Report Highlights
Hunting is a great American pastime. Unfortunately, human error, equipment malfunctions, and medical emergencies lead to hundreds of accidents each year.
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On average, 464 hunting accidents and 61.3 hunting fatalities were reported annually between 2010 and 2024.
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Hunter judgment (42.9%) and skill and aptitude factors (40.8%) were the most common causes of hunting-related incidents in that same time span.
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Firearm discharges accounted for a larger share of incidents than tree stand falls (34.0% vs. 24.5%), but the two shared similar fatality rates (10.5% vs. 11.0%).
What Are the Main Causes of Hunting Accidents?
Some sources suggest that 80% of hunting accidents are attributable to human error. 10 The IHEA database listed 4,484 incidents with human errors as causal factors. Of those, 1,924 (42.9%) were hunter judgment factors (failure to identify a target, firing while another person was out of sight, etc.). 1
Skill and aptitude factors, which include careless or reckless handling of a firearm, stumbling and falling, or trigger obstruction, accounted for 1,831 incidents (40.8%). Basic safety and law violations, such as discharging a firearm from a vehicle or shooting across a roadway, accounted for 508 incidents (11.3%). 1
Other factors include archery-specific accidents, which accounted for 64 incidents (1.4%); “miscellaneous,” including ricochets and defective ammunition, 272 incidents (6.1%); and incidents classified as “other” at 886 incidents (19.8%). 1
For incidents where a round travels well beyond its intended target, see our data on stray bullet deaths.
Gun-Related Accidents
Between 2010 and 2025, the IHEA Hunting Incident Database lists 2,404 confirmed firearm-discharge incidents. Of those incidents, 10.5% (252) resulted in fatalities. 1
Other studies examined gun-related hunting fatalities in Canada, Switzerland, and the U.S., which also suggest that 10% of such accidents result in fatalities. 9
Hunting is one slice of a much wider picture. For unintentional firearm deaths across every setting, see our review of accidental shooting statistics.
Falls From Tree Stands
Some sources estimate that between 3,000 and 4,000 injuries result from tree stand falls each year in the U.S. and Canada combined. 4 The majority of serious injuries (95%) occurred while hunters weren’t wearing harnesses. 5
According to the IHEA database, roughly 24.5% (1,732) of reported hunting accidents involved a fall from an elevated hunting position such as a tree stand or ladder stand. 1
According to the Mayo Clinic, most falls from a tree stand occur at 15 feet, which can cause serious injury. 3
Continue reading Hunting Accident Statistics 2026: An All-American Hobby on Ammo.com
https://ammo.com/research/hunting-accident-statistics#severity-of-hunting-accidents