Did guns used to be more dangerous?

[429421Cowboy]

I just finished reading "Dying To Hunt In Montana" by Tom Donovan, and have been left wondering some things. It seems that the vast majority of hunting accidents occurred pre 1970 or so, which hopefully does show that our Hunter Education program is working. However in the chapters about hunters that were accidentally shot by themselves or others in their party, many of the older incidents revolve around a gun being dropped or simply "going off" while, the newer stories state an actual fault usually (finger on the trigger, etc...). So I have been wondering, did the older firearms of varying quality have more problems than today's weapons? Not that any brand new gun doesn't have a degree of potential to fail and go off (but if it's pointed in a safe direction first and foremost nothing gets damaged but your shorts!).

Another startling thing was the huge ratio of people killed in or around their vehicle, from the time of wagons up to modern day, either moving a gun or taking it out of the car, so I want to remind everybody to unload them away from the vehicle and not put loaded guns in the vehicle! It seems like a lot of accidents could have been avoided by keeping the muzzle in a safe direction, or not having a loaded gun while in camp or in a home, at the very least not having a round in the chamber.

Other interesting incidents included two separate cases of missing hunters who were found with legs stuck in old beartraps around the turn of the century, a boy killed by a ricochet off of water, as well as hunters mistaken for game being shot multiple times by other hunters. Just a lot of things that we all hear about, but never really realize how probable and possible they are.

[starmac]

The rifle I have carried the most was made in 1932, so far as I know, it hasn't tried to kill anybody.
I have an old M 14 pump, that has 19 notches on the stock, hopefully they are for deer though.

I tend to think hunter safety has improved quite a bit in my lifetime.

[mold maker]

Also lots less spirits involved and causing hunting accidents.

[tomme boy]

A lot of the guns made today are made safer. The transfer bar on a huge # of guns I think are one of the better safety designs. The trigger actually has to be pulled for it to fire. And I think taking the drinking out of hunting also makes a huge difference.

[AricTheRed]

A lot of the guns made today are made safer. The transfer bar on a huge # of guns I think are one of the better safety designs. The trigger actually has to be pulled for it to fire. And I think taking the drinking out of hunting also makes a huge difference.

I would have said "Taking the hunting out of drinking"!

[white eagle]

alot of "accidental" shootings were the result of unidentified targets
also before the 1970's we used to wear red clothing for deer hunting that switch to blaze orange has cut those so called accidental shootings by knowing their targets and not shooting at something moving in the brush

[WILCO]

Did guns used to be more dangerous?


Nope. Society has gotten dumber.

[lylejb]

or simply "going off"

I think " the gun just went off" must be the oldest, poorest excuse out there.

While it's not impossible for any mechanical device to fail, I think 99.9% + of the time the true cause is negligence, complacentcy, or misbehavior such as horseplay.

I also think there's less acceptance of alcohol around hunting than in the past.

[429421Cowboy]

While I still see more alcohol around hunting than I would like, I do realize that it is getting better. In our camp it is no drinking till after dark, and depending on how far back in we are, there may not even be any drinking allowed. Case in point was two years ago in elk camp when a tent caught on fire and burned a few others in the process, many there had been drinking awhile and I certainly wouldn't to have been drunk then!

I also wonder if the "went off" story in earlier years may have been due to the fact that everyone knew each other, and they didn't want to single anyone out for having been being negligent and shooting his partner in the back walking home.

[Bad Water Bill]

50 years ago I was invited to my cousins place for the deer hunt.

On the front porch every rifle was neatly standing in the rack built into the wall.

Next to the rack were 3 stacks of cases of beer at least 6' tall.

Now his hunting SHACK did sleep 17 if needed.

They were a thirsty bunch that were more interested in drinking and telling tall stories than even seeing a single deer during hunting season.

