The Hunters Council General,Guides,Hunter news,Tips Why Hunting and Shooting Sports is Actually Safe

Why Hunting and Shooting Sports is Actually Safe

It is understandable that hunting and shooting sports are seen in a bad light by people who don’t participate or are not interested in them. They think it is downright dangerous, mainly because it involves guns. Thanks to a minority of individuals who abuse guns, and their cases being sensationalized, people think that the same degree of cruelty and risk is present in hunting and shooting sports. But this can’t be farther from the truth. In fact, hunting and shooting sports are very safe compared to other athletic endeavors.

And what better to decide the safety of anything than the National Safety Council and the CDC, which found that:

Hunting with a firearm is statistically less dangerous than riding a bicycle, with people 43 times more likely to be injured while biking than they are hunting with a firearm in the US.

looking for birds

There were only 0.03 injuries per 100 hunters in 2015, which is less than the amounts garnered by swimming, volleyball, and lacrosse. Although hunting is still slightly less dangerous than playing billiards, according to the statistics, which we will have to concede.

Cheerleading in 2015 has resulted in 30 times as many injuries as hunting in the US, so statistically speaking you would be safer around a hunter and his rifle than a cheerleader armed with pom poms, it is best to keep that in mind the next time you watch football practice.

Before you get into hunting and shooting sports, it is best to emancipate yourself from all the information about the sport, as well as the mistaken belief that guns are inherently dangerous (as opposed to the people handling them.) A gun is a tool, and in hunting and shooting sports it is used harmlessly and under strict rules and guidance. A bowling ball or a billiard stick has the same potential for harm as a gun if in the hands of an unstable individual. People who enjoy hunting and shooting are generally patient and only do it for the love of the sport, not out of a misguided reverence for the gun in their hands.