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1In works of fiction, guns behave in strange ways. Often, and especially in gritty action films and old-timey westerns, guns seem to fire not bullets but ''death itself''. No one is ever seen to be wounded, attempts to limp or crawl away, or lies in pain on the ground. {{Mooks}}, RedShirts, heroes, and {{Big Bad}}s alike die ''instantly'' from a single bullet fired in their general direction, and the kill may even be [[BloodlessCarnage bereft of blood]]. Sometimes this is employed slightly more realistically with [[BoomHeadshot bloody headshots]], but they are just as instantly deadly as their weakly aimed counterparts.
2
3In some works, this end is saved for mooks and actual villains, while a hero gets the benefit of a long, painful [[DeathIsDramatic Dramatic Death]] complete with tears and sad music. Don't be surprised, though, if an instant death bullet finds its way to the hero's skull in the end [[ShootTheShaggyDog just for shock value]].
4
5This trope is largely responsible for the tendency of mooks and red shirts to come from the ImperialStormtrooperMarksmanshipAcademy. If the hero or villain were killed or critically wounded early on in the story, it would have a drastic effect on the story's outcome. Additionally, heroes and villains alike may just be wearing PlotArmor to avoid being shot at only until their part in the story is completed.
6
7SisterTrope to InstantDeathStab and PerfectPoison. Compare StaticStunGun, for when ''tasers'' are depicted as a painless way to incapacitate somebody. Contrast OnlyAFleshWound and AlmostLethalWeapons where instead of instant death, gunshot wounds are merely inconvenient. There is also RasputinianDeath and MadeOfIron. Often goes hand-in-hand with BloodlessCarnage. See ArbitraryGunPower for the actual implications of being shot.
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9Not to be confused with ShotToTheHeart. Also not to be confused with AbnormalAmmo or DepletedPhlebotinumShells where a unique property of the ammo makes it instantly lethal.
10
11'''This is a {{Death Trope|s}}. Unmarked spoilers ahead.'''
12----
13!!Examples:
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15[[foldercontrol]]
16
17[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
18* ''Manga/BlackLagoon'': Used a number of times usually with {{Mooks}}. This trope is playful {{lampshade|Hanging}}d when Revy meets some kids playing with toy guns. Their deaths, like most kids'-game deaths, were drawn-out and [[{{Narm}} ridiculous]]. Revy demonstrates the proper way of dying from a bullet. The kids point out how uncool it looks.
19* ''Anime/CodeGeass'': Unusual for the show, it happens when C.C. shoots and kills Mao with barely even a sound effect. Earlier, Mao has been shot ''multiple'' times and survived.
20* ''Manga/GingaDensetsuWeed'' When the humans start exterminating the dogs of Futago Pass, most of the canines fall to a single bullet.
21* The ''Franchise/{{Gundam}}'' franchise {{ZigZag|gingTrope}}s with this trope, depending on both the importance of a character, as well as the budget allotted to the series. You can expect the main characters's mobile suits to survive a lot of damage, but for the {{Mooks}}, you might get equal treatment, like in the expensive ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamUnicorn'', or you can just take a shot to the reactor and explode into a neat incinerating sphere, like the unfortunate rank-and-file troops of the TV series ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamWing''. ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamIronBloodedOrphans'' is a notable aversion, despite being a TV series, as the main projectile weapons there are [[KineticWeaponsAreJustBetter solid]], so it often takes several shots to down a mobile suit there.
22* ''VisualNovel/HigurashiWhenTheyCry'':
23** In the Anime Shion and Satoko both take bullets directly to the head at point-blank range.
24** In the Manga everyone dies directly after being shot and unlike the Anime, everything is ''onscreen''!
25* ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'': Ritsuko meets her end this way. She dies half a second after being shot.
26* ''Anime/{{Noir}}'': Expressed with a vengeance. Most episodes feature several cold-blooded instant deaths, often at the hands of the ProfessionalKiller heroines.
27* Averted in ''Manga/{{Pluto}}''; [[spoiler:Gesicht]] is fatally shot with a cluster cannon during his battle with Pluto, but is so caught up in the moment that he doesn’t even realize it until after [[HopeSpot he’s seemingly escaped]], at which point his injuries finally catch up to him and he falls over dead.
28* ''Manga/{{Trigun}}'':
29** Normally deliberately subverted by Vash as he does not want to kill anyone and uses his extreme level of shooting skill to avoid killing anyone outright.
30** When Vash Is forced to kill Legato. Legato takes one shot to the head and falls over.
31[[/folder]]
32
33[[folder:Comic Books]]
34* Magazine/{{Mad}}: Don Martin spoofed this in a panel showing an arcade game console, where the player was supposed to take down robbers with a handgun. The game robber used a ridiculously long time to die, complete with [[IncurableCoughOfDeath coughing]], falling over while clutching his chest (aarrgh) crawling painfully away while gargling and finally expiring outside the screen.
