I am 57 years old, and I have been around firearms since I was 16. For decades, I thought of myself as an expert. I believed accidents happened to others, never to me. But one moment with my .44 Magnum changed my life forever.
I accidentally shot myself in the leg. The damage was catastrophic, and I knew I might not survive. The only reason I am still here is because I pressed my thumbs into both the entry and exit wounds to slow the bleeding until help arrived. Without that, I would not be alive today.
I am still healing physically, but the emotional wounds cut deeper. PTSD, flashbacks, and the memory of how close I came to death stay with me every day. This accident has completely changed my view of firearms. No amount of experience makes you immune to mistakes. If it could happen to me, it can happen to anyone.