When the unthinkable happens to you - self-inflicted gunshot wound

[guitarguy]

I had not seen this write up until I saw the link in your post. You mentioned it in your response to my classified ad but Holy COW!
That is an eye opener and a lesson for all of us.
I had an NG four years ago with a Glock but I had pointed the gun down and away from me (believing I had cleared it) and shot through a cabinet and into a stack of books behind it. Lesson learned without pain, other than shock and the top of the dresser. I am SO sorry to see what happened to you. Get Better soon!

 

[etrain16]

Whoa, just came upon this thread now. So glad the injury wasn't worse and you're able to be back here to share your experience. And thank you for doing just that. I don't doubt that every single person here has had a momentary lapse and violated one or more of the gun safety rules. I'm just glad your injury wasn't far worse, even deadly. Good on you for staying calm under a very, very intense and frightening situation. Just glad you're still here with us to help us all learn from this event.

Not wanting to start a debate, or to distract from your message here, one question has crossed my mind and I wonder if you'll indulge me to ask it (feel free to ignore it or tell me to pound sand if you're not interested). But now that you've experienced taking a 9mm round, to all those that debate caliber effectiveness, etc., do you think the round is capable of stopping an attacker? You've now experienced what many of us never will, so I'm just curious, from an actual gunshot victim, your thoughts on the matter.

Take care and heal up! Glad you're still around!

 

[Tarawa86]

But now that you've experienced taking a 9mm round, to all those that debate caliber effectiveness, etc., do you think the round is capable of stopping an attacker? You've now experienced what many of us never will, so I'm just curious, from an actual gunshot victim, your thoughts on the matter.

IMHO, he will need to shoot himself in the other foot with a .45 to give a fair answer to your question .

 

[Certaindeaf]

.But now that you've experienced taking a 9mm round, to all those that debate caliber effectiveness, etc., do you think the round is capable of stopping an attacker? You've now experienced what many of us never will, so I'm just curious, from an actual gunshot victim, your thoughts on the matter.

Take care and heal up! Glad you're still around!

Somehow I'm thinking that chest flossing wouldn't be too conducive to one's criminal career.

 

[Nick Burkhardt]

Medical questions:
How much blood loss was there from the injury?

Did they have to give you any whole blood or just crystalloids to replace the volume?

If you had a tourniquet handy would you have used it?

 

[SynapticSilence]

Revolvers don't have a thumb safety. but anyway

Right now I only have one and the wife has one. We'll be keeping them. One is my pristine 1961 edition S&W Model 36 No-Dash. That one's not going anywhere. The other is my wife's laser-engraved S&W 442 I got her for her first carry piece. That one's not going anywhere, either. Neither is my similarly pristine Ortgies .32 or my original Reminton UMC Model 51 .380, both made around 1920 or so and looking as if they just came out of the factory. Those stay unloaded in the safe except for periodic checks and cleaning. Everything else is negotiable and can go without me losing my mind. I haven't decided about my two rifles yet. One is a Beretta ARX-100 5.56 and the other is a Beretta CX-4 9mm carbine. Both are very cool guns, but I'm not as high on the ARX-100 as I thought I would be. Trigger is really heavy even for a combat rifle and there is only one place making replacements for it. I'm not sold on the new trigger design, either. Sigh. Decisions, decisions.

 

[SynapticSilence]

Medical questions:
How much blood loss was there from the injury?

Did they have to give you any whole blood or just crystalloids to replace the volume?

If you had a tourniquet handy would you have used it?