[MtGun44]

IMO, irresponsible gun handling is much less tolerated. I asked a guy in the LGS last night to not point a
Ruger 762 rifle that he was examining at me, and said it was rude, as I moved to a very different
location. He apologized and started paying more attention to what he was doing. Most folks today
do NOT reflexively put their finger on the trigger every time they pick a gun up, hunter and other
safety training - largely thanks to the NRA is steadily making us more conscientious gun handlers.
Add in the drinking issue (never been on a hunt where there was any drinking until at the camp
way after guns were put away, and even then one or two drinks was max) has to be a plus. I
have heard some horror stories. Elmer Keith recounts a "hunting accident" that he is sure was
a murder and there may have been more of those back then, too. If hunting accidents were
tolerated and little investigated, it would be tempting for some bad folks.

Bill

[429421Cowboy]

IMO, irresponsible gun handling is much less tolerated. I asked a guy in the LGS last night to not point a
Ruger 762 rifle that he was examining at me, and said it was rude, as I moved to a very different
location. He apologized and started paying more attention to what he was doing. Most folks today
do NOT reflexively put their finger on the trigger every time they pick a gun up, hunter and other
safety training - largely thanks to the NRA is steadily making us more conscientious gun handlers.
Add in the drinking issue (never been on a hunt where there was any drinking until at the camp
way after guns were put away, and even then one or two drinks was max) has to be a plus. I
have heard some horror stories. Elmer Keith recounts a "hunting accident" that he is sure was
a murder and there may have been more of those back then, too. If hunting accidents were
tolerated and little investigated, it would be tempting for some bad folks.

Bill

The Keith/William Strong incident was mentioned in the book, and mentions all the men by name where as in Keith
's book it only named them as Mr. D and Mr. H. From the way ol' Elmer described it I certainly believe there may have been something to his theory.

[FLINTNFIRE]

Well I have yet to see a deer walking on 2 legs , wearing red or orange , I used to hunt in tin pants and hickory shirts , never noticed any deer dressed that way , have seen way to many careless hunters , safetys off , muzzles pointing at people , prefer to hunt alone , or with close friends and family that handle firearms safely , put the rifles up have a few drinks by the fire , common sense is not so common anymore , I agree the transfer bar is nice , but there was no problem with a 6 shooter if you had the hammer down on a empty, i tend to hunt where there are few people , there is nothing accidental shooting at movement or sound , and not properly identify the target and whats behind it , responsibility and using ones brain is whats needed .

[starmac]

i tend to hunt where there are few people. The best hunter safety there is, other than no people. lol

[firefly1957]

My grandfather told me of a incident in the U.P. where a hunter was going out in the morning and stumbled in the brush in early light the old red plaid looks like black and bears were legal to shoot on a deer tag at the time, When he got up of all four a nearby hunter thought he was a bear and shot him. I strongly suspect some of the old "Hunting accidents" were really murders that were not properly investigated.

[starmac]

When I was a kid in east Texas, I remember a hunting accident story of a guy that shot somebody twice thinking he was a deer with a single shot shotgun. I also remember a guy that worked for my dad getting accidntly shot by his brother in law, a month or so later he accidently shot his brother in law????

[Freischütz]

The guys I hunt with are there to hunt. A beer in the evening is a nice treat, but it doesn't get in the way of the trip's purpose.

[Firebricker]

I agree that irresponsible gun handling is much less tolerated especially when it comes to loaded guns in vehicles. The hunter safety programs are a big help. I believe some states went from if you were over 18 0r 21 you could get a hunting license without hunter safety now you have to have it. I am sure blaze orange has helped as well. I am not anti drinking but do not care for it in a hunting camp after a few drinks bad ideas tend to seam not so bad. In my twenties we would not drink when we rode dirt bikes till they were loaded which worked great until I got drunk and unloaded mine LOL. So drinking after a hunt really depends on the individuals and maturity IMO. FB

[osteodoc08]

Less hunters overall. Blaze orange. Hunter safety courses.

Guns themselves are no more or less "dangerous" than they were 50 or 100 years ago. It's then person behind it that makes them dangerous, as with any object be it an automotive, skateboard or spoon.