35* ''ComicBook/{{Preacher}}'': Usually uses this straight, especially with the Saint of Killers, whose guns are forged from the sword of the former Angel of Death and can kill the Devil and ''God himself'', but there are at least two subversions. In the first, a hulking cannibal takes a headshot, continues advancing and takes a second before dying. In the second, Herr Starr gets his head blown open. He has time to glance up and utter a final "shit" before expiring.
36* ''ComicBook/StormWatch'': In the Team Achilles volume, the team is up against a mad reality warper, and they don't shoot him dead on the spot specifically because there's no such thing as an instant death bullet. They're worried what will happen to the town the warper's manipulating if he drops dead, and what he might do in the seconds or minutes he has to live.
37* This trope works to the advantage of ''ComicBook/ThePunisher'' when he's fighting things that's more superhuman than your average mugger, this is especially prevalent in the more recent comics. In older works, Frank would find his guns useless against even low-level mooks like AIM flunkies (their uniforms were high-tech armor). But these days - the moment Frank points his M-16 at anything, whether it's a Frost Giant the size of a sky-scraper or '70s C-list villains in power armor, they end up dying from a single burst.
38[[/folder]]
39
40[[folder:FanWorks]]
41* ''WebVideo/DiamondsCut'': Pretty much the way every gun works in this ''Film/JamesBond'' fan film. A notable exception being the double-crossing informant, who was wounded in the leg by Bond before finally getting shot to death.
42* ''Fanfic/RevengeRoad'' [[Manga/KimagureOrangeRoad Hikaru]] shoots Madoka in the head, killing her instantly. She believes that Madoka has to die for stealing Kyosuke from her, but since she was her friend for so long, she deserves a degree of mercy, which she does not show to Kyosuke when torturing him to death with knives.
43[[/folder]]
44
45[[folder:Films -- Animated]]
46* ''WesternAnimation/{{Bambi}}'': While the death of the title character's mother is not shown, at one point a bird is shot and dies instantly.
47[[/folder]]
48
49[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
50* ''Film/BackToTheFuturePartIII'': Subverted when Marty and Doc both assumed that Doc will be shot on Monday because that's when he dies. Turns out he got shot on ''Saturday'' in the original timeline and didn't succumb to his wound for another two days.
51* ''Film/BloodDiamond'': Happens in copious amounts. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BstunZN_e7g When Danny Archer pretends to be a prisoner]] to trick some guards, he shoots both in quick succession and they drop down immediately. Later, when covering Vandy and his son's escape, Archer again kills several approaching {{Mooks}} with a sniper rifle, to the same effect. But there are three exceptions: Colonel Coetzee, Kapanay, and Danny.
52* ''Film/BloodSimple'': Seemingly played straight when the private eye shoots Marty but is ultimately subverted when he regains consciousness just in time to be buried alive.
53* ''Film/TheBoondockSaints'' Almost everyone Connor and Murphy shoot dies immediately.
54* ''Film/BoysDontCry'': When Candace, Creator/LecyGoranson from Roseanne, is shot she goes down like a sack of potatoes.
55* ''Film/BringMeTheHeadOfTheMachineGunWoman'': Almost any shot delivered in this movie is instantly fatal. The exceptions are the Machine Gun Lady herself, who is MadeOfIron and survives being shot on multiple occasions; and Longara, whom the Machine Gun Woman deliberately shoots to cripple.
56* In ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheFirstAvenger'', HYDRA troops are supposed to be a serious threat because they use {{Death Ray}}s as standard equipment. The effect is somewhat ruined, however, because the standard-issue Allied rifles seem to be equally deadly. Hell, they seem to be ''more'' dangerous, because HYDRA {{Mooks}} are completely clad in body armor and yet they still [[ArmorIsUseless die in one hit]].
57* ''Film/{{Collateral}}'':
58** Some of the {{Mooks}} in the club shootout scene are shown going down to a quick single shot while everyone else is usually shot several times.
59** Subverted in one scene where Vincent is [[MuggingTheMonster menaced]] by two thugs with his briefcase. He uses a double tap with point shooting to drop the first guy [[note]] Point shooting is a type of reflex-based shooting training in which aiming is done reflexively with the shooter's position relative to their target in close range.[[/note]], then he performs the full Mozambique Drill[[note]]A shooting technique that fires two shots to the chest in quick succession just like a double tap followed up with an aimed headshot. Used to ensure the target is taken down.[[/note]] on the second. The one shot in the chest is still twitching as Vincent retrieves his briefcase before casually firing the finishing shot into his head.
