My bad, and yes, it was stupid!!

[UncaGrunny]

the surgeon said if it had been my 40, I probably would have lost 1/2 my hand and the destroyed my left knee. that's where the round ended up.
...
At least I did have the muzzle pointed in a safe direction.

I also hope you get well soon & recover fully ... but I have to admit I'm a little puzzled by your definiton of "a safe direction," given your injuries.

To me, at least, the concept of 'safe direction' precludes body parts in the line of fire.

 

[blackbird94]

it was pointed towards the floor. but my left hand was in front of the muzzle, not towards my head or chest.

 

[kamloops67]

i just remembered a nd i had, cant believe i forgot about it.
a couple years ago i was cleaning my semi-auto .68 calibre tiberius paintball pistol. i had just reassembled it put in a fresh co2 cartridge ,and slammed a full mag into it .
bang!bang! what the..."joanne! my finger isnt even on the .."
bang! "...trigger " bang! bang! by now im running to kitchen sink and point the possessed gun into the sink bang!...bang!bang!
eight rounds of 68 calibre brilliant red paint all over my kitchen ,tiny red splatters on every thing and big drools of thick red all over everything else.
it turns out i had installed the sear upside down , and the gun just emptied itself . it happened so fast i didnt think to drop the mag.
dont load paintball guns in the house? how can i shoot them out my front door if i dont? jk.

 

[fas111]

Ok here is mine. Dates back to the 70s and it still bothers me. I almost shot my dog. I was on a sick day, laying in bed with my Ruger mk1 feeling sorry for myself. Dog was in the bed with me. For some reason I pointed the gun at her head and started to press. I guess God was with me. I stopped and pulled the bolt a bit. It was loaded. I am now the most safety minded guy on the planet. I will never forget what could have happened. I loved that dog then and I love her now.

 

[gunblade]

Rule #2 is a good one and can prevent a lot of unintended consequences if you forget rule #1.