Last month near where I live a 12-year old kid fell out of a deer stand and suffered a severe concussion.
Three years ago a friend of mine's 9 year old nephew what shot in the head by his 11-year old cousin while they and the 9-year old's father were out squirrel hunting. This happened where they live in Petersburg, WV. A portion of his skull had to be removed because of the swelling that had occurred. He was placed on a ventilator and put in the Pediatric ICU. 10 days later, he was transferred to a rehabilitation hospital where he had to relearn how to talk and reuse his right side which had lost almost all movement. He spent a month in rehab. Two months after his accident he had his skull put back in. Three years later he is much improved, but he still has some memory and speech problems.
And these are just the two that I personally know about. I find it hard to believe those are the only two. Especially since when I was a kid in eight grade me and my friend came scary close to an accident due to a really stupid move on my part (just brain dead stupid, embarrassingly stupid, Hunting 101 stupid, because I knew better). I had a single-shot breach 410 shotgun that was designed to look like a Winchester Model 1982 rifle (same one used in the TV show The Rifleman). The hammer had a rather long stem (the part you pull back with your thumb to сock the hammer). We laid our guns on the ground and hopped a fence, then pulled the guns through the fence. The hammer stem caught one of the wires in the fence and сocked the hammer just enough to not have it catch, but plenty enough to have it fire the gun when the wire let it go. The shot took out an 8-inch circle of leaves in the tree about a foot above my friend's head. Yes, I know the safety should have been on and yes I know the gun should have been broken and unloaded, but these are exactly the kinds of situations that comprise a few of the accidents that make up the 1000 or so hunting accidents in the US every year.
That's a safe bet considering that it's illegal for a convicted felon to possess a firearm or ammunition.
If it's worth anything, though, the national arrest rate for all men ages 22-to-34 since 2000 is 9.9 percent (which is really surprisingly high), while the arrest rate for men in the NFL is 3.5 percent.
I never said that the shooting sports were accident free. I said, correctly, that they have some of the lowest accident rates of a participation sports. That is a fact. I posted some state on that earlier in the thread. 1000 hunting accidents, per year, is VERY low compared to other sports. I THINK that chart is posted said that the rate per 100K is 1.8. Football was 15.
Accidental gun deaths are around 700 per year and the accident rates have dropped almost 50% in the last decade or so, despite increases in firearms ownership. Programs the NRA "Eddie Eagle" youth firearms safety classes are a big reason why that is so.
Eddie Eagle GunSafe|Eddie Eagle GunSafe
I would like to see, if it were possible to see the arrest rate for those who are in organized shooting sports. You know, competition trap, skeet etc. My gut tells me that it is lower than the national average. Lower than the NFL and NBA as well. Why would I think that? Parents are inclined to participate with their children. Shooting WITH them rather than turning them over to a coach. I have also never seen parents fighting in the stands like we see from time to time in other sports.
The fact remains, no matter who you look at it, shooting sports are some of the safest of all participation sports, have been for a VERY long time, and accident rates continue to drop.