60* ''Film/TheDarkKnight'': In the opening sequence, several robbers are insta-killed by bullets.
61* ''Film/DeadMan'': Thel is shot in the chest by Charlie and she immediately falls over dead without any final death throes.
62* ''Film/Deadpool2''
63** Many of the mooks shot are dead on the spot.
64** Subverted when Deadpool gets fatally shot while his HealingFactor has been deactivated by a PowerNullifier. It takes him a long time to die. He gives multiple [[FinalSpeech Final Speeches]], but each time he [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome doesn't]] die at a dramatically appropriate moment and just keeps talking after a long pause.
65* ''Film/TheDeparted'': Played straight; even main and other important characters aren't safe from this end.
66* Inverted in ''Film/{{Exam}}''. [[spoiler:The bullet White fires into Black actually heals him by triggering rapid cellular regeneration.]]
67* ''Film/TheGodfatherPartIII'':
68** Subverted with Mary Corleone who is shot through the stomach and initially doesn't realize it. When she does, she says "Daddy?" in a perfectly normal way, drops on her knees, then dies.
69*** The Assassin disguised as a priest in the scene is killed instantly in one shot.
70** Subverted in the original. Vito took five shots and lived. It took dozens to bring down Sonny.
71** Vincent kills two assassins sent by Joey Zasa with a single bullet each. The first one he executes to scare the other assassin who after he divulges the information Vincent needed is shot through his hand and is hit the head killing him.
72* ''Film/JamesBond'':
73** ''Film/TheWorldIsNotEnough'': While {{Mooks}} and bystanders die this way as a matter of course in the movie, a notable instance is when Bond shoots the alternate BigBad Elektra in the face. She simply falls back onto a bed, dead.
74** ''Film/TheManWithTheGoldenGun'': Every single person shot by Scaramanga dies immediately. This is made more notable by the fact that Scaramanga's gun uses custom made bullets of an absurdly low caliber [[note]]4.2mm[[/note]], making them ''less'' likely to kill anyone they hit than bullets fired from a normal gun... unless the man firing it is a spectacularly skilled marksman, which it is established that Scaramanga is. There are places on the human body other than the head where a bullet will indeed kill instantly, and presumably, Scaramanga would know of them.
75** ''Film/{{Skyfall}}'': Averted with [[spoiler: M's death. M is mortally wounded by gunfire but doesn't die until after Bond manages to kill Silva a considerable length of time later.]]
76* ''Franchise/JohnWick'': The franchise provides a mix of played straight and averted examples. Several mooks in the film's various shootouts are downed with a single bullet to the center of the chest or the head. Several others are dispatched with one or two bodyshots and a follow-up shot to the head. Notably, a GiantMook in ''Film/JohnWickChapter2'' [[MultipleGunshotDeath takes multiple headshots before he goes down.]]
77* ''Film/{{Witness}}'': When [=McFee=] is shot at point-blank range in the chest with a shotgun, he appears to take only moments to die.
78* ''Film/XMenFirstClass'': Erik Lehnsherr's mother is shot dead with a handgun right in front of him to try and force the young Magneto to manifest and draw on his mutant powers.
79* ''Film/TheNumbersStation'': Zig-zagged. Both the hero and heroine are shot towards the end of the film (with pistols, at close range), and he is able to drive them both to hospital. Everybody else drops dead.
80* ''Film/OnceUponATimeInTheWest'': The slaughter of the [=McBain=] family plays out like this, as does the shootout at the railroad in the opening scene.
81* ''Film/PineappleExpress'':
82** A humorous subversion in Red's case. The first time he's shot, he actually appears to die... Only to wake back up seemingly fine. They shoot him ''again'', and he appears to die again. It's only later in the movie that it's revealed he was still alive.
83** The shootout in the barn over the abandoned military base has several of the rival gangs {{Mooks}} dying instantly when shot.
84** The hitman Budlofsky refuses to shoot Saul who witnessed an earlier kill shortly before is shot and killed instantly by his fellow hitman Matheson for "going soft".
85* Marvin from ''Film/PulpFiction'' when he [[IJustShotMarvinInTheFace accidentally gets shot in the face]]. This is [[WhatCouldHaveBeen a change from the original script]], where Marvin survives the first shot, forcing Jules and Vince to MercyKill him. In behind the scenes materials, Creator/QuentinTarantino discusses this change and highlights why this trope is an [[AcceptableBreaksFromReality Acceptable Break from Reality]]; the original version was [[DudeNotFunny too realistic and disturbing to be entertaining]], it made the protagonists look like [[DesignatedHero total bastards]], and it was just [[TheLawOfConservationOfDetail a pointless waste of screentime in general]].
86* ''Film/RaidersOfTheLostArk:'' Used for comic effect when confronted by a swordsman all clad in black, instead of being intimidated by his fancy swordplay Indy just rolls his eyes and shoots him dead. Never bring a sword to a gunfight.
