Estimated reading time: 4 minutes
If you’ve carried a handgun long enough, you’ve probably caught yourself thinking, “I’ve got this.” Muscle memory takes over. Drawing becomes routine. Safety habits become second nature.
That’s exactly why this story hits so hard.
North Wind Aerial creator Tim Danley wasn’t a new gun owner. He wasn’t showing off for social media. He wasn’t horsing around in the woods.
He was participating in a planned professional firearms training session when everything changed in less than half a second.
Table of contents
This Wasn’t a Rookie Mistake
One of the most important parts of Danley’s story is what happened before the shot.
He explains that he’d spent years around firearms, including military service as an armorer, teaching others, and building a reputation for being meticulous about gun safety.
“I am meticulous about firearm safety… It’s been kind of one of my badges of honor.”
That’s what makes the story so uncomfortable. It’s easy to dismiss accidents when they involve someone ignoring every safety rule imaginable.
It’s much harder when they happen to someone everyone considered “the safety guy.”
Less Than Half a Second
Danley says the discharge happened while drawing from an appendix carry holster during a timed course of fire.
The round fired before the pistol was fully clear of the holster. From the timer’s beep to the gun firing?
He estimates less than half a second. He refuses to speculate about the exact cause. Instead, he says something many people probably wouldn’t have the humility to admit:
“I’m not going to sit here and say that I didn’t accidentally finger the trigger because I don’t know.”
He says the trigger could have been caught by clothing, the holster, his belt or it could have been his finger.
He simply doesn’t know. That honesty deserves attention.
The Consequences Were Immediate
The bullet struck his groin. It destroyed his left testicle after it passed through his penis. He later explained that he initially thought he’d only shot his penis because he didn’t realize his scrotum had also been hit.
Doctors inserted a catheter expected to remain for weeks while he recovered. Danley says the injury narrowly missed his femoral artery.
“Three degrees difference in aim and that bullet would have been in my femoral artery.”
That’s a sobering reminder of how little margin for error exists when carrying a loaded handgun.
What Shock Really Feels Like
The follow-up video may be even more valuable than the first.
Instead of focusing on the accident itself, Danley describes what it actually feels like to be shot and what happens mentally afterward.
He recalls his brain switching instantly into survival mode.
“We’ve been shot.”
Not “I’ve.”
“We’ve.”
That’s the phrase his mind landed on.
He describes overwhelming pain, confusion, memory gaps, and later discovering there were entire portions of the incident he simply couldn’t remember.
That’s an important detail because people often expect someone involved in a traumatic shooting to recall every second perfectly.
Reality doesn’t always work that way.
Humor Didn’t Disappear
One reason these videos resonate is that Danley somehow manages to inject humor into an otherwise awful situation.
His firefighter friends quickly nicknamed him “Half Sac.” He jokingly refers to the incident as his “DIY vasectomy.” He even quips that the bullet was so perfectly centered it traveled through the seam of his jeans.
The jokes don’t minimize what happened.
If anything, they show how humor can become part of healing. As Danley puts it:
“Talking and laughing about things… is some of the best ways to heal.”
The Mental Recovery May Be Harder
Physical injuries eventually heal. The mental side often takes longer. Danley says simply thinking about drawing a firearm now causes his hands to shake and makes him nauseous.
He’s considering therapy and openly discusses the emotional toll of the accident. That’s something we don’t hear enough in the firearms community.
We spend plenty of time discussing gear, calibers and holsters. We spend far less time talking about what happens after a traumatic firearms accident even when everyone survives.
The Biggest Lesson Isn’t About Appendix Carry
Some readers will inevitably try to turn this into another appendix carry debate. That misses the point.
Danley himself isn’t blaming a carry position. He’s not blaming Glock. He’s not blaming hollow points.
SEE ALSO: You’ll Shoot Your Nuts Off! Five Reasons to Rethink Appendix Carry
He’s also not pretending he has all the answers. Instead, he’s encouraging everyone to examine their own habits. Routine creates comfort. Comfort creates complacency. And complacency is where mistakes happen.
Whether you carry appendix, strong side, shoulder, or somewhere else, every draw deserves the same respect as your very first one.
A Reminder Every Carrier Should Hear
The firearms community often says safety is a lifelong responsibility. Danley’s story puts a face on that statement.
Experience helps. Training matters. Quality gear matters. But none of those things make anyone immune from human error.
His willingness to publicly discuss one of the worst moments of his life may end up preventing someone else from experiencing it themselves. And if that’s the outcome, then this painful story could save far more than it cost.
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is a seasoned outdoorsman, lifelong hunter, and the kind of guy who’d rather track whitetails than scroll social media. As an editor for GunsAmerica, he’s got a sharp eye for spotting both solid gear and bad gun laws. Whether he’s deep in the woods or deep in editorial deadlines, Larry brings a no-nonsense, tell-it-like-it-is approach to firearms, hunting, and the great American tradition of self-reliance. If there’s a hot debate on gun rights or the latest in hunting tech, you can bet Larry’s got an opinion—and it’s probably backed up with both facts and field experience.
