Super glad your alright. Scary story for sure, and one that I will keep in mind. Takes balls to own up to making a mistake on a forum filled with mostly men. Like you, I thinks it's important to remind folks that these things happen fairly often unfortunately. I know of another story just like yours except dude shot himself a little lower in the actual kneecap.

Thankfully it wasn't a .223, or dare I say a .308. I tell folks that handgun wounds are very often survivable, even head wounds...however, getting shot with a rifle is a whole different level of trauma from what I've learned.

Get better pal, and we all make mistakes