There are a few points to consider.
The apparent absurdity of shooting oneself in the head and messing it up is foreshadowed at about 04.42 of the film when the characters are rehearsing the play and discussing a someone who shot himself in the mouth but *beep* it up".
This may either be a mere reflection of what happens later in the film, or that it may further be an indication that everything that happens after Thomson pulls the trigger is just a figment of his imagination, all happening in the microsecond before he dies, his perception of time stretched out, rather like how dreams may seem longer or shorter than the time we actually were asleep.
Look at the way he shoots the gun. You may notice he doesn't actually put the muzzle of the gun next to his temple, as you may expect from someone wishing to kill themselves but appears to be aiming the gun at his head with about half a foot's gap between. However, take a moment to reenact that shot. Imagine you have a gun in your hand, now point it at the side of your head, but leave a gap of about six inches between the end of your "gun" and the side of you head. Now, your wrist is probably bent at almost 50 degrees. Not the most comfortable position, is it?
But there's more! You may notice that Riggan's wrist is pretty straight, his hand and arm are at a 45 degree angle and his hand is basically above his shoulder. The only way you can recreate this shot is to move your hand forward, so Riggan isn't actually shooting himself in the head, but shooting about six inches away across the front of his face.
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