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Where do I begin? When the neighbor prior to the current one moved in (4-5 yrs ago) I introduced myself and volunteered that he may have heard that I'm the dumbbubblegum that shot myself in the foot a few years prior. He replied 'Yes' and that he felt like a dumbbubblegum when he did the same thing to himself. What are the chances? A friend that I hadn't spoken to in over 20 yrs called me when it happened. He was going through divorce from an equally close friend at the time and for understandable reasons hadn't been seen at the usual Sunday night dinner of his soon to be ex wife for a few months. He informed me the reason I hadn't seen him wasn't as much because of the divorce as it was because he had shot himself in the groin and didn't want that getting back to his siblings.
They come out of the woodwork. I was as open about my pooch screwing as you are and much to my surprise (I work with lots of snowflake sjw liberals) not everyone views a gun the same as picking up their keys or wallet as you or I might. I have multi state CC and used to look over at the closet as a kid at the rifles and ammo a few feet away next to the couch while watching tv never dreaming of doing something insane with the arms. I was trained in safety above and beyond normal training. bubblegum happens.
The mentioned neighbor was ready to take a shot at a buck when it moved. He tripped on a branch while repositioning for his shot and the rifle dropped straight down with the weight of the gun resting on the trigger. The round went through and down his shin, ankle and heal. 5 yrs of 25-30 surgeries and the best they could promise was a fused, immobile heal/ankle. He chose prosthetic and promptly showed his aftermarket part to me. Backwoods country boy trained in firearms safety and use.
The groin guy was cleaning a small semi auto pistol that went off. The round lodged by his knee. His overalls were completely red by the time the medics showed. As far as I know he suffered no long term affects. His WW2 vet papa bought him his first firearm on his first birthday. It was a 410 shotgun. He still has it. He was well trained in safety and is still a FFL gunsmith.
Now it's my turn. I had just moved to the country outside St Helens from a apartment in Gresham and hadn't shot in 2 yrs. Spent a long week off work moving and on Labor day at around 7pm, 2011 I decided that since I didn't get to go play in the ocean on such a beautiful hot day, I would get familiar with and test fire the P64 (Polish James Bond) that had been sitting in my safe since I refurbed it. The extractor didn't seem to be seating properly and it didn't seem to be that big a problem. It was. Jamming, feed fail, extraction fail and extractor with associated parts flying off the gun. I wisely chose to stop shooting and make sure the gun was clear. It wasn't. The P64 is the first and only semi auto I ever shot or owned that was a 'slide closed' when empty operation. Most all of them stay open when the mag empties. My goal of getting familiar and test firing was achieved. I became very familiar and the test was a fail. While looking for the small black extractor, spring, and plunger which was well camouflaged on black gravel I began to get up and my aged knees started to give out. After spending 20+ hours cleaning up the pitting etc on the gun I wasn't about to set it on the gravel and I was doing all I could to not fall on my tailbone while trying to maintain my balance. I was waving my arms around, with the gun pointing down and away, but waving and all of the sudden 'POW'. I regained my balance and looked down to see where the round went. 'Hmmmm…..' moved my foot around and didn't see anything other than it appeared that the laces on my brand spanking new Danner's had been cut. Yes, like with a knife. I'm absolutely confused at this point and then notice that the lace rivet is missing on my boot. Yes, just plain missing! WTF? Then it all became clear when a 1'', 9mm red fountain shot out the top of my boot where the rivet had been. 'YOU FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCKING IDIOT!' 'YOU DID NOT JUST DO THAT! You are NEVER going to hear the end of this.'
I thought to myself 'Dad's gonna kill me. Oh bubblegum, Dad's gonna kill me.' Dad had been dead and gone for a decade. Safety training instilled.
I didn't feel a thing until about 10 minutes later just as the ambulance was making it's way up the gravel road. The 911 dispatcher also got a laugh from me when she asked if it was intentional and I was suicidal. I think I told her I'm a dork but not to the point that I would try to kill myself, especially suicide by foot shot.
At the ER they told me I was most fortunate and shot my foot in a really GOOD place. Had the round gone perpendicular to the ground I would have been healed in a few short months as it entered between first and 2nd metatarsal but it went in at an angle and shattered my 2nd metatarsal. I explained to the ER crew that 'here' would have been a GOOD place to shoot my foot (motioning with a finger gun waving it around my foot instead of over it again saying 'instead of here') and they did not argue.
