A Phippsburg man is recovering today from a self-inflicted rifle wound he sustained yesterday near Popham Beach, according to the Maine Dept. of Public Safety.

Thomas Gilliam, 48, was involved in a hunting incident at about 4:30 p.m., Wednesday. Gilliam had parked his truck along the side of route 209 in Phippsburg. He exited the vehicle and loaded his rifle, a Model 94 lever-action Winchester 32 Special.

Gilliam walked across the road to look for signs of deer activity. When doing so, he stumbled and dropped his rifle, police said. The butt end of the rifle hit the pavement and the gun discharged. The bullet passed through several fingers on his right hand as well as his left forearm. Gilliam was assisted by citizens passing by until an ambulance arrived. Gilliam was transported to Maine Medical Center in Portland where he remains in stable condition today.

In Springfield, a 12-year-old boy from Florida is in the hospital this afternoon after shooting himself in the foot while hunting in Penobscot County. At about noon today, Ashton Crowther of New Port Richey, Florida, was hunting deer with his father John Crowther off the Old Winn Road in Springfield.

The two had stopped along a woods road as they were heading back to their ATVs to return to camp for lunch. Ashton placed the barrel of the Remington Model 742 Woodsmaster .308 caliber rifle against his left foot and inadvertently pulled the trigger. Ashton sustained a bullet wound to his left foot and was transported by his father and uncle to Penobscot Valley Hospital in Lincoln where he was examined and transferred to Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor.