2016 HUNTING SAFETY STATISTICS

Prepared by the Sportsman Education Program

2016 5 yr. Avg

TOTAL INCIDENTS 13 20.2 Hunters Experience Another Safe Year
Fatal 4 1.8
Reports on the number of hunting-related shooting incidents
Non-fatal 9 18.4 indicate that 2016 had the lowest number on record in New York
Self-Inflicted 7 10.4 with just 13 personal injury incidents. Starting with 2013, the last
four years were the top four safest in New York. Unfortunately in
Two-Party 6 13.4 2016, despite the lowest number of hunter-related shooting
SPECIES HUNTED incidents on record, there were four fatalities.
Big Game: Bear 0 0.4
A further evaluation of the incidents showed that 7 (54%) were
Deer 8 10.4 self-inflicted and 6 (46%) were two-party incidents. Looking
Turkey: Spring 1 0.8 closer at all of the two-party firearm incidents, 4 out of 5 (80%)
Fall 0 0.4 of the victims were not wearing hunter orange. This indicates that
not wearing hunter orange increases your risk of being involved
Upland/Furbearer: Rabbits 0 0.4 in a two-party firearm incident.
Squirrels 1 2.2
Upland Birds 0 0.4 The number of hunters is declining, but the hunting incident rate
(incidents per 100,000 hunters) is falling much faster. Since the
Raccoon 0 0.6 1960s, the number of hunters has declined about 20%, while the
Fox & Coyote 0 0.8 incident rate has declined almost 80%. The current 5-year average
Waterfowl 1 1.8 is 3.5 incidents per 100,000 hunters, compared to 19 per 100,000
hunters in the 1960s.
Other: Woodchuck 0 0.4
Other 2 1.4 New York has an extremely safety-conscious generation of
Unknown (general upland game) 0 0.2 hunters, thanks largely to the dedicated efforts of thousands of
volunteer Sportsman Education Instructors over the last 60 plus
TYPE OF IMPLEMENT years.
Shotgun 4 7.8
Hunting is safer than ever, but we cannot become complacent as
Rifle 9 9.4 every hunting-related shooting incident is preventable. The DEC
Handgun 0 1.2 highly recommends that hunters going afield during any firearm
Muzzleloader 0 0.8 season wear hunter orange to be visible to other hunters.
Crossbow 0 0.2
This report includes only incidents involving firearms, bows or
Bow 0 0.4 crossbows. It does not include all incidents and fatalities related
Air Gun 0 0.4 to hunting. On occasion there may be incidents involving tree
stand use or other hunter health-related mishaps.
There were four fatalities in 2016

2016 figures are compiled from preliminary reports and are NOT
final. Final investigation reports may take months in some cases.
Please note that in some of the incidents reported the shooter was
participating in an illegal act.

Past 10 Years of Hunting-Related Shooting Incidents

Including both big game and small game hunting
YEAR BIG GAME OTHER TOTAL
2007 14 23 37
2008 12 15 27
2009 14 12 26
2010 19 21 40
2011 14 12 26
2012 14 10 24
2013 10 9 19
2014 9 13 22
2015 13 10 23
2016 8 5 13
 The Stories behind the Statistics: Hunting-Related Shooting Incidents 2016
Preliminary descriptions of incidents as of 1/20/17. Many of the incidents reported here are still under investigation by NYS
DEC Division of Law Enforcement. Please note that in some of the incidents reported the shooter was participating in
an illegal act. More details may appear in final reports after investigations are completed in 2017.
The most common story: Remember
that 99.9% of the people who hunt have
safe and enjoyable experiences. Over half
a million people hunted in New York this
year, and for every incident listed, there
are thousands of other hunting stories of
people who safely and responsibly took
game. Just as important, even more passed
up shots for the sake of safety, conservation,
and respect for wildlife.
Many, if not all of these incidents could have
been prevented, if only the parties involved
had followed the primary rules of Hunter
Safety:
Assume every gun to be loaded
Control the muzzle in a safe direction
Keep finger off the trigger until firing
Be sure of your target and beyond
Wear hunter orange
Thanks to our Environmental
Conservation Officers for thorough
investigations of each incident.
FORMAT FOR 2016 DESCRIPTIONS:
Date (mm/dd) - followed by County and
a brief description based on initial report.
SMALL GAME & NONGAME
4/3 - Lewis. Self-inflicted - The victim
sustained an injury to the left foot when
he discharged one round while loading
the magazine of his shotgun during a
pigeon hunt.
7/2 - Clinton. Self-inflicted - The victim
was attempting to shoot a beaver under a
nuisance permit when the third shot from
the firearm discharged causing severe
damage to the victims hand.
11/2 - Fulton. Self-inflicted - The victim
was hunting squirrels from his tree stand,
and when he pulled his rifle into the stand
with a rope tied around the trigger, the
rifle discharged one round into his leg.
WATERFOWL HUNTING Join New Yorks Instructor Team!
NYSDEC Sportsman Education
2/21 - Ontario. Self-inflicted - The victim 625 Broadway
shot himself in the left foot while hunting Albany, NY 12233-4800
geese.
Phone Toll-Free 1-888-HUNT-ED2
TURKEY HUNTING
Website: www.dec.ny.gov
5/21 Otsego. The victim sustained (Find Sportsman Education in the
several pellet wounds to the shoulder and subject index)
upper torso. He was calling turkeys from
a hedgerow when a shooter discharged Law Enforcement Toll-free 24-
one round at movement in the brush. hour ECO Dispatch: 1-877-457-
5680
BIG GAME HUNTING
10/24 - Oneida. Self-inflicted - The
victim sustained a fatal wound to the
head/neck area while hunting deer.
11/19 - Schuyler. The victim was setting
up a deer decoy by his hunting blind when
he was struck in the upper right thigh by
a rifle bullet.
11/24 - Albany. After completing the
days hunt the shooter was unloading his
rifle and discharged one round resulting
in bullet fragments striking the victim in
the shoulder.
11/24 - Oswego. The victim sustained a
fatal wound to the chest when he was
mistaken for a deer while deer hunting.
11/27 Livingston. The victim sustained
a fatal wound to the abdomen when
another member of the hunting party
unslung his shotgun, which caused it to
discharge.
11/28 - Chautauqua. Self-inflicted. The
victim sustained a fatal wound to the
chest at the base of his tree stand.
11/29 - Columbia. The victim sustained a
wound to the lower torso/hip while
walking in a field.
12/6 - Chenango. Self-inflicted. The
victim sustained a wound to the right
hand resulting in the loss of four fingers.