When I was around 19 years old, one of the guys in our group shot the side of his face while cleaning (or doing something) with one of his handguns. Basically zipped up the side of his face along the cheek. I had heard about it, but the first time I saw him I must have looked like a large mouth bass out of water. It honestly looked like something out of a horror movie. Although I did not become a firearm enthusiast for many years (having lived in NJ most of my life) that visual sticks with me to this day. I've had a hot casing actually land between my glasses and my cheek, but I know enough to absorb the pain and not do something stupid to either me or the people around me.