lavaliere mic in the front never fell off. And the idea of a bullet or projectile coming from the mic I've never been a fan of for the only reason that the mic is on Charlie's right side and his wound is on his left and, as far as we know, there is only one wound. How can a projectile bend around Charlie to hit him in the neck? Once the projectile was fired from the mic, how was it known it would have any accuracy at all? Charlie could have sporadically moved, like a sneeze, at that very moment or he could have bent over and the mic would have sagged far from his body.

The other thing that bothers me is Charlie's hand held mic that he just spoke into and was lowering it (I guess he had two mics, a lavaliere and a handheld). That mic was definitely on (was the lavaliere?), and it picked up no explosion or pop from near him? If there was anything under the table it surly would have caught some sound. But then that sound would have been amplified throughout the theatre. People in the audience would be looking all around because sound would have come through the speakers. Instead, a lot of people looked to their right.

 

[Approaching Infinity]

Kentucky Ballistics! Good find but not the best example, he's using an 8 gauge shotgun which can deliver up to 9000 foot pounds of muzzle energy; at a dozen yards; a 30-06 delivers a little over 3000. Also the projectile he uses would begin to tumble if not stabilized and possibly hit the target sideways, imparting more energy on the surface. Exiting blunt fragments would move fabric but wouldn't briefly inflate a shirt around the body. When I've taken deer at close range all you see is a minor ripple on their hide, nothing dramatic. The exit wound and wound channel is.

Good stuff, thanks. I also have the necklace in mind. Do you think a bullet impact, not necessarily a .30-06, can cause enough of a shockwave within the neck to propel the chain backwards - given that it is resting against the back of the neck? Once that chain is jerked in any direction, I'd think it could behave pretty dramatically in general, flying all over the place.

 

[Ruth]

What if the earpiece itself carried a charge and projectile? That could make the entry wound in the ear canal and could maybe explain how Charlie's shirt responds when the earpiece recoils. Perhaps there was also compressed air from the battery pack sent through the clear tube to the earpiece or something.

There seems to be some confusion over whether the item seen flying backwards was a necklace or an ear-piece. Initially the balistics people thought it was an ear-piece. All indications point to Charlie wearing a religious necklace.

 

[RedFox]

And the idea of a bullet or projectile coming from the mic I've never been a fan of for the only reason that the mic is on Charlie's right side and his wound is on his left and, as far as we know, there is only one wound. How can a projectile bend around Charlie to hit him in the neck?

FWIW it could have entered his body on his right, and left his neck on the left (the wound we see).

 

[Approaching Infinity]

@Brewer What are your thoughts on this? I asked Grok "What is the weakest .30-06 bullet and the least likely to create an exit wound?":

The weakest .30-06 bullet, in terms of lowest bullet weight (which correlates to reduced muzzle energy and velocity compared to standard loads), is a 55-grain sub-caliber projectile fired via a sabot sleeve. This specialty load is designed for training or varmint use, achieving muzzle velocities around 3,500–4,000 fps but delivering far less kinetic energy (approximately 1,500–2,000 ft-lbs) than typical 150–180-grain hunting loads (which exceed 2,800 ft-lbs). Standard factory .30-06 ammunition starts at 110 grains for solid bullets, making the 55-grain sabot the absolute lightest available option.

For the bullet least likely to create an exit wound, the .30-06 M22 frangible (also known as T44) is the top choice. This WWII-era training round uses a sintered metal projectile that disintegrates on impact with hard surfaces or tissue, fragmenting into small pieces that deposit nearly all their energy within the first few inches of penetration. Unlike expanding soft-point or bonded hunting bullets (which can still exit after 18–24 inches of travel) or full metal jacket rounds (which often over-penetrate), the frangible's design ensures minimal to no penetration depth, resulting in no exit wound while maximizing localized tissue disruption. Modern equivalents, like Hornady's V-MAX varmint bullets in 110-grain .30-06 loads, behave similarly by fragmenting rapidly for shallow wounds.

Forum Accounts

• Hunt Talk Forum (2020 Thread on .30-06 Bullet Choices): A hunter recounted using a lighter Hornady V-MAX (75-grain in .243, but referencing similar 110-grain .30-06 varmint loads) on deer: "I shot my last deer with a very fragile Hornady 75gr V-Max from a 243. Extremely poor choice of bullet's, not even designed for big game regardless of how small it may be." The bullet fragmented on impact, causing excessive meat damage but dropping the deer quickly—no exit wound, but the user emphasized it as a lesson against using varmint rounds on anything bigger than coyotes.

Social Media Accounts (X/Twitter)

• @Skybuster187
  (September 22, 2025): This user shared a direct personal experience with the exact load: "I’ve shot plenty of deer and pigs quartering to and away, where the bullet didn’t exit the animal. I once accidentally used a 110 grain, Hornady V-max, predator round on a whitetail doe, and it also didn’t exit." They described it as effective for the shot angle (quartering), with the bullet fragmenting inside and causing a quick drop, but noted it as an unintended use during a hunt.
• @tinsta_fl
  (September 22, 2025): In a discussion on bullet performance, the user referenced family hunting traditions: "Grandpa likely had one rifle for several things and the kid used the gun and varmint rounds both from him. They are very common out west and designed to not over penetrate and preserve small game pelts. A 110 grain V-Max in 30-06 is designed to perform exactly like this." This implies practical use in multi-purpose .30-06 rifles for both varmints and opportunistic deer shots, highlighting the bullet's shallow penetration as a feature for avoiding exits on deer.