I had the biggest remaining chunk of 2nd metatarsal stuck back into place with a metal strap and a few tiny screws. All still there. They removed lace rivet shrapnel, and excess bone fragments. The bone had to fill in about an 1/8'' gap at both ends and it took a while. Oxycodone was my friend for a month. Quitting sucked but I still have 30+ expired Oxy's sitting in the nightstand waiting to be disposed of. I was taking 24 a day at peak. I understand completely why some folks can't stop, or at least believe they can't.
I was eventually able to locate difficult to find Polish gun parts and test fired the gun in the same condition with a few rounds attempting to get a fail result reenactment. The gun performed other than the feed, jam etc problems and then I installed the other parts with a properly seated extractor. I found the error of the original install. My bad. The gun performed spectacularly. I have sold it but not for anything connected to the mishap. I just needed money and it was low on the list of keepers. I don't believe in 'bad luck'. I was not able to get it to fail. Still don't know what exactly happened when I screwed up. I am quite certain my finger was outside the trigger guard....but maybe not.
I have a family 22 Remington Yugo copy of a 760 bolt action. To this day it does not get a round chambered unless it is pointing in the general direction of the target. It performs fine but when I first got it to clean it up I test fired it at the range and when closing the bolt, it fired. Sticky firing pin. Like I said, it has never done it since but it did it 30 yrs ago and I still use caution. It's a favorite plinker.
Today I walk fine and the whole incident was a sort of blessing in disguise. My bone wouldn't heal for 8 months when it first happened. They were talking hip bone transplant Frankenstein crap and I countered with 'then I'll have two places that aren't healing. NO!' Even my hairline fractures looked the same as the day after the accident. After hearing about Youngevity products on Infowars and Coast to Coast AM I made dietary changes and cut out the GMO's besides adding the new supplement program. I had been consuming what I thought was a healthy diet. Others thought the same. I've lost 50 lbs, no longer have to even consider knee surgery and my cartilage/joint/arthritis issues have become non issues for the most part.
The liberals I work with that still equate me with a tv character have certainly noticed the improvement in my physical work performance in a physically demanding trade. They ain't laughing anymore.
And remember, you will never hear the end of it but sharing your story will make others more cautious. I know many (snowflake) first time owners and carriers that take safety courses expressly because they don't want to accidently shoot themselves like their dork friend. One guy I worked with flipped me more crap than anybody ever had before confessing to me that he once shot himself in the thigh. Happy healing. It's easier than you think, isn't it?
They come out of the woodwork. I was as open about my pooch screwing as you are and much to my surprise (I work with lots of snowflake sjw liberals) not everyone views a gun the same as picking up their keys or wallet as you or I might. I have multi state CC and used to look over at the closet as a kid at the rifles and ammo a few feet away next to the couch while watching tv never dreaming of doing something insane with the arms. I was trained in safety above and beyond normal training. bubblegum happens.
The mentioned neighbor was ready to take a shot at a buck when it moved. He tripped on a branch while repositioning for his shot and the rifle dropped straight down with the weight of the gun resting on the trigger. The round went through and down his shin, ankle and heal. 5 yrs of 25-30 surgeries and the best they could promise was a fused, immobile heal/ankle. He chose prosthetic and promptly showed his aftermarket part to me. Backwoods country boy trained in firearms safety and use.
The groin guy was cleaning a small semi auto pistol that went off. The round lodged by his knee. His overalls were completely red by the time the medics showed. As far as I know he suffered no long term affects. His WW2 vet papa bought him his first firearm on his first birthday. It was a 410 shotgun. He still has it. He was well trained in safety and is still a FFL gunsmith.