First thing I checked after I decided I wasn't going to pass out (conscious decision when things start to get a little gray) was bleeding. A quick scan of my foot and elsewhere showed I was bleeding heavily, but not in any way that indicated arterial bleeding. They didn't give me any blood that I know of, just regular saline solution. I did bleed continually until the last day of my four day hospitalization, though. I just basically ripped up a bunch of tissue and internal bone structure, so that wasn't that unusual. I was still oozing a little fluid, blood, and bile when they checked my wound out yesterday at the doctor's office. He said that was normal and the main thing was that the wounds were trying to fill themselves in. I still feel like crap, though. That kind of trauma doesn't just leave you the moment your hearing returns to normal. I'll be dealing with the whole emotional aspect of it for a while. But I'm a shrink. Married to a good shrink. And have tons of shrinks for friends. So I'm as covered as any one human can be.

 

[SparksFly]

Get well soon! It takes balls to post something like that on this forum.

One of my family's good friends' son was out in the woods with a friend and they were walking side by side, rifles in cradle carry, muzzles pointed out and away. The friend decided to switch sides and grabbed the trigger, right as the muzzle was on the son's rib cage, and bubblegum went south from there. That was 10 years ago and as I gear up with less than a year until I can buy a firearm and currently taking friends out hunting with firearms, I always keep this incident in the back of my mind and no matter how much my friends say they know about proper firearm safety I always drill it into their heads.

 

[Wombat of Doom]

Right now I only have one and the wife has one. We'll be keeping them. One is my pristine 1961 edition S&W Model 36 No-Dash. That one's not going anywhere. The other is my wife's laser-engraved S&W 442 I got her for her first carry piece. That one's not going anywhere, either. Neither is my similarly pristine Ortgies .32 or my original Reminton UMC Model 51 .380, both made around 1920 or so and looking as if they just came out of the factory. Those stay unloaded in the safe except for periodic checks and cleaning. Everything else is negotiable and can go without me losing my mind. I haven't decided about my two rifles yet. One is a Beretta ARX-100 5.56 and the other is a Beretta CX-4 9mm carbine. Both are very cool guns, but I'm not as high on the ARX-100 as I thought I would be. Trigger is really heavy even for a combat rifle and there is only one place making replacements for it. I'm not sold on the new trigger design, either. Sigh. Decisions, decisions.

Have you got a Sierra Papa trigger for the CX4? Really cool upgrade. I now routinely shoot steel gongs at 200yards with mine which is just plain silly fun. I mean it pretty much is just plain goofy for a pcc at that range, but it can handle it. The SP trigger lowers the pull weight and smooths it out and removes darn near all the creep. I have it in both my cx4s.

Also, hope your foot heals up well. You actually stopped my range trip today as I was rushing and a little frenzied. I decided not to rush and to put things away instead.

 

[kenboy]

As others have said, thx for sharing. I will remember your accident every time I handle a firearm from now on.

God Bless

 

[tourproto]

Thanks for posting and a reminder to all of us to stay vigilant about the 4 rules of firearm safety.

Best wishes for a speedy recovery.

 

[SynapticSilence]

Have you got a Sierra Papa trigger for the CX4? Really cool upgrade. I now routinely shoot steel gongs at 200yards with mine which is just plain silly fun. I mean it pretty much is just plain goofy for a pcc at that range, but it can handle it. The SP trigger lowers the pull weight and smooths it out and removes darn near all the creep. I have it in both my cx4s.

Also, hope your foot heals up well. You actually stopped my range trip today as I was rushing and a little frenzied. I decided not to rush and to put things away instead.

I do. First thing I did to the CX4 after buying it off someone here on the forum. I just drove it over across the river, dropped it off, and picked it up a couple of weeks later. I got the ARX-100 before this happened and hadn't even had the chance to shoot it. I'd bought a nice Vortex optic for it and everything. Sigh. I think I'll be selling the ARX-100, though. Cool gun but I can't get past the trigger. If I can fund a couple of nice Dan Wesson 1911s and take the wife on a nice vacation from the proceeds of all the non-safetied guns I'm selling, I think that'll help me get over it all. And help my wife not be pissed at me, even though she certainly has a right to be miffed at me. My son-in-law will want the ARX-100 but he won't want to pay me what it's worth. So since I already gave him a break on an AR-15 I had, he won't be getting this one. Love the SierraPapa guy. Nice fellow. I guess if you can't fly planes for a living any more, coming up with something cool for an already cool gun is a worthy second career. I didn't get the aluminum receiver upgrade. Works fine without it. And I agree about the accuracy. Just amazing even with the 1x Vortex red dot I have on it. Not a lot of people have one. I personally think it's the best pistol caliber carbine out there right now.

