A young man shot himself without using a gun.

Damion M. Mosher, who put bullets in a vise and whacked them with a hammer to empty the brass shell casings, was hit in the abdomen by one of the shots, authorities said.

Warren County deputies said they were called to Mosher's home in Lake Luzerne on Saturday afternoon after one bullet went about a half-inch into his abdomen. He was treated at Glens Falls Hospital and was released. No charges were filed.

Mosher, 18, told authorities he was trying to empty the .223-caliber rounds to collect the brass casings for scrap.

Sheriff Larry Cleveland said about 100 other rounds that Mosher hit had "fizzled," but one was somehow sent with more force. It was unclear if the bullet ricocheted or hit him directly.

An employee of an Albany scrap metal company told The Post-Star of Glens Falls that the business pays $1.70 a pound for scrap brass shell casings.

Cleveland said Mosher's shells amounted to just a few pounds.

Lake Luzerne, at the southeastern edge of the Adirondacks, is 45 miles north of Albany.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?.../a103612D87.DTL

Prime candidate for the Darwin award.

See, he would have been much safer if he just shot them out of a gun instead. Guns do save lives!

This sure does deal the gun-control agenda's belief that only guns can kill people a big blow.

1.70 a lb for empty brass? I handfull of live .223 ammunition is worth more than that at current prices.

Yeah... not too bright. Must have been on high on glue.

.

Would have been nice if we could have cleaned up the gene pool a bit with that one.

Prime candidate for a Darwin award.

i've read about a jackass once that was selling RPG munitions as trash metal.

he had to compact it first though, so what did he do? drive over it with his truck.

*kaboom*

To really be a candidate for the Darwin Awards the bullet would have had to finish the job or render him incapable of reproduction. These guys are the ones that make Darwin spin in his grave.

Give him time, he's made a good start-just needs to improve his aim!