Now it's my turn. I had just moved to the country outside St Helens from a apartment in Gresham and hadn't shot in 2 yrs. Spent a long week off work moving and on Labor day at around 7pm, 2011 I decided that since I didn't get to go play in the ocean on such a beautiful hot day, I would get familiar with and test fire the P64 (Polish James Bond) that had been sitting in my safe since I refurbed it. The extractor didn't seem to be seating properly and it didn't seem to be that big a problem. It was. Jamming, feed fail, extraction fail and extractor with associated parts flying off the gun. I wisely chose to stop shooting and make sure the gun was clear. It wasn't. The P64 is the first and only semi auto I ever shot or owned that was a 'slide closed' when empty operation. Most all of them stay open when the mag empties. My goal of getting familiar and test firing was achieved. I became very familiar and the test was a fail. While looking for the small black extractor, spring, and plunger which was well camouflaged on black gravel I began to get up and my aged knees started to give out. After spending 20+ hours cleaning up the pitting etc on the gun I wasn't about to set it on the gravel and I was doing all I could to not fall on my tailbone while trying to maintain my balance. I was waving my arms around, with the gun pointing down and away, but waving and all of the sudden 'POW'. I regained my balance and looked down to see where the round went. 'Hmmmm…..' moved my foot around and didn't see anything other than it appeared that the laces on my brand spanking new Danner's had been cut. Yes, like with a knife. I'm absolutely confused at this point and then notice that the lace rivet is missing on my boot. Yes, just plain missing! WTF? Then it all became clear when a 1'', 9mm red fountain shot out the top of my boot where the rivet had been. 'YOU FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCKING IDIOT!' 'YOU DID NOT JUST DO THAT! You are NEVER going to hear the end of this.'
I thought to myself 'Dad's gonna kill me. Oh bubblegum, Dad's gonna kill me.' Dad had been dead and gone for a decade. Safety training instilled.
I didn't feel a thing until about 10 minutes later just as the ambulance was making it's way up the gravel road. The 911 dispatcher also got a laugh from me when she asked if it was intentional and I was suicidal. I think I told her I'm a dork but not to the point that I would try to kill myself, especially suicide by foot shot.
At the ER they told me I was most fortunate and shot my foot in a really GOOD place. Had the round gone perpendicular to the ground I would have been healed in a few short months as it entered between first and 2nd metatarsal but it went in at an angle and shattered my 2nd metatarsal. I explained to the ER crew that 'here' would have been a GOOD place to shoot my foot (motioning with a finger gun waving it around my foot instead of over it again saying 'instead of here') and they did not argue.
I had the biggest remaining chunk of 2nd metatarsal stuck back into place with a metal strap and a few tiny screws. All still there. They removed lace rivet shrapnel, and excess bone fragments. The bone had to fill in about an 1/8'' gap at both ends and it took a while. Oxycodone was my friend for a month. Quitting sucked but I still have 30+ expired Oxy's sitting in the nightstand waiting to be disposed of. I was taking 24 a day at peak. I understand completely why some folks can't stop, or at least believe they can't.
I was eventually able to locate difficult to find Polish gun parts and test fired the gun in the same condition with a few rounds attempting to get a fail result reenactment. The gun performed other than the feed, jam etc problems and then I installed the other parts with a properly seated extractor. I found the error of the original install. My bad. The gun performed spectacularly. I have sold it but not for anything connected to the mishap. I just needed money and it was low on the list of keepers. I don't believe in 'bad luck'. I was not able to get it to fail. Still don't know what exactly happened when I screwed up. I am quite certain my finger was outside the trigger guard....but maybe not.
I have a family 22 Remington Yugo copy of a 760 bolt action. To this day it does not get a round chambered unless it is pointing in the general direction of the target. It performs fine but when I first got it to clean it up I test fired it at the range and when closing the bolt, it fired. Sticky firing pin. Like I said, it has never done it since but it did it 30 yrs ago and I still use caution. It's a favorite plinker.
Today I walk fine and the whole incident was a sort of blessing in disguise. My bone wouldn't heal for 8 months when it first happened. They were talking hip bone transplant Frankenstein crap and I countered with 'then I'll have two places that aren't healing. NO!' Even my hairline fractures looked the same as the day after the accident. After hearing about Youngevity products on Infowars and Coast to Coast AM I made dietary changes and cut out the GMO's besides adding the new supplement program. I had been consuming what I thought was a healthy diet. Others thought the same. I've lost 50 lbs, no longer have to even consider knee surgery and my cartilage/joint/arthritis issues have become non issues for the most part.
The liberals I work with that still equate me with a tv character have certainly noticed the improvement in my physical work performance in a physically demanding trade. They ain't laughing anymore.
And remember, you will never hear the end of it but sharing your story will make others more cautious. I know many (snowflake) first time owners and carriers that take safety courses expressly because they don't want to accidently shoot themselves like their dork friend. One guy I worked with flipped me more crap than anybody ever had before confessing to me that he once shot himself in the thigh. Happy healing. It's easier than you think, isn't it?