87* ''Film/ReservoirDogs'':
88** Mr. White, Joe and Nice Guy Eddie play it straight after their MexicanStandoff takes a turn for the worse.
89** Subverted with Mr. Orange, as he spends most of the movie lying in a huge pool of his own blood, white as a sheet, from a shot to the gut.
90* ''Film/RoboCop1987'':
91** Despite some of the bad guys being fired on by Murphy with a burst fire pistol some are shown only being hit once and going down instantly. Justified by Robo's Beretta 93-R HandCannon.
92** Inverted when Murphy, in his initial death, takes ''dozens'' of bullets from Boddicker's gang.
93** Subverted when the [[BoomHeadshot headshot]] that seeingly kills Murphy, only left him paralyzed.
94** Subverted when Dick Jones takes more than a dozen bullets at the end of the first film, and it's the fall through the window that kills him.
95* ''Film/TheRundown'': Mr. Beck (Wrestling/TheRock) takes down several henchmen this way using dual shotguns just before the place blows up in the ending shootout.
96* Zigzagged in ''Film/SavingPrivateRyan''. Most of the soldiers who get shot don't die instantly unless they've been shot in the head. The opening scene on Omaha Beach is infamous for the levels of blood shown as a result of getting hit by machine gun fire, and ''not'' instantly dying. However, a few nameless extras do end up falling over dead when shot in the chest, arm, or shoulder.
97* ''Film/{{Serenity}}'': Mal [[MercyKill shoots a man]] taken by the Reavers, killing him instantly.
98* ''Film/TearsOfTheSun'':
99** One of the SEALS, Flea, takes a single shot to the chest during the final scene when the SEAL team is fleeing the rebels and dies pretty much instantly.
100** Several of the {{Mooks}} in the movie are killed by the SEAL team with nothing more than a single shot.
101** Subverted in a sequence where a soldier takes a sniper bullet through the shoulder and falls down. After a few tense seconds, it's revealed that he ''dropped'' down to avoid getting hit by another bullet.
102* ''Film/{{Taken}}'': Features three kinds of shots: [[ImperialStormtrooperMarksmanshipAcademy bad guys miss]], Bryan shoots a few people [[OnlyAFleshWound in the shoulder]] for interrogation purposes, and anyone Bryan wants dead dies instantly.
103* ''Film/Utoya22Juli'', a reenactment of the Breivik Massacre (which happened [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin on the island Utøya on 22. July 2011]]) from the perspective of the victims aims for realism, so the trope is mostly averted with gunshot wounds either "only" crippling the characters (a boy and a girl from the group in the beginning) or causing them to bleed to death slowly (wounded girl). However, the trope is played straight with [[spoiler: Kaja herself, who, after a split-second, collapses on the ground, apparently dead.]] In a film aimed at realism, the scene stands out as exceptionally hard to believe.
104[[/folder]]
105
106[[folder:Literature]]
107* ''Literature/DeathToTheFrench'':
108** Usually seen when Dodd uses his Baker rifle on the enemy characters. It forms part of his reputation as a devil or evil force in the eyes of the French soldiers in that nearly everyone he shoots is dead on the first shot.
109** An early aversion is from the group of French soldiers that pursue him through most of the book. Right after he is separated he mortally wounds one of the soldiers who takes a bit to die.
110* ''Literature/OfMiceAndMen'': This is an important point in the finale, when Curley in revenge for Lenny's accidental killing of his wife, plans to shoot him in the stomach so that he would die slowly and painfully. To prevent this, George shoots him in the back of the head, which was instantly fatal.
111* Creator/GeorgeOrwell's short story ''Shooting an Elephant'': A horrible aversion, where he finds to his horror that he cannot get the elephant to drop dead, but only cause it more pain.
112%% * ''Literature/TheMazeRunner'': How Thomas kills Newt in ''The Death Cure''.%%Bit more context would be nice for this example.
113[[/folder]]
114
115[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
116* ''Series/{{Angel}}'': Averted when Lorne shoots Lindsey more than once in the chest, but not only does Lindsey manage to continue standing for a few moments, he also delivers about three lines before succumbing to his wounds, some before he even falls
117* ''Series/TheBarrier'': [[spoiler:The President]] is declared dead within seconds of getting shot.
118* ''Series/BattlestarGalactica2003'': The show goes back and forth on this.
119** Tarn takes a while to bleed to death after being shot multiple times, but later in the same story arc, Crashdown dies immediately after being shot once.
120** Boomer shoots herself through the cheek and lives, but later is shot in the chest and only has time to say her last words before she dies.
121** Dee and several one-shot characters die instantly from gunshot wounds.
