Good article, however, it leaves open the specific issue that Lee addressed, being that a 7½" barrel .45 would be unlikely to fall in his lap. If someone was using, say, a shorter barreled Glock or similar, then it would be difficult to compare drop locations. I'd have to assume that most headshot suicides are done with more modern weapons, and makes me think the number would probably drop below 24% if using the same gun as Ringo.
According to one study, involving near to 600 hundred suicides, the gun remained in the hand about 25% of the time. The chances of the gun remaining in the hand increased if the individual was sitting... more
Re: Gun location following suicide — Ben Harleman,Thu Jul 15 18:56
I suspect there might be a little room for doubt concerning Silva's theory. Ringo's death has been debated since his death. That probably won't stop for a while.