Guns kill people just as spoons make people fat. Period.

[Col4570]

I think there is a lot less "whoops now look what you,v made me do", due to users awareness of tragedies in the past.

[shooter93]

Guns are the same...people aren't. I see a lot of accidents happen to "experienced" hunters and not youngsters who have to take the safty course in my state. Beleive it or not a huge number of "experienced" hunters couldn't pass that test. I'm of the belief....and many won't agree......that if you never had a gun go off when you didn't expect it either you don't shoot much or your nose is growing. I'm not saying you're unsafe...you just weren't expecting it. Could have been your first semi auto gun or your first 2 ounce trigger but it suprised you. Hopefully you had the smarts to have the gun pointed in a safe direction.

[waksupi]

Did you know more settlers on wagon trains were killed by careless gun handling, than were ever killed by Indians?

[jonas302]

maybe more scopes on for target id? And a lot of folks are less familiar with a gun as a daily tool and we know that familiarity causes carelessness or maybe thats why more accidents happened there were more everyday guns hence the chance of accident higher?

[wch]

Guns are and were dangerous, but they have been made safer and we are more conscious of the safe handling and usage of weapons.

[10x]

Less hunters overall. Blaze orange. Hunter safety courses.

Guns themselves are no more or less "dangerous" than they were 50 or 100 years ago. It's then person behind it that makes them dangerous, as with any object be it an automotive, skateboard or spoon.

Guns kill people just as spoons make people fat. Period.

Sadly the raw data from Alberta in Canada show that getting rid of the dress code (blaze orange or red) has not caused any change in the hunting accident rate. The other issue is Hunter Education and Firearms Safety courses have not shown any measurable impact in gun accidents either. Mandatory Safety Training was introduced in Canada in 1992 for folks who were first time purchasers of firearms. The accident rate with guns was so low at the time that there was no change in the accident rates. In fact in 2002- 2003 the gun accident rate increased about 30% simply because there were 3 or 4 more gun accidents nation wide.

The reduction in gun accidents can be correlated to a rising median age of population in both the U.S. and Canada. There is some evidence that fewer youth as a percentage of society mean fewer accidents overall - not just fewer gun accidents.

[starmac]

Guns was more dangerous in days gone by. A guy used to be just fine deer hunting with a 32/20 and did great with a 30/30. These days you need a 30/06 for small game, and the big magnums for deer. they had to be more dangerous back in the day. lol

[MaryB]

Deer camp was a couple kegs of beer but no drinking during the day except a beer if we stopped at the cafe for lunch. Group I hunted with was pretty safety oriented, MN hwy patrol officer, one of the local game wardens would join us if he had a day off...

[wv109323]

I think hunters and gun owners have become better educated. Gun accidents of all types are in decline. Years ago there was more pressure to kill game. Many rural people depended on the taking of game for a food supply. Like drunk driving, achohol misuse is declining in public areanas. Some guns have become safer through design. Many factors have contributed.

[Bzcraig]

I'm inclined to believe its safer guns, less alcohol (which has NO place in MY hunting), better hunter safety, indexing and hunter awareness.

[LUBEDUDE]

Better awareness, gun handling. Even precautionary tales handed down from father to son.

[6bg6ga]

I don't see that the guns are any safer. Gun safety and hunter safety programs have helped in limiting the stupidity of the common hunter. People may finally be starting to learn that booze and guns don't make for the best combination.

[Boyscout]

The Camp Pendleton newspaper back in the mid-80's used to have a euphanism for suicide; they called them "Gun Cleaning Accidents."

[higgins]

In many states hunters are more spread out. My first season was 1967, when only a few counties in our state were open to deer hunting. I hunted a relative's place and witnessed a parade of trespassers wandering through the woods, many wearing little or no red or other visible clothing. The year before I hunted for the first time, two hunters were shot in the county where I hunted - one of them was wearing a leather jacket. In another year a hunter was shot in the head when his partner was looking at him with the scope and the gun "went off".