Experience:
– Licensed Bowhunter, Hunter, and Trapper – Experienced in ethical hunting and wildlife conservation.
– Concealed Carry Permit Holder (NYS & AZ) – Trained and licensed to carry in multiple states.
– 2A Journalist – Covering firearms legislation, Second Amendment issues, and gun rights for over a decade.
– Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) – Certified to provide emergency medical care in the field.
– Field-Tested Gear Reviewer – Hands-on experience with firearms, optics, and hunting tech.
There’s a difference between an accidental discharge and a negligent discharge. This was obviously a negligent discharge since the pistol didn’t didn’t fire on its own without any outside forces.
Think about it. It ain’t rocket science.
For every-day carry, the carrier’s *foremost* priority should be making sure you don’t shoot anything you haven’t consciously chosen to shoot. After all, 99.999 percent of the time you’re carrying, you really don’t want to be shooting anybody, right?
Unfortunately, folks tend to buy into stuff which offers competitive advantages with a whole lot of rationalizing about adverse safety impacts. Trigger safeties do not provide *any* meaningful protection against an unintended trigger pull. It’s virtually impossible for anything to press against the trigger without also disengaging that little lever.
Contrast that with a M911-style thumb safety (or an AR15-style safety lever), where a natural sweep of the thumb is required to unlock the trigger. That trigger can’t be unlocked until you have the pistol well clear of the holster – and presumably pointed away from at least your own body. And flipping the safety off is a simpler bit of muscle memory than moving your trigger finger into firing position without prematurely smacking the trigger.
Just my curmudgeonly two-cents worth that I’m sure all the “train to draw fast enough to beat the already drawn gun” folks will ignore.
I’d be curious to what mods may have been made to the FCG, if any.
Dear Larry,
My heart goes out to you. Nobody should ever go through what you are going through. For anyone criticizing you they should pray that this never happens to them. I too carry one in the chamber but my firearm of choice is a LTT Beretta PX4 DA/SA in 9mm carried AIWB . Not having the training or military background one of my greatest fears was not surviving an experience such as yours. Because of that fear I carry that DA/SA. Despite 7 years of training I am still occasionally surprised by how easily the second round in SA -a 3# pull- is discharged which is like your first. Listening to you talk about your accidental discharge I think: …but for the Grace of God there go I. God saved you for a reason. Perhaps it was so you could share your experience with others. Heal quickly and fully and continue training. …JIM
All therapy is going to do is put all the blame on him having a firearm and try to shove a bunch of pills he doesn’t need down his throat. That’s going to cascade into a bunch of issues he doesn’t need.
I would say “we’ve been shot” works because it was Big Bob and one of the twins as well 😉
The day you become confident doing something dangerous is the day you become dangerous…usually to yourself.
For me it was being a telephone lineman when my hooks cut out. Forty foot impact and thousands of splinters.
Be careful out there!
Should have paid better attention to your ball-istics.
Don’t appendix carry and don’t carry a Glock. Glocks are for women and men who like other men.
HAHAHAHA! I had a friend who was a cop. He carried a stainless Model 66, 2-1/2” revolver in .357 Magum in an appendix carry. He kicked in a door once to serve a search warrant and it went off. Missed all his vital parts but hit the X on his ego.
for women and gay men…….say whhhaat….. g22’s and g23’s were issued by the government then they reversed course because people couldn’t handle the recoil! a side note they switched because a 9mm wasn’t cutting it with vests.
I agree about appendix carry but you are way off base on Glocks. As a retired SA of the FBI and one of their FA instructors training new agents I always made sure they understood Glocks are “shooters”guns. The only real safety is your index (trigger) finger. Of course this applies to all firearms particularly those configured with trigger safeties.
As a retired urologist covering ER call, this is not a rare occurrence. This individual will be impotent and require an implant for sexual function. A femoral artery GSW can be fatal. From day 1, I never planned to appendix carry.
Great example of the benefit of a thumb safety. Nobody complains about rifles having a safety, but for some reason, it’s a very contentious issues when it comes to handguns.
“Some readers will inevitably try to turn this into another appendix carry debate”
Sorry, but safety is a chain of processes–not a single step. Properly performed, multiple steps in the chain must fail before the mishap occurs.
What are the four standard rules of firearm safety?:
1) Treat every gun as loaded
2) Never point the muzzle at something you aren’t willing to destroy
3) Finger off trigger till sights on target
4) Know target and what’s behind it
Appendix carry knocks out step 2 in the chain. The muzzle is covering vital structures: genitals, femoral artery, femoral vein, femur.
