Veterans’ firearm injuries

Ken

See full story

Firearms have always been a part of Ken’s life, “from a young age to the military days, and currently now.” His first gun was a pellet rifle. “I was about 13 years old. I didn’t have video games growing up. So, it was air guns, pellet rifles. My father telling me, ‘Hey, point the barrel in a safe direction, you know, don’t shoot people, birds, or animals.’ That’s about the extent of firearm safety that was taught to me.”

Ken received more advanced firearm training while serving in the Marines and, after 9/11, in the Army which included tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. Now retired, Ken lives in a rural area populated by many dairy farms where birds have become a problem. “Birds that are eating up a lot of the cattle’s food. It upsets the farmers. So, I go to the farms, and I tell them that I’m a combat vet, and I’m using air guns to control the bird population that has inundated all these dairy farms.” 

To keep from scaring the cattle when he shoots, Ken equips his air gun with a silencer. One afternoon while shooting, “all the internal parts of the silencer came out when I shot the air gun...And it shot right through my index finger.” Ken broke the bone in his finger where the pellet went through but considers himself lucky because that day, he was using relatively small .177 caliber pellets. “Had that been a .22 caliber pellet, I’d have lost the end of the finger. It would’ve blown it right off.” At the hospital there was little that could be done for him beyond a few stitches. Ken's finger healed but remains numb. “To this day, it’s a constant reminder because I still don’t have quite the feeling back.” 

The accident hasn’t changed how Ken feels about using firearms, although he has a renewed focus on safety. “I don’t take firearm safety lightly. I was upset at myself that I did not use some of the basic training that I had to go through while in the military...Even though I’ve shot myself, firearms are still very much a part of my life even today. I’m just a little more cautious.” 

 

Ken reflects on how his injury was an accident that happened because “I didn't follow through with making sure the gun was clear.”

Ken reflects on how his injury was an accident that happened because “I didn't follow through with making sure the gun was clear.”

View topic summary
SHOW TEXT VERSION
PRINT TRANSCRIPT

What happened was there was a malfunction with the said rifle. And, you know, growing up with firearms and being in the military, I know better. I know better than, you know, to assume that there – you know, there possibly could be a round in the chamber. So, you have to clear your weapon to make sure that the magazine has been removed and there is no round chambered in the barrel that could possibly go off. And the day that occurred to me was a day I was frustrated with said air gun that I did not follow those steps that the military taught me, you know, to clear your weapon before you do any kind of work to the weapon. I just automatically assumed that the weapon, or the air gun, was out of pellets in the magazine and it didn’t dawn on me that there was one that was still chambered. 

I haven’t told anyone because to me it was totally my fault for disregarding, you know, safety practices of firearm safety, whether it’s a real firearm or an air gun such as this gun and incident. And it’s embarrassing for me to even bring that up for the simple fact that, “Hey, you’re ex-military. You’ve been to Iraq, Afghanistan.” You know, I was an MP soldier. So, I know better. You know. So, I know how to handle a firearm. The proper way to, you know, check the weapon to make sure there’s not one chambered. And I disregarded all that the day that, you know, I had this accident with my air gun. I disregarded all that. I was too focused on being upset because the silencer end cap blew off and all the internal parts blew out of the end of the cap. And I gathered everything up and screwed them back together again. Due to my anger, I did not follow through with making sure the gun was clear before retesting the gun out to see if it was fixed. I paid off that price. I shot myself in the finger.

 

Ken feels proud that he can use his weapons experience to help farmers in his area control pests that harm crops and livestock.

Ken feels proud that he can use his weapons experience to help farmers in his area control pests that harm crops and livestock.

View topic summary
SHOW TEXT VERSION
PRINT TRANSCRIPT

Like today, currently in my life, I go to Farming Commission, a dairy farm, dairy farmers, you know, dairy farms. And I help the dairy farmers with pest control. Because, you know, the dairy farmers – I don’t know how it is Oregon, but at least here, you know, in my state, there’s a lot of pest birds that are eating up a lot of the cattle’s food. And it upsets the farmers. So, I go to the farms, you know, and I tell them that I’m a vet, I’m a combat vet, and I’m using air guns to control the bird population that has inundated all these dairy farms. And the farmers you know they don’t like the common house sparrow, the starlings, and the pigeons, and the red-tip, red wing black birds that – and cow birds that come to the farms. And I mean there’s lots of birds all over the place. And the farmers get upset because the birds are eating up the grain. And of course, they can’t be worried about trying to, you know, shoo off all the birds. So, a guy like me comes there, you know, and uses air guns to take care of the birds, you know? And because the air gun has a silencer at the end of the barrel, it makes it quiet. And it doesn’t scare the cattle when I’m shooting outside the barns at all these pest birds. So, you know, guns in general, whether it’s an air gun, or a real firearm, play an important part in my life. I’m retired, and that’s a way to occupy my time, is to help the farmers out. So, the farmers, they’re very much appreciative of me coming out there and kind of take care of, you know, the pest birds for them. And I get some satisfaction out of it knowing that I get to shoot the firearm at the Farmer’s Commission and help the farmers out. And then, you know, there are times, you know, that I also take my real firearms out to a shooting range, you know, gun range. I get to enjoy shooting my handguns and my real firearms as well. 

 

Ken thinks it’s better to have a firearm, “just in case."

Ken thinks it’s better to have a firearm, “just in case."

View topic summary
SHOW TEXT VERSION
PRINT TRANSCRIPT

I mean I got firearms in the house, you know, that’s in my – next to my nightstand, that I have there just in case, you know? Never know. Because I live out in the country. Not that it matters where you live at. It doesn’t matter if it’s a burglar, you know, if they’re going to rob you or not. But, you know, I just have one just in case. Never know.

