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Backpack Saves Hunter Shot In NH

PELHAM, NH (CBS) - A New Hampshire man is giving thanks for the backpack that saved his life in a hunting accident.

"It's absolutely a miracle," says Russell Raymond.

The 27-year-old hunter was shot in the back, and doesn't even have a bruise to show for it.

"Right next to my spine," he says. "The sound that it made when it hit me, and the pain, and maybe my brain made up that pain. It felt like it was in the middle of my body."

The bullet was actually in the middle of his backpack, which is what saved his life. The bullet is now evidence the hands of investigators looking into how another experienced hunter happened to shoot and hit Raymond.

The shooter told New Hampshire Fish and Game officers that he was aiming at a deer.

"The last thing I remember was just falling forward," says Raymond.

He says that old cliché about seeing your life flash before your eyes is true. He pictured his 4-year-old son named Hunter, his baby girl and pregnant wife.

"Everything entered my mind. My mother, she's down in Florida, stuff when I did as a teenager I never said sorry for," recalls Raymond. "It's amazing how fast your mind is when you need it."

"I still don't think I processed it because I'm fine, I'm fine," says Raymond. "Psychologically, it was way worse than that."

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