 

[Wombat of Doom]

I do. First thing I did to the CX4 after buying it off someone here on the forum. I just drove it over across the river, dropped it off, and picked it up a couple of weeks later. I got the ARX-100 before this happened and hadn't even had the chance to shoot it. I'd bought a nice Vortex optic for it and everything. Sigh. I think I'll be selling the ARX-100, though. Cool gun but I can't get past the trigger. If I can fund a couple of nice Dan Wesson 1911s and take the wife on a nice vacation from the proceeds of all the non-safetied guns I'm selling, I think that'll help me get over it all. And help my wife not be pissed at me, even though she certainly has a right to be miffed at me. My son-in-law will want the ARX-100 but he won't want to pay me what it's worth. So since I already gave him a break on an AR-15 I had, he won't be getting this one. Love the SierraPapa guy. Nice fellow. I guess if you can't fly planes for a living any more, coming up with something cool for an already cool gun is a worthy second career. I didn't get the aluminum receiver upgrade. Works fine without it. And I agree about the accuracy. Just amazing even with the 1x Vortex red dot I have on it. Not a lot of people have one. I personally think it's the best pistol caliber carbine out there right now.

I love mine. Other than a couple guns I am quite sentimental about, that's my favorite. I own the 9 and the 45.

 

[11Charlie]

Damn!!! Here is to a speedy recovery!

Thanks for sharing and let us know how recovery is going.

 

[SynapticSilence]

I had not seen this write up until I saw the link in your post. You mentioned it in your response to my classified ad but Holy COW!
That is an eye opener and a lesson for all of us.
I had an NG four years ago with a Glock but I had pointed the gun down and away from me (believing I had cleared it) and shot through a cabinet and into a stack of books behind it. Lesson learned without pain, other than shock and the top of the dresser. I am SO sorry to see what happened to you. Get Better soon!

Thanks, Eric. And of course it had to be the new CZ. At least I hadn't Cajunized it yet. Thanks for the good thoughts. I'm loving the Ruger you sold me, though.

 

[tch1718a]

Ever since my negligent pistol discharge and injury yesterday morning, I've been pondering whether to post anything here. I'm embarrassed, feel stupid, and am kicking myself for violating the cardinal rule of handling guns — never be in a hurry. Someone referred to me once in my trading feedback as a "legend of the forum." Well, that wasn't really accurate in the first place. But it's in no way accurate now. I think I have to go back to square one after negligently (not accidentally) shooting myself in the foot.

I hadn't been able to go shooting for at least three months due to health problems, but finally felt great on Monday. So I was transferring a few pistols from my safe to my range bag to take with me. I was clearing each of them and finally got to my CZ 75D PCR 9mm. I checked the chamber and, to my surprise, noticed it was loaded, which meant I hadn't unloaded it when I moved it from my bedside table safe to the main safe. Mistake number one. I was also in a hurry to get out the door. Mistake number two.

As I prepared to clear it, I accidentally dropped the fairly stiffly sprung slide (new gun) back into battery. Mistake number three. What I also didn't notice was that in pressing the slide back and seeing the round in the chamber, I must have also cocked the pistol somehow. Mistake number four. And when the slide dropped, my grip slipped with the result that I painted my left foot with the barrel. Mistake number five. Also, when the slide dropped, I must have had my finger in the trigger guard, because the firearm suddenly discharged, sending a 9mm Underwood 90 grain XTreme Defender bullet traveling at 1420 FPS through the right top of my left foot, through a couple of large bones in my foot/ankle, and out the left side of my foot just above the pad on the bottom. Mistake (big mistake) number six.

The initial moment of disbelief following my first negligent discharge in over 55 years of firearms handling was quickly followed by a whole bunch of pain. That , however, was quickly replaced by an adrenaline-fueled mental rush telling me to assess the damage I'd done to myself. Of course, I was home alone. mistake number seven. And I realized I didn't really know where my cell phone was. Mistake number eight.

A visual check showed the round had gone through the top of my shoe, my sock, and the top of my foot. I was bleeding like a stuck pig all over the floor, but I found no signs of arterial bleeding. So I managed to hobble into my office down the hall, retrieve my cell phone, and call 911. The 911 operator instructed me to stay calm, made sure I hadn't been trying to kill myself, directed me to keep pressure on it, and alerted the Sheriff and an ambulance to respond to my house. I took myself out on the front porch to wait on them. They arrived within minutes.

It wasn't until they arrived that I realized the bullet had gone through and through. They got me in the ambulance while the deputies secured my gun (keeping it until I'm out of the hospital) and closed up my house. Then off I went to the Emergency Department at PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center where I was evaluated and whisked off to surgery to assess the damage and clean out the wound.

For some reason known only to god, I missed every single artery and tendon in my foot. I missed the flexor tendon in the top of my foot by a mere millimeter. If I'd hit it, I wouldn't have been able to raise the front of my foot. I missed both the arteries by a whisker. And I didn't damage a major nerve. Interestingly, the flutes on the nose of the solid copper Underwood bullet essentially acted like a drill, boring a hole through two of the larger bones in my foot before exiting out the left side. The surgeon said it was a perfect line from entry to exit, so much so that a straight metal probe stuck through the entry wound went through my foot without a single obstruction. He also ran a length of sterile gauze soaked in antibiotics all the way through to "floss" my foot by moving it back and forth to remove bone chips and any debris from my shoe and sock that may have been dragged into the wound. Additionally, he had to enlarge the entry and exit holes to about 2-3" to effectively flush and clean the wound out.

So now I'm in the hospital until at least Thursday. The greatest danger now that things have been cleaned up is the risk of infection, so I've been on IV antibiotics since admission. They'll be taking me back to surgery tomorrow to close the wounds as much as possible, since as they are now they might never heal by themselves.

The pain has been well controlled by Oxycodone. I won't be able to bear weight on it for several weeks at least, but presumably I won't have any lasting physical restrictions. And I count my lucky stars that I somehow came through what is certainly the most insanely negligent and severe physical injury I've had in my lifetime — All because of a cascading series of mistakes that had me clearing a gun in a hurry that should have already been cleared in the first place.

I hope forum members can read this and see the severity of the injuries I caused myself and learn from it. I'm not setting myself out as an example of anything except perhaps an arrogant fool. I had convinced myself that this could never happen to me because of all the years I've had handling firearms without incident. Mistake number nine, the mistake I hope this story impresses upon everyone who reads it. It can happen to you and possibly will the moment you convince yourself you're immune from being constantly vigilant about following all the rules of firearms safety.

As far as I'm concerned, I'm back to square one in terms of proving myself to myself. And proving myself to my amazing wife, who probably has been more traumatized than I have as a result of my own stupid impatience to get to the gun range. Feel free to comment here. I'm open to anything, including scathing remarks about my lack of discipline. That's because there wasn't a single thing accidental about this. The proper term is negligent, one I have to now fully embrace before I allow myself to pick up a gun again.

Full color pics follow. Squeamish people need not apply. On the entry wound, you can see what appears to be a whitish bone running top to bottom. That's actually the flexor tendon I mentioned. When I flexed my foot while the wound was unwrapped, I could watch it move up and down. Another reason they need to close my wounds tomorrow is that exposed tendons tend to die quickly. This is apparently not a good thing.

