Are shotgun accidents really that prevalent?

[jedicord]

OK, I live in Texas and maybe that explains this, but every Repub I talk to says that everyone who has gone on a bird hunt has been peppered by a shot gun. One guy this morning even said that he and his buddies shoot at each other on purpose. Well, shoot at the ground in front of each other's feet.

If this is true, what does the NRA say about gun safety and the "fact" that 100% of bird hunters have gotten hit?

All I know is that, even though I never would have any way, I will without a doubt never go bird hunting.

[niyad]

1. there must be some awfully stupid people down there, who would

WILLINGLY and KNOWINGLY hunt with people who will shoot at or near them for fun.

[NYCGirl]

2. Well, it's all fun and games...

until someone loses an eye!
:evilgrin:

[OldLeftieLawyer]

5. Or

has birdshot migrate through his upper body until it's tucked nicely next to his heart.

These flamers. I swear.............

[OldLeftieLawyer]

3. That guy and his buddies......

are flaming assholes, and real hunters (not the Cheney types) wouldn't go within a hundred miles of them.

The NRA, I suspect, would agree.

[Avalux]

4. Then they're idiots.

There are about 700 nonfatal hunting accidents each year in the United States and Canada," said Jim Wentz, a spokesman for the International Hunter Education Association. "In addition, there are about 75 fatal hunting accidents each year. That's out of the 15.7 million people who hunt."

http://12.31.13.175/healthnews/healthday/060213HD531014.htm

Those stats aren't very high at all, although these are reported cases and don't include those who shoot themselves for fun.

My Dad has hunted quail for 50 years and has never had an accident.

[jedicord]

13. Thanks for the stats, I'll use that next time I'm confronted by a Repub.

The hunters I've spoken to who are Democrats or liberals don't seem to think that getting hit by a shotgun blast while hunting is that normal, in fact it's rare. And anyone who would have even gotten close to hitting someone with a blast would never be allowed back in to hunt.

Maybe this is more proof that liberals are smarter than freepers.

Is this all they have? "Everyone does it, so it's OK."

So if I told them everyone jumps off that cliff they would? Friggin' sheep.

[MrBenchley]

6. "he and his buddies shoot at each other on purpose"

Ah, those reponsible gun owners in action....

By the way, the NRA finally spoke out about Deadheart Dick plugging a 78 year old man....they madea pissy little comment about Chappaquiddick.

Because, of course, guns are a bipartisan issue...in a pig's eye.

[havocmom]

7. What goes up comes down - hunters here abouts say THAT's peppering

the falling pellets, doing what gravity makes 'em do when most of the energy form the shotgun blast is spent. It is less damaging than what happened to Whittington. He was NOT peppered. He was SHOT in the face and heart.

Dich Cheney SHOT THE MAN IN THE FACE AND CHEST to the extent that his heart was penetrated. That's NOT pepper.

[Viking12]

9. You beat me by a few minutes havocmom.....

:toast: Great minds think alike!

[TahitiNut]

16. And that kind of "peppering" is occassional when hunting waterfowl....

... not upland game fowl. Let's be clear. For field shooting of dove, quail, and pheasant, the shooter is firing at a flushed bird at a trajectory of about 20-30 degrees. Shooting waterfowl from a blind often involves a much higher shot. For those higher shots, the pellets can come down on other hunters in other blinds. It's not embedded in the body of the hunting companion.

[havocmom]

22. Yep, thanks for adding that for clarity.

Peppering is more likely to happen to your dog than to you and your drinking...er, hunting buddies ;)

[TahitiNut]

24. I guess a lot of Texas freepers go hunting on all fours.

:rofl: Maybe that's why rabies seems to be so prevalent, too. :dunce:

[havocmom]

26. Well, I do hear there's lots of rabies among skunks!

Mange leading to degrees of baldness amongst the coyotes too! Might explain a lot... like the glow off Cheney's dome and the crazy glint in his eyes.

Move over, I need some floor space too!
:rofl: :rofl:

[jedicord]

18. Thanks for clarification on peppering.

I am surrounded by * lovers all day and come to DU for facts and info so when they come at me with something I can throw facts at their Rushisms.

Now I have stats on gun injuries and understand the true meaning of peppering. Send me another "everybody gets peppered" Repub - I'm armed AND have a quail stamp!

You guys rock!

:headbang:

[Viking12]

8. There is a difference between being "peppered" and being shot

The difference is the velocity and location of the projectile in its trajectory. It is not uncommon to be "showered" or "peppered" with birdshot falling back to the ground after it was shot at a duck flying high overhead. By the time birdshot reaches the appex of it's trajectory it's lost its lethal velocity. Cheney shot the guy, he didn't pepper him.