Back then opening morning sounded like a shooting range; now you hardly hear a shot. Combined with hunters being more spread out, there are long seasons, special hunts for muzzleloaders, either sex, a long archery season, etc. The deer that used to be in a few counties are now statewide, to the point of eating ornamental shrubs in subdivisions.

[bob208]

gun safety has improved. I had heard read a letter where the writer stated that the men were more dangerous to themselves then the Indians. at the fight adobe wells the store keeper shot himself climbing a latter with his sharps at full cock.

[Ed Barrett]

When I lived in the North-western pert of Missouri I hunted with a group that had it's own hunter-drinking safety system. Every one would bring beer and whiskey to the camp. You couldn't start drinking until you filled your tags. This caused everybody to try to fill their tags first, so you could drink all the single malt and the imported beer. Worked real well until a couple of us got diabetes and that killed our drinking.

[montana_charlie]

People may finally be starting to learn that booze and guns don't make for the best combination.
Next, they will need to explore the combination of guns with marijuana ...

[btroj]

Seems to me that the conclusion is that guns aren't any more lethal but rather that people tend to be more cautious when using them.

[Bad Water Bill]

It did not used to be standard practice to keep the trigger finger out of the trigger guard.
Placing your Trigger finger extended along/outside the trigger guard did not come about till around 1980.

Never heard a word about that till about that time.

Great safety lesson for all to practice every time they touch ANY firearm.

[smokeywolf]

The majority of firearms that I've used and worked on have been pre 1930 and most of those have been of 19th century manufacture. In the 50 plus years that I can recollect, neither I nor any member of my immediate family have ever had an unintentional discharge.

In spite of great caution, accidents can happen. There is one rule that renders all other safety schemes, cluges and designs secondary or sometimes even meaningless; never allow the muzzle, bore or "business end" of any object that launches a projectile to point at something that you don't want dead; not even for a millisecond. NEVER! Period. As an addition or caveat to that statement; keep in mind, projectiles ricochet.

Best safety device ever; a careful and conscientious person who never wants to suffer the guilt of having injured or ended the life of an innocent.

smokeywolf

[6bg6ga]

Movies aren't real life. You should never have your finger on the trigger unless you intend to fire the weapon. Funny thing I was taught that when I was 7 years old.

[MaryB]

Things can still go wrong, last time I went deer hunting(2006, before I hurt my back) was sitting in the tree stand on the edge of a small valley. Well posted area against trespassing but around 10am a slug hits the tree right above my head. I jump down and head for the way in only to run into the trespassers(from MPLS, illegals, no regard for the hunting laws). One of them pointed his gun at me when I blocked in their truck so they couldn't leave. Was a bad move on his part because I hunted with a Minnesota State Patrol Captain who was just coming out of the woods. They lost everything, guns, truck, 2 were deported, and the one who pointed the gun at me got to spend 2 years in jail before being deported.

There are always idiots in the woods who do not think the laws apply to them and I would be willing to bet a lot of the accidents are caused by them not knowing where deer stands are, where livestock is, where houses may be etc.

[Bzcraig]

Seems to me that the conclusion is that guns aren't any more lethal but rather that people tend to be more cautious when using them.

Agreed, seems that shooters are finally understanding that the best gun safety is the shooters brain!

[popper]

OK guys, when I was a B.S. in the 50's, we had gun training & archery. Saw lots of movies on safety - don't lean it against a fence, unload when climbing through B.W., etc. Military training - trigger hand is OFF until M1 is loaded. Then they gave us loaded & chambered carbines for sentry duty. Just hand the next guy the carbine when changing. Yup, more killings from handling than indians or yankees (or rebels, depending). Tractors are worse. Then there are the arabs & cowpokes shooting in the air. Our 'safety' training is from lessons learned. Dad learned his safety training when blowing out stumps. Slow fuse, guy looks out from behind a tree to see what is going on and lost his head from a chunk of stump.

