Negligent Discharge Page is an ongoing report from a forthright gentleman who shot himself in the leg. Some of the images may be considered graphic by folks who are sensitive.
From his site:
I learned two valuable lessons.
“What doesn’t kill you makes you smarter”
“Life sucks until you accidently shoot yourself in the leg. Then you realize life hadn’t sucked as much as you thought it had.”
Here’s a lesson you should all learn from this. Don’t be stupid like me. It HURTS!
Too often, students and instructors both act as if only stupid people can have an Accidental Discharge. But as this story shows you, even experienced people make mistakes. Never assume you (or your students) are too smart, too experienced, or too “good” to have an accident. Safety needs to be a built-in part of everything you do with a firearm.
Train hard & stay safe! ToddG
It’s always useful for all of us to get a little wake up call from the negative experiences of others. When you receive that information and put it to good use, it’s called “wisdom” (learning from the experience of others).
While all four of the Cardinal Rules are important, I think that in the real day to day world of handling and carrying firearms, Rule 3 (Trigger finger awareness) and Rule 2 (Muzzle orientation) are the ones that will keep you from hurting yourself or somebody else without intending to.
Wow, thanks for offering the link to this.
When I was younger I saw a friend’s father put a .22LR through his left calf in a very similar way, right in the living room of his house. Luckily, nobody else was hit. Needless to say, it wasn’t too bad compared to the .45 shown here.
We all need these wake-up calls now and then; you’re absolutely right that some people get so comfortable they believe they’re somehow beyond accidents.
I hope he heals well- he’s very lucky nobody else was hurt.