Honestly, I used, primarily, my left and right femoral vein for the last two years, and have on a few occasions missed into the artery, and quite often your dick or your leg will swell up. Should you go to the hospital if this happens? Yes. But, at the same time, no you are probably not going to die.
Also, the femoral vein is really, REALLY easy to hit, IF you are an experienced IV drug user who knows what they are doing. This is something that needs to be taught from one user to another, I wouldn't just 'go for it'. Once someone shows you though, the correct way, there is no easier vein to hit, it's so easy in fact, that I used to do it without even looking at night if I had no flashlight (this was stupid and arrogant, but really, it is that easy), and as long as you use clean points they will last you a long time.
It's the kind of vein that you just know when you're in it, man, I'm having a moment now, listening to turbonegro and thinking about the femoral vein is getting me hella nostalgic. The last few weeks I was homeless I was camping in my buddies tent and we had one flashlight to share, which was his and I'd always get super impatient and just say fuck it, feel for the artery, jam in the spike, pull back on the plunger, and if it didn't move, BAM, shoot that sucker up. Terrible moment in harm reduction history lol.
Also, this guide says that 28-29g needles may be better for hitting the fem-this is not true, you want a 27g, whether you're using the long tips or the mediums, you want to use at 27g or at least a 28g. If you're super fucking thin like me you don't necessarily need the long needles, you can hit with a 1/2'' spike but you got to go lower down on the groin, the higher up, the deeper the fem is.