[bearcove]

i tend to hunt where there are few people. The best hunter safety there is, other than no people. lol

That was a big reason I started bow hunting

[starmac]

I had some uncles that hunted Jacks peak, down by Ancho from back in the fifties. One year I was too busy to get down to the Gila, and a couple of friends were going to Jacks peak and talked me into going at the last minute. I have never owned any hunter orange anything, but I borrowed some while there, and was too nervous to hunt much. I think everybody from both Albq and Las Cruces was there, and they were all riding in the back of pickups with a bud in one hand and a gun in the other. lol

[EdZ KG6UTS]

[QUOTE=429421Cowboy;2621526]I just finished reading "Dying To Hunt In Montana" by Tom Donovan, and have been left wondering some things. It seems that the vast majority of hunting accidents occurred pre 1970 or so,

After "several" times/deployments in war zones over a 47+ year career I've been shot twice...in the hunting field not the war zones. Drinking and carelessness were the cause not wildness in the heat of battle. I believe it has always been so.


EdZ KG6UTS

[missionary5155]

Greetibngs
Once in my life I have talked to a feller who said he "took sound shots" at suspected deer. I asked him where he hunted and told him I thought he was nuts and I would never be in those parts during gun season. I trust he never conected and finally realised the idiotic idea he persued.
Mike in Peru

[jcwit]

Almost all of my firearms are "old". None of them have committed murder to my knowledge, at least since I've known them.

Maybe its because they have found love in my presence.

[RPRNY]

People used to drink more, volume and frequency.

[Bad Water Bill]

Well There are 3 that I can not say they have never caused bodily harm.

1 A German Luger that probably served in both world wars.

2 A 1911 Colt made in 1913. there is 0 checkering left on the left grip. It looks like been there done that.

3 My grandfathers Win 94 RIFLE 38-55. He was a Texas Ranger need I say more.

[kootne]

Greetibngs
Once in my life I have talked to a feller who said he "took sound shots" at suspected deer. I asked him where he hunted and told him I thought he was nuts and I would never be in those parts during gun season. I trust he never conected and finally realised the idiotic idea he persued.
Mike in Peru

That was probably me, every time I hear somebody talking about how it's good hunting in an area I like to hunt I agree. " Yeah, that's a really great spot. Just went up there last week. Didn't see nuttin, but got quite a few good sound shots".;)
kootne (this is a joke just in case there is a humorless safety Nazi monitoring this thread)

[Thin Man]

Many years ago I accepted an invitation to hunt deer with a long time friend in another state. Got there and headed to bed early. We got up early for a morning hunt then got back to the camp for late breakfast about 11 AM. One of the hunters was looking through the kitchen cabinets and spoke out loud saying "I can't decide if I want a beer or a shooter..." I started watching and increasing numbers of the hunters were geting beers and drinks. I got really watchful on where all the hunters set up for the remainder of the hunt. After that trip was over I always found myself "already booked" when the invitations came again. I still get a shiver when I remember that hunt.

Thin Man

[429421Cowboy]

Well There are 3 that I can not say they have never caused bodily harm.

1 A German Luger that probably served in both world wars.

2 A 1911 Colt made in 1913. there is 0 checkering left on the left grip. It looks like been there done that.

3 My grandfathers Win 94 RIFLE 38-55. He was a Texas Ranger need I say more.

My best friend in high school's grandfather was a gun nut and reloader that I used to love to shoot and talk guns with, in his collection he had three guns that he knew for fact had killed men. One was a prewar M70 270 that looked like somebody had drug down 5 miles of bad road, it belonged to a Blackfoot Indian who got mad in a poker game and shot a man from barroom distance with it.
The other two were from the same incident, a S&W 10 and a little Winchester .25/20 carbine. That was from two guys that robbed a store in a small town and where chased by the store owner with his S&W, and managed to shoot one of them with it before they shot him with the rifle. That gun still had a .38 slug wedged solid in the stock from the shootout. Talk about a creepy feeling to look at a gun and know the history behind it!

