A few facts about hunting accidents that I found on a Law Firms Web Site


Hunting Accidents Frequently Asked Questions
The following questions and answers address common questions regarding hunting accident insurance, hunting injury laws and how hunting injury lawyers can assist victims of hunting accidents in investigating claims.

1. How many people are injured in hunting accidents?

The most recent complete statistics from the International Hunter Education Association show that in 2002 there were 93 fatal and 805 non-fatal injuries resulting from hunting accidents.

2. How safe is hunting compared to other outdoor activities?

Hunting is one of the safest forms of recreation in the United States compared to other sporting and recreational activities. Firearms are involved in less than 1 percent of all accidental fatalities.

3. What are the most common causes of hunting accidents?

Hunting accidents are caused by many different events but the most common causes are failure to identify target, shooter swinging on game, careless handling of firearm and victim out of sight of shooter.

4. Does insurance cover hunting accident claims?

Homeowners insurance will often cover injuries resulting from hunting accidents. A homeowners policy will typically provide coverage to help cover losses such as lost wages, medical bills and pain and suffering. Hunting injury lawyers can investigate whether the negligent shooter has insurance to cover your injuries or wrongful death. This is the same type of insurance that covers a person if their child breaks someone else's window with a baseball, a dog bites the neighbor or a visitor is injured on their premises.

5. How many hunters are there in the United States?

The National Sporting Goods Association estimates there are 20.6 million active hunters in the United States.


http://www.huntingaccidentinjury.com/hunting-accidents-faq.html

20.6 million!

I wonder how many of the accidents are from hunters trying to identify a target from too far away?
I will do a search on this and see if I can answer my own question.

That's 20.6 million hunters, not accidents.

Also this is a great fact, 2. How safe is hunting compared to other outdoor activities?

Hunting is one of the safest forms of recreation in the United States compared to other sporting and recreational activities. Firearms are involved in less than 1 percent of all accidental fatalities.

Interesting stats.

I've known four people who have had pretty bad accidents while hunting and only one involved being shot with a gun. He propted his 30-30 up against a fence while crossing it. The gun went off and he lost his arm.
The other three fell out of a tree while bow hunting.
My own doctor fell out of his tree while bowhunting last October and broke both legs. He had to make it to his 4 wheeler and somehow drive it to the main ranchhouse to get help. He was out six months-

Had a "winter visitor" from Wisconsin last winter show up at the gunrange, minus a leg. He had dropped his rifle out of a tree stand during last fall's hunt and shot himself in the leg which required removal. He was just learning how to get around with crutches, but insisted on coming out every week for target practice. Said he'd be hunting again this fall.

I'd wonder if the shooting statistics have dropped since hunter safety courses became mandatory in most states. I attended with my grand daughters and it was a very good course Fish and Game put on.

twenty point six million voters .. then add the gun owners who don t hunt
probably another 20 million.. take only half ofum that think guns are important enough to
cause them to vote a certain way..look at the numbers from the last election ..
thats as much political swing as any minority out there.. kinda level the playin field anyway..
then we can really emphasize more gun safety and make our activity even safer..
instead of illegal..jmo

What proportion of the hunting accidents involving firearms are self inflicted? Several years ago I read that some were caused by a hunter pulling a gun out of a vehicle barrel first and the trigger catching causing a discharge.

I understand the fatalities during hunting caused be heart attacks is much higher than the fatalities caused by firearms. Also that injuries from falling out of a treestand also greatly exceed injuries from firearms.

hunting to me is very safe because im ver careful. i thought the same thing about fishing and boating. two years ago i got threw out of my own boat. 12ft widebottom 10hp johnson motor..the boat ran over me 8 times before my buddy in another boat could ram my boat and stop it long enough to get me out from under it..no beer or anything like that involved. i never went fast or done anything stupid thought i was the safest person in the river. lifejacket? yes..didnt help when the boat is running at full speed in a circle beating me in the head haha..still tho i do my best to be safe in the woods at all times...

Kill switch attached to life jacket at all times.

i wonder how many shoot thierselves and it never gets reported..
i ll include myself in that group.. so there ive confessed..
yesterday im walking in rough thick underbrush on my way to the place i can shoot here at home.. i was just making sure the 06 was still right.. going dn an hill i stuck my foot in an leaf covered holean busted my rear,safty was on so the gun didn t go off but i use to carry with safty off for quicker shot.. not anymore..too many unseen accidents out there waiting to happen to the careless hunter..

Someone very close to me recently had a passenger in a vehicle (going to a hunting location) accidentally fire his rifle inside the vehicle. Thankfully, no one was hit by the bullet, though there was genuine ear damage to some. The shooter received a well-deserved (IMO) fist to the face, and was confused as to why he got it. That person has not been invited out with the group since. I seriously doubt this incident is included in the statistics.

i wonder how many shoot thierselves and it never gets reported..
i ll include myself in that group.. so there ive confessed..
yesterday im walking in rough thick underbrush on my way to the place i can shoot here at home.. i was just making sure the 06 was still right.. going dn an hill i stuck my foot in an leaf covered holean busted my rear,safty was on so the gun didn t go off but i use to carry with safty off for quicker shot.. not anymore..too many unseen accidents out there waiting to happen to the careless hunter..


I've done the samethiong at my parents cabin coming in from fishing. Some beavers had build a lodge on a small lake on their property and I was walking along the shore when I stepped in a grass covered trench dug by those beavers as a way for them to get trees to their lodge. Fortunaely I was only carrying my fishing pole and a stringer of fish. It's real easy to step into a grass or leaf covered hole dug by some animal.

I have an interisting story ,ended up being a little humerous but could have been tragic. My postmaster in northern mo. and her husband owned a farm. Her husband used to keep his rifle in his pickup all the time ,for a chance shot at coyote or a deer w/ a good rack. He had recently bought a new dodge ram pickup. As it turned out he had placed his rifle in the passenger seat with the muzzle pointed down at the floor. somehow ,and he never did say how it happened. the rifle went off. and the bullet went through the floor and into the transmission. When he called for help on cell phone he said that he had killed a ram. no one understood until they saw the damage. Did many thousands of dollars worth of damage . he chose not to report it to sheriff because He was too embarrased and he was concerned that his insurance would go up .

that was a record weight record for ram i guess.. to bad he couldn t send the stats in:)