122** Adama gets shot twice in the chest and survives, although he spends several episodes unconscious and receiving emergency medical care.
123** Anders gets shot in the head and lives, but the brain damage eventually leaves him in a vegetative state.
124* ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'': When she gets shot by a stray bullet from Warren, Tara is dead before she even hits the ground.
125* ''Series/{{Fringe}}'': The shapeshifters die instantly when shot in the middle of the forehead, but [[ImmuneToBullets shooting them anywhere else has no effect.]]
126* ''Series/GetSmart'': Notably, this only happens to the KAOS agents. If a CONTROL agent is shot, they tend to say so.
127* ''Series/GimmeABreak'': [[InvokedTrope Invoked]] when Carl shot and killed a perp. He is extremely depressed about this, and when his youngest daughter acts like he was a hero for doing it, he explodes angrily at her that it was ''not'' like the movies. The perp died slowly and in pain, calling out for his mother.
128* ''{{Series/Highlander}}'': 'The Darkness'. Tessa pretty much dies instantly after Rozca shoots her. Richie, too, though he doesn't stay dead.
129* ''Series/{{Hornblower}}'': In the episode, "The Even Chance", After Jack Simpson is spared by Horatio in their duel, he tries to kill Hornblower with a dagger, but is then dropped with a single Musket shot from Captain Pellew.
130* ''Series/{{Lost}}'': Kate's ChildhoodFriend Tom dies instantly during a ChaseScene from a bullet fired by a police officer, shown in a flashback in season 1.
131* ''Max And Paddys Road To Nowhere'': Almost displayed, but soon subverted. Paddy is seemingly shot in the back by a mentally deranged friend of Max's, tumbling out of frame. However, it is later shown that the gunshot was not fatal as he manages to sneak up and knock the assailant out with a traffic cone. It is later revealed he was shot right in the right buttock... Although this brings up whether [[OnlyAFleshWound being shot in such a place would really leave him able to walk around, never mind heave a traffic cone with enough force to knock someone out]].
132* Averted at least twice in ''Series/NCISLosAngeles'':
133** In one ColdOpen, Deeks is shot after stumbling into a wrong-place-wrong-time store robbery. After the credits it's revealed a low-calibre bullet to the chest bounced off his ribcage and did no lasting damage, though he's in no condition to be in the field for the rest of the episode.
134** Once again in a ColdOpen, Kensi is shot during a bank robbery, and radios that she's down, holding her chest. The HowWeGotHere episode reveals [[spoiler:NCIS are in cahoots with the robbers, Kensi was wearing Kevlar and the thief know to shoot her there. Such an impact still broke ribs and winded her, making the cherade much more convincing.]]
135* ''Series/StudioC'': Averted and parodied in a sketch. "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mU3epxPjvG0 Most Awkward Death Scene of All Time]]" where Cecilia's father gets shot and she keeps thinking he's giving his LastWords. For ''hours''. WordOfGod says that he ends up outliving her by 15 years.
136* ''Series/TerminatorTheSarahConnorChronicles'': Derek dies instantly. Of course, he did get a bullet in the brain.
137* ''Series/TheVampireDiaries'': Jeremy is accidentally shot by Liz Forbes in the season 2 finale and dies on the spot.
138* ''Series/LukeCage2016'':
139** Subverted Cottonmouth shoots Rafael Scarfe, several times. Scarfe manages to last about 12 to 13 hours before he expires.
140** Subverted in the beginning when, during the gun heist, Shameek shoots Dante in the chest. He seems to have died instantly, but after Chico and Shameek leave, it's revealed that Dante is still alive, and he manages to call Cottonmouth's right-hand Tone and sell out his accomplices before he dies.
141** This becomes a plot point in the second season. Shades tries to arrange a scene to make it look like police captain Tom Ridenhour and his [[TheMole snitch]] inside Mariah's organization, Comanche, (who is a lifelong friend of Shades) killed each other. However, the attempt fails because while the wound Ridenhour took killed him almost instantly, the first shot Comanche takes is [[AgonizingStomachWound to the stomach]], and Shades is unable to leave his friend to suffer and bleed out over the course of hours, so he [[MercyKill puts Comanche out of his misery with a second shot]]. The cops investigating the scene quickly figure out that there is no way Ridenhour could have fired the second shot.
142* ''Series/TheFlash2014''
143** Clyde Mardon takes two bullets from Joe's gun and dies instantly.
144** Subverted by Eddie, who shoots himself in the heart and lingers for another minute or so.
145** In the Flashpoint timeline, Joe kills Edward Clariss with one bullet in the back.
146** Savitar dies from one bullet in the back from Iris.
147* ''Series/TheTwilightZone1959'' episode "[[Recap/TheTwilightZone1959S4E3ValleyOfTheShadow Valley of the Shadow]]". After Phillip creates a .38 Special revolver, he shoots Dorn and his two aides with one bullet each, instantly killing them. They did not appear to be shot in an area which would kill them that quickly (head or heart) and there was no blood.
148* Averted in ''Series/LoveHate'' with [[https://youtu.be/7zQYiPn4MEQ Hughie's death]]. When [[JugglingLoadedGuns messing around with his pistol]], he removes the magazine, but doesn't clear the chamber. He puts the gun to his head and pulls the trigger [[IJustShotMarvinInTheFace with predictable]] [[TooDumbToLive results]]. However, he doesn't die immediately and is visibly bleeding out as opposed to being just dead to the point where Pottsie asks Elmo if they should call an ambulance. Nidge casually mentions later in the episode that it took Hughie a full five minutes to die.
149[[/folder]]
150
151[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
152* ''TabletopGame/{{Cyberpunk}}'': Played straight in ''Cyberpunk 2020'', where a bullet to the head is very likely to be an insta-kill for your character. Even if you're hit in another location you can be killed at the moment too if it causes enough damage, because of the shock.
153* ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'': Specifically Advanced Dungeons and Dragons. In theory, a gun could deal endless damage. Much less can kill most [=NPCs=] and [=PCs=] alike, instantly.[[note]] If a ten was rolled on a ten-sided die, the die was rerolled until anything besides a ten was rolled, and the sum of all the dice was added together. In theory, a single bullet could deal a thousand damage - at odds of a googol to one against. [[/note]]
154* ''TabletopGame/{{GURPS}}'': Hits to vital organs or the brain are liable to kill someone instantly. Even a gunshot not aimed at vitals can kill instantly if it does enough damage.
155* ''TabletopGame/{{Ironclaw}}'': It is very easy to score an Overkill when using a gun.[[note]]Normally, the damage is equal to the number of attack dice that roll higher than the defence plus a weapon based modifier. Guns deal "Slaying" damage meaning they do two points of damage for each successful dice and a pistol has a +2 modifier, fusil +3, blunderbuss +4, and musket +2 with an extra d8 to the attack roll. In the Cardinal system, five points of damage in one attack kills and six invokes the ChunkySalsaRule, when shooting a character rolls their Speed stat dice and their Ranged skill dice, at least two dice if they have any marks in Ranged combat.[[/note]] Fortunately, given the Renaissance-level setting, guns are expensive and often illegal for commoners and fairly unreliable wheellocks.
156* ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'': According to the Regimental Standard community website, [[https://regimental-standard.com/2017/09/20/so-youve-been-shot-a-flowchart/ 99% of battlefield injuries will not require medical treatment due to 98% of those injuries]] being instant-death-inducing ones. Poor [[RedshirtArmy Imperial Guardsmen]].
157
158[[/folder]]
159
160[[folder:Video Games]]
161* ''Franchise/AceAttorney'' zigzags this trope.
162** There are several cases where a victim is killed instantaneously from a shot, case 2-2 and 4-2 specifically. Although these lean towards the more justified examples, seeing as how in both instances, the shot was to the head. And in one of these instances, the victim had been stabbed prior to the shot, making his instantaneous death seem more realistic.
163** It's averted just as often, though. 4-3 features someone who is shot with a magnum, and has time to give a dying clue before they actually perish. Also, in 1-4, someone is not only shot and survives, but lives with the bullet stuck inside of their body.
164* ''Franchise/AssassinsCreed'': For the games that include them, firearms, in general, are typically instantly fatal. There are some larger enemies that require multiple shots, but most {{Mooks}} will go down with just one. Muskets, in particular, are instantly fatal.
165* ''VideoGame/{{Borderlands 2}}'': At the end of the mission "Where Angels Fear to Tread", [[spoiler: Handsome Jack kills Roland with a single shot to the back from a purple-rarity Hyperion Vision pistol, as Lilith screams in grief and horror]].
166* ''VideoGame/CallOfJuarezBoundInBlood'': The boss fights are settled "ShowdownAtHighNoon" style, which all run on this logic, in rather weird contrast to how guns work at all other times.
167** Save for the last few levels, where enemy riflemen can sometimes play this trope entirely straight on harder difficulties.
168* ''VideoGame/CallOfDuty'': The game mechanics using fixed damage and HP values for enemies causes many enemies to die in a single shot regardless of where they are shot. This is especially notable on the higher difficulties.
169* ''VideoGame/CompanyOfHeroes'': {{Downplayed|}}, because of how the game's damage mechanics work, the majority of infantry are instantly killed by gunfire [[CriticalExistenceFailure when they run out of health]]. Snipers also instantly kill [[ArbitraryGunPower (most)]] enemy infantry shot. Depending on assorted factors, some infantry may become incapacitated and recoverable by medic buildings, but the vast majority die instantly. This is further {{Downplayed|}} in the sequel where mortally-wounded infantrymen can even crawl around - and potentially set off a nearby mine.