[GREENCOUNTYPETE]

I think a few things played a part

definitely hunters safety it became mandatory here in 1973 , and I believe it works I think we are still holding at ZERO loss of life injuries cause by minors that graduated from hunters safety

other things that have greatly contributed to safety is the orange , now you can discount this if everyone is in a tree sitting all day or extremely spread out in Alberta but my family believes it works we have hunted the same area literally since the 1860s formal hunting seasons weren't established till the 20th century but my relatives in their 80s that are still hunting recall a number of times when a friend of the family was hunting with them an he wore the red and black plaid but it was so dark and dirty you could hardly see the red at all till he was practically right there .

the third thing i thin plays a big part is the drinking , my relatives talk about how late they would stay up drinking , even when i was a kid, a friend of the family had a big party we all went to but where home by 10-11 there were many a times before i started hunting when they were young they talked about closing the bar then coming home for a drink and back up and out hunting , drinking juice glasses of black berry brandy when they came in to warm up. they were actually quite safety minded always unloaded and cased guns before getting in a car only took good clean shots mostly in the neck never pointed guns at each other never a loaded gun in the house.

a friend in his 70s tells of his alcoholic father taking him deer hunting when he was a boy so probably the 1950s as he was already out of the service just before Vietnam , one of the storied he tells is about a time when his dad was loaded and joking around with another guy they hunted with and the guy set his beer on the roof of the car and ducked in to put grab something out of the car and his dad shot the can off the car with the guy right below it , how much of that stupid stuff so you think got turned into oh it was an accident then the other guy stood up into the bullet.

[10x]

I think a few things played a part

definitely hunters safety it became mandatory here in 1973 , and I believe it works I think we are still holding at ZERO loss of life injuries cause by minors that graduated from hunters safety

other things that have greatly contributed to safety is the orange , now you can discount this if everyone is in a tree sitting all day or extremely spread out in Alberta but my family believes it works we have hunted the same area literally since the 1860s formal hunting seasons weren't established till the 20th century but my relatives in their 80s that are still hunting recall a number of times when a friend of the family was hunting with them an he wore the red and black plaid but it was so dark and dirty you could hardly see the red at all till he was practically right there .

the third thing i thin plays a big part is the drinking ,
snipped


The hunter orange/red safety code went out the window in Alberta because of the number of folks who work in the oil and wood fibre industry, hike, and use the backwoods who are not hunting. There is no dress code for them. The Alberta hunting accident rate has dropped since the dress code was dropped.

Conventional wisdom tells us that Hunter Safety courses should make a difference, they probably do, you can not measure accidents that do not happen because of the courses. The raw data from hunting accidents indicates a slow dropping trend that started (in Alberta) about 1970 - there are two factors at play, introduction of the safety course for new hunters and that was the point the median age of the population started to increase. Older hunters have fewer accidents.

Mandatory Firearms Safety training for first time gun owners was introduced in Canada in 1992. The raw data shows no change in accident rate or change in the dropping trend in gun accidents that started in the early 1970s. In fact some studies show an increase in gun accidents in Canada in 2002 -2003. This increase was a result of 3 or 4 more accidents in a year.

In Canada there are 3 distinct groups of gun owners - one with a Possession and Acquisition license (Have had the mandatory gun safety course), one with the P.O.L. (Possession only license - no safety course required - no idea of safety training) and about 2 million folks without a gun license (Section 91 of the Canadian Criminal code makes it an offense punishable by 3 years in prison for possession of a gun without the correct license). The gun accident data is spread out pretty evenly over these three groups of gun owners as near as I can tell.
Bottom line, gun safety courses should work - but no one has ever measured the effectiveness of these courses in Canada. The studies that have been done in the U.S. regarding the effect of gun safety courses border on junk science - results range from courses being very effective to safety courses causing a net increase in accidents.
i would like to believe that gun safety courses work so I encourage folks to take them - I do not believe they should be mandatory.