Again, this was the first negligent discharge I've had in over 55 years. But one is more than enough. Don't let this happen to you.
View attachment 509498 View attachment 509499 View attachment 509500

First off, i want to thank you for posting this regardless how putting it out there made you feel.

Those of us that have dealt with firearms for awhile sometimes do become so familiar that we make assumptions, and Any assumption with a firearm is dangerous. By telling your story, i hope the rest of us realize just how fast and injurious a momentary lapse of safety can be. We all already know I think, but in reading your story hopefully it makes us take the time to double and triple check ourselves.

I also want to give you credit for not doing something so common today. It takes courage enough to realize when you make a mistake, but in today's world it's more common to blame the object. What you have fully displayed is not just your desire to help the rest of us but telling your story, but a fountain of integrity for being honest about it.

No less important for me, is to wish you a speedy recovery and hope for a minimum of pain.

Thank you again, and heal well.

 

[RetiredLEO]

Ever since my negligent pistol discharge and injury yesterday morning, I've been pondering whether to post anything here. I'm embarrassed, feel stupid, and am kicking myself for violating the cardinal rule of handling guns — never be in a hurry. Someone referred to me once in my trading feedback as a "legend of the forum." Well, that wasn't really accurate in the first place. But it's in no way accurate now. I think I have to go back to square one after negligently (not accidentally) shooting myself in the foot.

I hadn't been able to go shooting for at least three months due to health problems, but finally felt great on Monday. So I was transferring a few pistols from my safe to my range bag to take with me. I was clearing each of them and finally got to my CZ 75D PCR 9mm. I checked the chamber and, to my surprise, noticed it was loaded, which meant I hadn't unloaded it when I moved it from my bedside table safe to the main safe. Mistake number one. I was also in a hurry to get out the door. Mistake number two.

As I prepared to clear it, I accidentally dropped the fairly stiffly sprung slide (new gun) back into battery. Mistake number three. What I also didn't notice was that in pressing the slide back and seeing the round in the chamber, I must have also cocked the pistol somehow. Mistake number four. And when the slide dropped, my grip slipped with the result that I painted my left foot with the barrel. Mistake number five. Also, when the slide dropped, I must have had my finger in the trigger guard, because the firearm suddenly discharged, sending a 9mm Underwood 90 grain XTreme Defender bullet traveling at 1420 FPS through the right top of my left foot, through a couple of large bones in my foot/ankle, and out the left side of my foot just above the pad on the bottom. Mistake (big mistake) number six.

The initial moment of disbelief following my first negligent discharge in over 55 years of firearms handling was quickly followed by a whole bunch of pain. That , however, was quickly replaced by an adrenaline-fueled mental rush telling me to assess the damage I'd done to myself. Of course, I was home alone. mistake number seven. And I realized I didn't really know where my cell phone was. Mistake number eight.

A visual check showed the round had gone through the top of my shoe, my sock, and the top of my foot. I was bleeding like a stuck pig all over the floor, but I found no signs of arterial bleeding. So I managed to hobble into my office down the hall, retrieve my cell phone, and call 911. The 911 operator instructed me to stay calm, made sure I hadn't been trying to kill myself, directed me to keep pressure on it, and alerted the Sheriff and an ambulance to respond to my house. I took myself out on the front porch to wait on them. They arrived within minutes.

It wasn't until they arrived that I realized the bullet had gone through and through. They got me in the ambulance while the deputies secured my gun (keeping it until I'm out of the hospital) and closed up my house. Then off I went to the Emergency Department at PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center where I was evaluated and whisked off to surgery to assess the damage and clean out the wound.

