A US man injured himself in both legs after trying to loosen a stiff wheel-nut by shooting it with his gun.

The 66-year-old man, from Washington state, was repairing his car outside his home when the accident took place.

Shooting at the wheel from arm's length with a 12-gauge shotgun, he was peppered with buckshot and debris, reports the BBC.

The man - who police say was on his own and sober - was taken to hospital with severe, but not life-threatening, injuries.

The man, from South Kitsap, southwest of Seattle, had been repairing his Lincoln Continental for two weeks, according to the police, and had removed all but one of the nuts on the right rear wheel.

Frustrated by the one remaining nut which refused to budge, he resorted to fire power in an effort to shift it.

"He's bound and determined to get that lug nut off," said Deputy Scott Wilson, a spokesman from the sheriff's office.

He sustained injuries from his feet to the middle of his abdomen, with some pellets reaching as high as his chin, police said.

and he was sober

This reminds me of the time I made an apple pie using my sniper rifle.

HobbesLeCute said:

just like Granma used to make