[Mumblypeg]

In 1982 I was turkey hunting with a friend. We were walking along a path next to a river. There were canes and trees and bushes in the river bottom. As I walked up a small rise I was shot with a 12 gage loaded with #4shot from about 25 to 35 yards away. I caught 29 pellets in the face and upper body. One pellet went through my right eye.( I have shot a rifle left handed ever since). The thing is, the man that shot me swears he saw a turkey. He was, I think, in his mid 40's at the time and was an experienced hunter, not a "Rookie". I do not know what he thought he saw but I know he shot me! He did not mean to and I honestly believe he felt bad about it.(It kind of ruined my day to say the least). I was in the mind set to shoot back but he came up and apologized and did not run away. When it happened, I knew exactly what it was and my first thoughts were my eyes as the other pellets we only superficial wounds. I walked out of the woods on my own with the other good eye. My point is.... how do you teach someone to control their brain. I have taught many how to shoot but I can only hope they can control their brain to know when.

[smokeywolf]

Different situations call for a different mindset. When hunting, I think knowing when not to shoot is more important than knowing when to shoot. When hunting, you have the luxury of more time to analyse your situation and your shot. Given the choice of losing the shot and not taking that extra few seconds to be sure of your aim, your quarry and what's behind and beyond your quarry, I'll give up the shot every time.

smokeywolf

[GREENCOUNTYPETE]

The hunter orange/red safety code went out the window in Alberta because of the number of folks who work in the oil and wood fibre industry, hike, and use the backwoods who are not hunting. There is no dress code for them. The Alberta hunting accident rate has dropped since the dress code was dropped.

Conventional wisdom tells us that Hunter Safety courses should make a difference, they probably do, you can not measure accidents that do not happen because of the courses. The raw data from hunting accidents indicates a slow dropping trend that started (in Alberta) about 1970 - there are two factors at play, introduction of the safety course for new hunters and that was the point the median age of the population started to increase. Older hunters have fewer accidents.

Mandatory Firearms Safety training for first time gun owners was introduced in Canada in 1992. The raw data shows no change in accident rate or change in the dropping trend in gun accidents that started in the early 1970s. In fact some studies show an increase in gun accidents in Canada in 2002 -2003. This increase was a result of 3 or 4 more accidents in a year.

In Canada there are 3 distinct groups of gun owners - one with a Possession and Acquisition license (Have had the mandatory gun safety course), one with the P.O.L. (Possession only license - no safety course required - no idea of safety training) and about 2 million folks without a gun license (Section 91 of the Canadian Criminal code makes it an offense punishable by 3 years in prison for possession of a gun without the correct license). The gun accident data is spread out pretty evenly over these three groups of gun owners as near as I can tell.
Bottom line, gun safety courses should work - but no one has ever measured the effectiveness of these courses in Canada. The studies that have been done in the U.S. regarding the effect of gun safety courses border on junk science - results range from courses being very effective to safety courses causing a net increase in accidents.
i would like to believe that gun safety courses work so I encourage folks to take them - I do not believe they should be mandatory.


I think people have to want to take them and take them serious , and i think the majority of kids taking the course see it as the gateway to them hunting , they got a little taste of it going with dad or mom to the range and they want to learn the don't want to get hurt or hurt anyone.

if safety classes worked across board then driving would be a lot better , but a lot of people forgot or never learned the stuff they don't use every day


the nice part about guns is all you have to do to avoid 99.99% of accidents is make sure your muzzle is in a safe direction

we clearly have reached people actual accidental gun deaths are at 606 in 2010 for all for the US

In Wisconsin they encourage anyone in a rural area , in or around the woods to wear some bright color during our deer season , you will see a lot of people going out to check their mail box with a orange hat on , or walkers who walk rural roads wearing orange vests

positive identification of the sex of the deer should have people looking close enough to know that it is a deer , in spring turkey season we can only take jakes and toms , you have to see it is not a hen before you can shoot