 

Ken doesn’t believe “open carry is what it’s cracked up to be.”

Ken doesn’t believe “open carry is what it’s cracked up to be.”

View topic summary
SHOW TEXT VERSION
PRINT TRANSCRIPT

Now, can I carry legally? Yeah. Can I carry? Yes, I can carry, you know, a firearm, you know. But I don’t know. I just don’t. I don’t carry a sidearm with me, you know. I don’t know about your state, you know, whether there’s open carry or not. But there’s open carry in my state. And I don’t like it.

Interviewer: Can you tell me more about your thoughts on open carry?

Respondent: Here’s a good example of open carry, okay. I’m at a restaurant on the day of my birthday. And there was, you know, some folks that came in, you know, waiting to be seated. And then, you know, the hostess, you know, grabbed them up and seated them at their table. But they walked by me along with some other folks – I’m not the only one that noticed it. But it was one guy, he was – he had a firearm on his side, you know, open carry. And you know, I guess it made me feel uneasy knowing that he’s got a handgun and it’s being shown to everybody at that restaurant, you know. Everybody saw it, you know. And I can look around at their faces, you know, to see what their reaction was, you know. And their reaction was the same as my reaction, you know. Like, what the heck, you know. You have an open carry weapon with you going into a restaurant, you know. And the first thing that ran cross my mind was okay, here’s this guy. He’s open carrying his handgun on his side. It’s kind of unnerving, you know.

You don’t know if – you know, if he decides he wants to – had a bad morning or something, you know, whips out his gun and starts shooting up the restaurant. So, in that sense, I kind of agree with open carry, you know. Some people just don’t feel very comfortable seeing he has a gun. I mean, it’s one thing if, you know, if you’re in a foreign land and you’re in a combat situation, you know. Then that’s a picture case, but that wouldn’t bother me so much, you know. It wouldn’t bother me at all. But you know, restaurants, I’ve got my wife and my kids with me. And my son, you know, is, you know, telling me, you know, dad, you know, that guys got a gun. And like oh, jeez, you know. I just don’t think open carry is what it’s cracked up to be. I disagree with open carry. You know, the carry conceals, okay, you know. You don’t have to show it to the public. But to open carry like that, no. I disagree with it. I don’t feel very comfortable with open carrying, you know. 

I don’t mind a person, you know, concealed carry, you know, where out of sight out of mind. But when you have, you know, somebody that’s carrying, you know, open carry, the magazine is right next to the handgun, you know. It’s like, well, that’s a lot of fire power right there, you know. You got one in a magazine, you know, in the gun itself. And he’s got two extra magazines right next to it. So, that’s a lot of rounds. You could shoot a lot of people up with that. That’s for sure. You know, it’s just a psychological thing. I don’t know about you, but for me, when I see a person with a handgun, you know, open carry, I’m at a disadvantage because he’s got a handgun, and I don’t have anything. What am I going to do, throw stones at him? You know, can’t dodge a bullet. If he decides he wants to go off, you know, I don’t have anything. I’ve got nothing. So, to me, it’s psychological, whenever I see someone with a handgun that’s, you know, open carrying. It does have a psychological effect, you know. It may be all innocent and not plan on pulling his handgun out, you know. But you just never know. You don’t know with folks nowadays. You know. You just don’t know what a person’s intentions are.

 

Referring to the firearm safety training he received in the military, Ken says, “they beat it in your head.”

Referring to the firearm safety training he received in the military, Ken says, “they beat it in your head.”

View topic summary
SHOW TEXT VERSION
PRINT TRANSCRIPT

Well, they always teach you, you know, firearm safety, you know. Make sure you clear your weapon before you do any kind of work on your weapons, just general maintenance on weapons. I mean they beat it in your head about firearm safety because it must’ve been, you know, I don’t know, why that’s so – I guess I understand why it’s so important. It must be because there must’ve been some firearm injuries. Soldiers disregard and shot themselves accidentally. So, that is one thing that the military does instill in all its military personnel. Doesn’t matter what branch you’re in. But it’s firearm safety.

 

Ken recalls feeling embarrassed and like “the main attraction” for hospital providers who has never seen an injury like his.

Ken recalls feeling embarrassed and like “the main attraction” for hospital providers who has never seen an injury like his.

View topic summary
SHOW TEXT VERSION
PRINT TRANSCRIPT

Well, I did say that this was embarrassing. You know the whole situation was embarrassing just having to go to the hospital, you know. And tell them exactly, you know, what happened. But, I felt kind of like, you know, the main attraction, I guess. Because at least with the physician and the nurses, you know, they came in, you know. They’ve never had somebody, you know, come into the hospital especially with the type of injury that occurred that, you know, that was self-inflicted. They’d never seen an injury like that. So, I don’t know if it was just, I was made to be an example, you know, where everybody – the doctors came in, you know, and wanted to see what one of those pellets do to you. You know, the type of injury that I inflicted on myself with a pellet rifle, you know, a pellet gun. And I just felt kind of – I don’t know, embarrassed. But yeah, the doctors, you know, kind of looked at it, you know, and like with a curiosity, I guess. And this felt – I don’t know. I just felt – I don’t know if I’m answering your question correctly or not. But I just felt kind of embarrassed just to be like a pin cushion, I guess, you know, where everybody just prodded me and looked at it, you know, and examined it, and made a big example. The main story of the day. “Hey, I’ve got a guy here that shot himself with a pellet rifle. Want to come see?”  

Previous Page
Next Page