I have seen articles published as far back as about 1985. It was around that time that Outdoor Life had an article that first cued me. I wish I could quote you chapter and verse, but my collection of these things went bye-bye in the divorce from Satan, my first wife. What I will say is that if you read the articles that pop up this time of year where somebody has been shot while turkey hunting, most will include a shooter with a good deal of experience. Turkey hunting, if I remember correctly, has a greater preponderance of mistaken-for-game shootings versus deer hunting.
Deer hunting morbidity on the other hand seems to be related to a lack of experience and poor gun safety, and has seen the greater reduction as a result of mandatory Hunter Education.
Update: I do remember that there was a website back around 2008-2010 that was being maintained by an anti-hunting group. They were against sport hunting and private gun ownership in general and they kept a collection of incidents related to this sort of thing. Their reasons were indeed skewed, but the incidents themselves were real. If you could find that site, you might mine info. I remember there were also links to various state websites that reported similar things.
Also: It dawned on me the 8yrs vs 3 yr stat came from either a Pennsylvania or New York study.
Last edited by shaman; 05/05/17.
