A 52-year-old man shot and wounded himself when he tried to remove a handgun from a leather holster so he could show the firearm to a friend, according to Yamhill County sheriff's officials.



The incident took place Sunday afternoon in the 21000 block of Northeast Fairdale Road in Yamhill.



Police said the man, who was not identified, dropped the Colt .45 caliber black powder pistol as he was removing it from a holster. It discharged when it hit the ground.



The bullet entered the man's abdomen, traveled upward and lodged in his neck. Police could see the bullet protruding from his skin. He was taken to a local hospital, where he had surgery and is listed in good condition.



Yamhill County Sheriff Jack Crabtree said people should handle firearms as if they are loaded.



"Because of the potential lethality of any firearm, safety precautions should be the first and foremost consideration when handling them," he said. "This incident had an extremely high potential to have had a much worse ending than it did."



-- The Oregonian