170* ''VideoGame/GhostTrick'': Everyone who dies of a bullet wound goes out this way, sometimes [[DeathIsCheap multiple times]]. Of course, [[AcceptableBreakFromReality it makes sense from a gameplay perspective]], as Sissel's ability to go back in time to four minutes before a person's death would be sort of useless if they died after lingering for an hour in a hospital.
171* ''[[VideoGame/GoldenEye1997 GoldenEye]]'':
172** On the N64, a multiplayer mode called "Film/LicenceToKill" made any hit with any weapon instantly fatal, from [[FingerPokeOfDoom slappers]] to [[MadeOfExplodium standing just barely in range of an explosion]].
173** The infamous [[Film/TheManWithTheGoldenGun Golden Gun]] always scored one-hit kills, as did the [[InfinityPlusOneSword unlockable]] [[GameBreaker Gold PP7]].
174** Sometimes {{Subverted|}} for regular play. Enemies could end with a gut-shot miserably crawling along the floor, taking way too long to die. Worse, taking [[GroinAttack a bullet to the junk]] and doubling over in agony before mercifully expiring.
175* ''VideoGame/HotlineMiami'' and [[VideoGame/HotlineMiami2WrongNumber its sequel]]. The vast majority of both characters and enemies are OneHitPointWonder[=s=], making this true for most deaths. The exception is bosses in the original game who will usually stay alive just long enough for Jacket to messily finish them off.
176* ''VideoGame/PerfectDark'':
177** Shots fired from the golden DY-357 LX magnum and the alien [=FarSight=] XR-20 will always kill a target - or completely destroy all shields - with one hit.
178** In the campaign mode, [[BoomHeadshot headshots will typically kill enemy troops in one hit]].
179* ''{{VideoGame/Persona 3}}'': Subverted with Junpei Iori, who goes down almost immediately to one shot and would have been dead within seconds without supernatural healing that results in the death of the healer.
180* ''VideoGame/{{Persona 5}}'': [[spoiler:Satanael kills the BigBad with a single gunshot to the head, despite you littering the boss with other attacks during the actual BossFight. It probably helps that Satanael is a 50-foot tall demon king with a magical skyscraper-sized rifle powered by a belief in the heroes.]]
181* ''VideoGame/RainbowSix'': In the early games, any hit can be instant death for you or an enemy.
182* ''Videogame/RedDeadRedemption'': Enemies sometimes die from a single shot depending on the weapon and where they are shot. More powerful weapons against some of the weaker enemies frequently one shot the target. Shotguns and rifles also have a tendency to one shot at least weaker enemies. Headshots, of course, are usually fatal for the {{Mooks}}.
183** ''VideoGame/RedDeadRedemption2'' [[SubvertedTrope subverts]] this by having enemies survive plenty of bullets to the body, to the point that the killing shot will result in the enemy dropping their gun, running away whilst bleeding heavily from the wound and then fall to the floor writhing in pain for a rather long time before finally giving up the ghost. This means that the player is way more encouraged to aim for the head (or other lethal spots such as the heart) or use stronger ammunition, which will instantly kill a target most of the time.
184* ''VideoGame/RedOrchestra'': Played straight when soldiers are killed with a headshot but otherwise averted for most other cases. For example, soldiers will lie on the floor moaning in agony, weakly murmuring that they don't want to die, bitterly cursing their enemies, crying that they just want to go home, and thinking about their parents. At some point, you will walk past downed enemy players and you ''will'' feel like a monster.
185* ''VideoGame/{{STALKER}}'': Because of how damage is handled it can be subverted or played straight. Weaker weapons can wound an enemy or player causing either to bleed to death. Sometimes when the enemies go down and are near death they will lay on the ground and cry out for help. Powerful guns like shotguns and sniper rifles, for example, can one-shot weaker enemies or if the player lands a headshot.
186* ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2'': A fully charged shot from a sniper rifle does 150 damage, enough to kill anyone weaker than a Demoman instantly ''without'' a headshot. However, most snipers aim for the head, which does triple damage with a sniper rifle, and a fully healed heavy with full overheal has 450 health...
187* ''VideoGame/{{Uncharted}}'':
188** Two of the guns obtainable by the player, the WES-7 and the Desert-5, when they're introduced, one-shot any enemy even if you grazed their finger.
189** Sniper rifles have the same effect thanks to their high damage.
190** ''VideoGame/Uncharted2AmongThieves'' has the golden Crossbow, introduced late in the game.
191* ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAuto'': Seemingly exaggerated to the point of comedy; [=NPCs=] die instantly from being shot in the head which makes sense at first but they also die instantly from a bullet through the side of the nose and through the ear. The police can even be killed by being shot through the top of their hat.
192* ''VideoGame/WolfDOS'': Hunters flying in helicopters and planes ''always'' manage a OneHitKill. Hunters on the ground will get you in one or two. It's not stated whether this is due to a difference in rifle calibers or aiming skills. As far as the wolves are concerned, [[HumansAreCthulhu it doesn't matter anyway]].
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195[[folder:Webcomics]]
196* ''[[{{Webcomic/Morphe}} morphE]]'' opens with 8 captives being forced into 1-on-1 battles to the death. When a pair is not producing the right results Amical executes them with a bullet each. They are dead before they hit the ground.
197* ''Webcomic/GenocideMan'': Jacob's [[MagneticWeapons handheld railgun]] appears to have this effect on everyone it hits, even though it only fires darts. However, the darts contain a [[PoisonedWeapons neurotoxin]] that only ''paralyzes'' instantly but takes a few more minutes to cause death, to the absolute horror of TheEmpath on the team.
198[[/folder]]
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200[[folder:Web Original]]
201* ''WebAnimation/{{Pamtri}}'': The generic pistol used in the episodes usually kills the victims in a single shot.
202** Averted for Swiper in “Dora in a nutshell”, Gary in “Gary Needs A Bath”, The Lorax in “The Lorax in a nutshell”, Santiago in “Who Killed Santiago”, the cameraman in “Santiago’s strange addiction”, Patrick in “Dirty Dan”, and George in “Curious George in Nutshell”.
203[[/folder]]
204
205[[folder:Western Animation]]
206* ''WesternAnimation/AeonFlux'':
207** In the episode "Tide", Aeon kills Trevor with a single shot while he is handcuffed to a railing during the mission.
208** In the episode "War", Aeon is trying to distract what looks like a faceless goon so an ally can sneak up on him and prevent her battlefield execution. Before she can be rescued she and her ally are both quickly killed by a shingle shot [[spoiler: with the faceless goon turning out to be Trevor.]]
209** Subverted in the pilot episode. While most of the {{Mooks}} go down to even a single bullet there are two notable exceptions. A mortally wounded soldier is shown to be slowly dying in bloody water as well as being infected with a plague of some sort. A fellow soldier tries to make him more comfortable as he lays dying. Just as he expires either from the effects of the plague or wounds Aeon runs by and shoots the other soldier in the gut. She takes off her helmet and weeps. As Trevor collects a specimen of the plague-bearing bug from the bloody water, she is shown to collapse into the waters herself in the background presumably from her wounds and/or the effects of the plague.
210* ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'': Throughout the series, this is usually played for laughs in a BlackComedy fashion.
211** In "Grey Dawn", an elderly person shoots a hostage in the head at point blank range, killing him instantly.
212** In "Something Wall-Mart This Way Comes", a man shoots himself in the head, also killing himself instantly.
213** In "Night of the Living Homeless", one character is killed with a shotgun blast to the head and a few others are killed by single shots in a burned out town the boys visited. Also subverted in "Night of the Living Homeless". With the homeless people closing in on him, the scientist decides to kill himself by putting a bullet through his head. It takes four or five tries to finally get the job done, all PlayedForLaughs.
214** In "Le Petit Tourette", all these pedophiles who were tricked into invading ''Dateline'' with Chris Hansen all pull out guns and commit suicide- all of whom died instantly.
215** In "The Snuke", a Russian terrorist was shot by a sniper and killed instantly with the body falling off of a ladder and exploding all over the ground into several pieces.
216* ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars'' plays with this quite a bit. Background clone troopers and {{Mauve Shirt}}s tend to die in one hit, named characters usually get more dramatic deaths. Most notably, the traitorous General Pong Krell is shot InTheBack and seemingly dies instantly, falling dead with no death throes whatsoever.
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219[[folder:Real Life]]
220* Generally speaking, there is no such thing as "Instant Death Bullets". [[RealityIsUnrealistic It is incredibly rare]] for victims of gunshots to die the moment the bullet comes in contact with them, even if they are hit in the brain, heart, and/or other vital organ. A bullet ''can'' cause its target to immediately hit the ground, but this is more of a case of the shot having enough force and causing enough trauma to make the victim collapse, which can give the impression the bullet causes instant death, especially if they fall unconscious from the shot. That being said, a shot that does indeed hit a vital organ would most likely kill its victim within minutes, if not seconds.
221** Of course, large & powerful bullets, like a [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.50_BMG .50 BMG]], are perhaps the closest thing there is to "Instant Death Bullets', but this is largely because those bullets would [[LudicrousGibs eviscerate the body]].
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