For some reason known only to god, I missed every single artery and tendon in my foot. I missed the flexor tendon in the top of my foot by a mere millimeter. If I'd hit it, I wouldn't have been able to raise the front of my foot. I missed both the arteries by a whisker. And I didn't damage a major nerve. Interestingly, the flutes on the nose of the solid copper Underwood bullet essentially acted like a drill, boring a hole through two of the larger bones in my foot before exiting out the left side. The surgeon said it was a perfect line from entry to exit, so much so that a straight metal probe stuck through the entry wound went through my foot without a single obstruction. He also ran a length of sterile gauze soaked in antibiotics all the way through to "floss" my foot by moving it back and forth to remove bone chips and any debris from my shoe and sock that may have been dragged into the wound. Additionally, he had to enlarge the entry and exit holes to about 2-3" to effectively flush and clean the wound out.

So now I'm in the hospital until at least Thursday. The greatest danger now that things have been cleaned up is the risk of infection, so I've been on IV antibiotics since admission. They'll be taking me back to surgery tomorrow to close the wounds as much as possible, since as they are now they might never heal by themselves.

The pain has been well controlled by Oxycodone. I won't be able to bear weight on it for several weeks at least, but presumably I won't have any lasting physical restrictions. And I count my lucky stars that I somehow came through what is certainly the most insanely negligent and severe physical injury I've had in my lifetime — All because of a cascading series of mistakes that had me clearing a gun in a hurry that should have already been cleared in the first place.

I hope forum members can read this and see the severity of the injuries I caused myself and learn from it. I'm not setting myself out as an example of anything except perhaps an arrogant fool. I had convinced myself that this could never happen to me because of all the years I've had handling firearms without incident. Mistake number nine, the mistake I hope this story impresses upon everyone who reads it. It can happen to you and possibly will the moment you convince yourself you're immune from being constantly vigilant about following all the rules of firearms safety.

As far as I'm concerned, I'm back to square one in terms of proving myself to myself. And proving myself to my amazing wife, who probably has been more traumatized than I have as a result of my own stupid impatience to get to the gun range. Feel free to comment here. I'm open to anything, including scathing remarks about my lack of discipline. That's because there wasn't a single thing accidental about this. The proper term is negligent, one I have to now fully embrace before I allow myself to pick up a gun again.

Full color pics follow. Squeamish people need not apply. On the entry wound, you can see what appears to be a whitish bone running top to bottom. That's actually the flexor tendon I mentioned. When I flexed my foot while the wound was unwrapped, I could watch it move up and down. Another reason they need to close my wounds tomorrow is that exposed tendons tend to die quickly. This is apparently not a good thing.

Again, this was the first negligent discharge I've had in over 55 years. But one is more than enough. Don't let this happen to you.
View attachment 509498 View attachment 509499 View attachment 509500

 

[RetiredLEO]

Thank you very much for sharing that with us. I have 65 years of gun handling without going thru what you did but I may have probably made one or more of those same mistakes during that time. Your post tells me several things...one I've been very fortunate. Two, your post was a wake up call that I no doubt needed. Never take anything for granted. Check and double check. THINK about everything you are doing.
I have no doubt that any experienced gun handler who is fortunate to read your post will benefit greatly from the courage it took for you to share this with us.
My heartfelt thanks and best wishes for your speedy and uncomplicated recovery.

 

[Silver Hand]

I am sorry for your foot and the accident that occurred. Hope you heal well and thank you for the post.
You have made the kind of impression words alone will never approach although we will never see the total results of your actions, for one I am sure this post will have long term affects and may even save a life.
Silver Hand

 

[RetiredLEO]

Just a footnote. My favorite platform has always been the 1911 although I have owned and used other weapons in the past. A number of years ago I decided to use and carry 1911's exclusively.
Shooting a single platform has enabled me to develop a routine that never varies varies. Nothing to think about that is new or unusual. In my opinion that has been a primary factor in the blessing that I have never gone thru the misery that you are suffering.
Once again, thank you for so forcefully reminding us that it's the small, critically details that can get us into, or keep us out of trouble.
Scott