He’s lucky he missed his femoral artery. He’d have been dead in under 5 minutes.
Recheck #3, Finger OFF the trigger till you’ve decide to SHOOT! In a SD or Leo situation, a startled response is not a good thing with a finger on the trigger especially with a striker fired pistol.
What an honest stand up(pun not intended) guy! I don’t know him but have a lot of respect for him. That being said I think this is about Appendix carry. I carry OWB at the 4:00 position with a holster with a 5 degree cant. When drawing or holstering the firearm is at least somewhat pointed away from my body. Still get shot with an ND? Absolutely! However the firearm is NOT pointed at the family jewels and as Tim pointed out my femoral artery. Also I can draw and holster with one hand while my off hand can be used to open doors, stand off an assailant or any other tasks an emergency situation calls for which you can not do with AIWB. Also how anyone sits down comfortably with this form of carry is beyond me. Tim good luck with your recovery and keep your chin up. John
A few lessons can be learned from this man’s unfortunate accident:
Why use ammo that is designed for maximum tissue damage for practice involving targets? A FMJ round may have resulted in less damage. Some argue “train with what you carry” but that is bunk and should be replaced with train and carry rounds that have similar ballistics.
Holsters were historically designed for the side of the hips for the simple reason that the barrel points to the ground. Cowboys and gunslingers in the old West surely had those old Colt Peacemakers fire accidentally too. Better to have a leg graze at worst than what happened to this man. You need a baggy shirt to cover either an appendix or side carry holster either way. Carry on the side and save the misery this man endured.
Why I don’t carry appendix.
I took a concealed carry class with my wife years ago – she was required to take so I went along just because. The instructor was adamant that the only way to properly carry a concealed firearm is appendix carry. I asked “but doesn’t that place the muzzle facing your body, especially when sitting? And shouldn’t the muzzle ALWAYS be pointed away from you own body”? He just ignored the question like he didn’t hear it. There have been a few stories in recent years about appendix carry and people shooting themselves, so resulting in death from bleeding out. I agree, it’s a person’s personal choice on how they carry.
Those words weren’t coming from his brain they were coming from his penis… Proof that our penises have a voice lol. Well that incident certainly took balls, pun intended, but it took even bigger balls to admit one’s mistake.
Not really sure how holster or clothing could’ve caused the misfire since they would be pulling the trigger in the opposite direction so I’m going with you fingered the trigger. Certainly a possible mistake but sometimes complacency causes these problems.
It’s like skydiving… When I learned, at that time there was no history of anyone in student status that ever died in a skydiving accident. All of the deaths were guys with a lot of jumps. Complacency? Vanity/ego saying I can Unfuck this tangled shoot? Never think you’re too good to make a mistake is the number one rule I teach. I was in my early to mid 20s when I misfired my hunting rifle. It was pointed in a safe direction but it still happened and it’s the only time it’s ever happened, thus far.
Even though this isn’t an article about appendix carry, this is why I carry at 4 o’clock. Worst case If I screw up I can afford to lose some butt cheek, femoral artery not so much. That’s just me, I’m not saying it doesn’t work for anyone else.
I agree on the comment about Double action, 10 lb trigger pull, seems much safer to me than a 5 lb single action carried appendix.
I’m in my 70’s. I don’t trust myself to not make a mistake. It happens if you’re lucky enough to reach old age. My only appendix carry is my DA/SA. My striker fires are hip only. Preferably OWB but not always. A man’s gotta know his limitations-Detective Harry Callahan.
I’ve lots of one is none, two is one, in regards to carrying a firearm. Meaning have a back up. Well over 50 years ago. I was taught that this safety backs up that safety. He was carying a Glock. That trigger lever does NOTHING to keep the trigger!! If the firearm had a true double action pull weight 10lbs, might not have happened. If had a thumb safety, might not have happened. Of course, I think he had his booger hook on the bang switch!
Safeties = one is none!
finger on the trigger…..he just doesn’t have the balls to admit it
Idiot
nope buzz still sounds gay……
Do you even read your shit before you post it? Thanks again for proving my point…..Idiot.
look folks i gots me my own personal gay troll gun expert here!
Exactly, also it was a TIMED event and his ability to handle the pressure he put on himself was not up to speed to be able to safely preform the drill no matter the carry position. Blowing a hole in ones leg and severing the femoral would be a worse day than loosing a testicle. So for arm chair target warriors out there, train more and keep finger off trigger till weapons clear.
yeah i carry the same model and there is no way in hell that pulling out of a holster it will go off! so much bs from those glock haters with their safety comments!
It’s not just Glocks, the majority of carried pistols now are striker with the same trigger safety. I carried a 1911 concealed for a decade till they came out and the same safety principles apply regardless of firearm. I love the 10lbs trigger trolls.
yeah the trolls are a hoot!