[Xithras]

14. Exactly, I've been peppered. Never been shot.

Actually, I've been peppered twice. The first was on a duck hunt when it briefly rained shot on us (someones ammo falling back down) and the second was on a pheasant hunt when someones shot ricocheted of a tree and hit me in the back. Neither time did it break the skin or do anything even remotely damaging. Peppering is a routine occurence.

The 78 year old man was SHOT, not peppered. The shot hit him full force.

[yellowcanine]

10. According to this, no they aren't common but when they do occur

in Texas it is most likely to be a dove hunter and quail hunters a distant second. I am not a hunter but if I were I would definately not hunt with anyone who jokes about "getting peppered" as Mrs. Armstrong did.

Accidents uncommon
What happened in South Texas over the weekend doesn't happen often. In 2004, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department logged just 29 hunting-accident reports statewide among more than 1 million-plus licensed hunters who spent tens of millions of hours in the field with loaded firearms. (Reporting is required by law from medical personnel who treat gunshot wounds.)
Hunting-accident rates have been reduced since Texas initiated mandatory hunter education in 1988. The 2004 rate of 2.7 accidents per 100,000 licensed hunters is the lowest since state officials started keeping track in 1966, and is a vast improvement over the 12.6 rate that first year.

About two-thirds of hunting accidents occur among dove shooters, and quail hunters run second at barely 20 percent. The most commonly noted hunter error is shooting outside the safe firing zone, which is what happened in Cheney's situation.

Opponents of hunting and shooting jumped on this story when it broke, but they may not stick with it long. The deeper they dig, the more information they'll find to show hunting is statistically safer than many other forms of indoor and outdoor recreation. Hunters tend to be highly respectful of guns and the injuries they can cause.

[sandnsea]

11. Primary cause of TX hunting accidents

To me, this is classic "known or should have known" their actions would cause injury, and should have taken measures to prevent the incident.


"The primary reason for Texas hunting accidents remains swinging on game outside a safe zone of fire."

"Most accidents violated a cardinal rule of hunter safety, were situated in or around a vehicle or stand, and occurred toward dusk and involved fatigue as a factor."

http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/newsmedia/releases/?req=20050314c

[seabeyond]

12. husband has taken son to a ranchers place to hunt. talked to him

yesterday about cheney. they all think he is lying, but this man had someone shoot at him. he turned his back in time. still has pellets inside of him. my son went pheasant hunting this winter and he was peppered. just sting. it was true pepper, not shot at where it was a distance in air falling down. seems to be normal. but lets not mistake what cheney did with peppering.

i hate guns, hunting all that stuff. 5 days ago i knew just a little. i have since talked to lots of hunters, read a lot. what cheney did was not "common"

[ScreamingMeemie]

15. Not in 20 years of hunting for MrG...that includes among his family

members and friends. It cracks me up that the Freepers are telling their own personal,"I'm too stupid to hunt" stories. :hi:

[Sgent]

17. Most bird hunters I know have been peppered

That being said -- what happend with Cheney was not a peppering, but a shooting.

At least in my area -- peppering means that you are hit by BB's when they fall to the ground, and other than a small sting (which many don't feel through basic clothing), causes no damage.

[onenote]

19. Depends on what you mean by prevalent -- they do represent most hunting

accidents. FOr example, over half of the hunting accidents reported in Texas the past several years have involved shotguns. http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/publications/pwdpubs/media/pwd_rp_k0700_1124_2004.pdf#search='hunting%20accidents%202004'

Nationwide, in 2004 there were over 400 reported hunting accidents and over half of those involved shotguns. http://www.ihea.com/documents/2004_report.pdf

The total number of hunting accidents is not that large, although it depends on how you want to measure. I've seen a statistic that indicates that in Pennsylvania in 2004 there were around 5.5 hunting accidents for every 100,000 hunters. Is that a lot or a little? I guess it depends on whether you're one of the 5.5.

[derby378]

20. It's not a shotgun, I know, but...

I was taking a quick look at a semi-auto Romanian AK at a gun shop. The shopkeeper pulled the bolt open and locked it before handing it to me. I gave the gun a quick once-over, keeping the muzzle pointed away from anything that looked remotely human, and turned the rifle on its side very gently when the bolt snapped shut.

Simply put, I was so glad there weren't any bullets loaded. It could have been bad.

Needless to say, I didn't buy it.

[berni_mccoy]

21. NO, ABSOLUTELY NOT!!

In TEXAS, there was less than a 0.03% occurrance of hunting accidents among licensed hunters.

Here is the data: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x425030

[AGKISTRODON]

23. You are being "had"!

In other words, your chain is getting jerked!
A load of shot fired at the ground will ricochet, at low angles. If shooting the ground in front of feet was common, there would be a lot more artificial legs in Texas.:7

[warrens]

25. Y'all got it ALL wrong

In Texas, everything is oversize. Quail there are over six feet tall and have bright orange markings on their chests and back. How was Dick to know that was just another hunter?