Hooked on Outdoors: Hunting one of safest sports

 

January 16, 2012 04:58:12 PM

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SCOTT LINDSEY / Outdoors Writer

 

What would you think would be the safest sport, and which one would be the most unsafe. If you said hunting to be one of the most unsafe sports you would be wrong. Hunting with firearms is one of the safest recreational activities in America.

With hunting in full swing across the country, the National Shooting Sports Foundation, the trade association for the firearms industry, has compiled data that indicates hunting ranks third in safety when compared to 28 other recreational pursuits, ranging from basketball to wrestling.

Hunting with firearms has an injury rate of 0.05 percent, which equates to about 1 injury per 2,000 participants, a safety level bettered only by camping (.01 percent) and billiards (.02 percent). I can testify that in some pool halls just being in the establishment can put a person at risk.

Golf by comparison has an injury rate of 0.16 (1 injury per 622 participants), while football topped the list of activities with an injury rate of 5.27 percent (1 injury per 19 participants).

“Many people have the misconception that hunting is unsafe, but the data tells a different story,” said Jim Curcuruto, NSSF’s director of industry research and analysis.

For example, you are 11 times more likely to be injured playing volleyball as you are hunting. You are 19 times more likely to be injured snowboarding as you would be hunting. You would be 25 times more likely to be injured cheerleading or bicycle riding as hunting. And you would be 105 times more likely to be injured playing tackle football than if you were hunting.

The number of hunters who went afield last year is estimated at 16.3 million. Of that total, approximately 8,122 sustained injuries or 50 per 100,000 participants. The vast majority of hunting accidents, more than 6,600, were tree-stand related. Though recent accurate figures on fatalities related to hunting are not available, statistics from 2002 show 99 fatal hunting accidents.

Motor vehicles accounted for 31.2 percent of unintentional fatalities in the United States in 2008 as compared to poisoning that accounted for 25.5 percent of unintentional fatalities and falls that accounted for 19.7 percent. Even drowning accounted for more fatalities at 2.9 percent than firearms.

The next time you pick up that football and head out to play stop and think — wouldn’t you rather be hunting?

 

 

Read more:

http://www.newsherald.com/articles/injury-99718-hunting-one.html#ixzz1oa48qWko

I'll classify it as a sport when the animals get guns. Lol. Counter-sniper ops gets my vote for a real "sport" on a similar platform.

till dick cheney shoots another person lol

For example, you are 11 times more likely to be injured playing volleyball as you are hunting.

 

Yeah, but what percentage of those volleyball injuries involve a broken back or a bullet hole?

 

Hunting is a very safe sport. But the way these statistics were presented was a little silly. The frequency of injuries is not as important as the frequency x consequences of the injuries. I can get injured a few times a year and live a long and happy life. Depending on the type of injuries.

 

Shouldn't the safety of the recreation be evaluated considering what you choose to hunt? If it's not a wild animal, do we really need to bother?