Gas, Air Or Spring-operated Guns
Twenty years of CPSC NEISS emergency-room records for this consumer product category, combined with demographic breakdowns, multi-year injury trends, and matching recall notices.
Sports & Recreation Equipment · CPSC Code 1237
Down 36% over 5 years
The verdict
Gas, Air Or Spring-operated Guns carry a danger score of 37/100 (low risk), driven by roughly 14,504 ER-treated injuries a year that are declining by about 36% over the last five years.
- 37/100
- danger score (low risk)
- 14,504
- ER visits per year (avg)
- 6.8%
- end in hospital admission
- 5-14
- most-injured age group
Every figure is rendered from the CPSC NEISS record for product code 1237 - last data year 2024.
PlainSafety danger score
How this 37/100 score is built
The score is computed from four CPSC-derived factors for gas, air or spring-operated guns - no opinion, no editorializing:
- Injury volume14,504 ER visits/yr
- Severity (hospitalization rate)6.8%
- Fatality rate0.01%
- 5-year trend-36%
See the full methodology for the exact weighting of each factor.
What the CPSC Data Shows
Gas, Air Or Spring-operated Guns (CPSC product code 1237, in the Sports & Recreation Equipment category) generate an estimated 14,504 emergency-room visits every year in the United States, adding up to roughly 290,081 ER-treated injuries across the 20-year span from 2005 to 2024. PlainSafety derives a danger score of 37/100 for this category (low risk), combining raw injury volume, demographic reach, severity of outcome, and multi-year trend. The five-year trajectory shows that injury counts are declining by about 36% over the last five years, with the busiest year on record being 2006 (22,517 estimated ER visits) and the quietest 2023 (7,106 estimated visits).
The single most common ER diagnosis for gas, air or spring-operated guns is foreign body to the hand, accounting for approximately 27,214 visits across the 20-year NEISS window, followed by contusions, abr. to the eyeball (24,250 cases). The 5-14 age group absorbs the largest share of injuries, about 112,510 cases over the NEISS window, and males appear slightly more often than the opposite sex in that cohort. Severity outcomes from the NEISS disposition field show that 6.8% of ER visits involving this product end in hospital admission or transfer, and a small fraction (0.01%) result in fatality.
Beyond the hospital-sampled NEISS projections, this page also aggregates 32 consumer incident reports filed directly on SaferProducts.gov, plus 20 anonymized ER narratives - together forming a layered picture of how gas, air or spring-operated guns fail in real households. Every figure on this page comes from CPSC-published data: NEISS projects national estimates from a probability sample of about 100 U.S. hospital emergency departments, while SaferProducts.gov collects voluntary reports from consumers, manufacturers, and clinicians. The danger score, trend indicators, and demographic breakdowns update automatically when CPSC releases a new yearly NEISS file, which is why this page is dated 2024-12-31. For regulatory context, consult CPSC recall notices and the SaferProducts.gov public database linked below.
Annual Injury Estimates (2005–2024)
Source: CPSC NEISS national estimates CPSC NEISS national estimates Injuries represent ER-treated cases only
Who Gets Injured?
| Age Group | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-4 | 4,483 | 2,879 | |
| 5-14 | 98,447 | 14,047 | |
| 15-24 | 89,377 | 13,373 | |
| 25-34 | 23,925 | 6,034 | |
| 35-44 | 12,736 | 3,830 | |
| 45-54 | 7,999 | 2,363 | |
| 55-64 | 4,681 | 1,427 | |
| 65-74 | 2,604 | 233 | |
| 75+ | 1,399 | 231 |
Most Common Injuries
| Body Part | Diagnosis | Est. Injuries |
|---|---|---|
| Hand | Foreign Body | |
| Eyeball | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Eyeball | Other | |
| Finger | Foreign Body | |
| Face | Foreign Body | |
| Lower Leg | Foreign Body | |
| Foot | Foreign Body | |
| Face | Laceration | |
| Head | Foreign Body | |
| Lower Arm | Foreign Body | |
| Face | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Hand | Puncture | |
| Upper Leg | Foreign Body | |
| Lower Trunk | Foreign Body | |
| Finger | Laceration |
Severity Breakdown
ER Visit Narratives
Real anonymized emergency room reports from the CPSC NEISS database.
11YOM W/L EYE INJURY/PAIN. YEST AFTERNOON PT WAS SHOT AT CLOSE RANGE WITH AN *** GUN. NOTED IMMEDIATE PAIN TO THE AREA. STS TODAY THAT THE PAIN HAS BEEN IMPROVING & IS NO LONGER PRESENT. OCCURRED AT HOME. DX: EYE INJURY
10 YOM C/O INJ TO HAND, THUMB WHEN HE WAS CAULKING HIS BB GUN AT HOME AND WAS PINCHED BETWEEN THE COCKING MECHANISM DX CONTUSION HAND, LAC FINGER
18 YOM SHOT TOE WITH A PELLET GUN DX PUNCTURE TOE
3YOF PRESENTS W/BROTHER&MOTHER FOR EVAL OF SMALL HEAD WOUND.PT HAS PUNCTATE WOUND TO HER RIGHT FOREHEAD.MOTHER HAD LEFT CARE OF CHILD W/14YO SON WHILE SHE WAS@WK.SON LEFT THE ROOM FOR A FEW MIN UNTIL HE HEARD CRYING.PT UNABLE TO EXPLAIN HOW SHE OBTAINED IT.THERE WAS A PELLET GUN IN THE ROOM&SHE WAS POINTING AT THAT.SAFETY ON/NO PELLETS IN GUN. DX: PUNCTURE WOUND IN PEDIATRIC PATIENT
14 YOM WAS SHOT IN THE EYE WITH A BB GUN 4 DAYS AGO. DX: TRAUMATIC HYPHEMA OF RIGHT EYE.
19YOM C/O DESTROYING THE HOUSE AND SHOOTING A BB GUN. POLICE BROUGHT HIM INTO ED. PATIENT REPORTING ALCOHOL, MARIJUANA, AND MUSHROOM USE TODAY. ETHANOL LEVEL NOT TAKEN. DX: UNKNOWN
14 YOM ACCIDENTALLY SHOT SELF W/BB GUN WHEN HE FELL TO R LOWER LEG DX; PUNCTURE WOUND
18 YOM WITH INJURY TO CHIN. 3 WEEKS AGO HE WAS SHOT TO THE CHIN WITH A BB GUN AND THE PELLET REMAINED IN HIS CHIN. DX FOREIGN BODY CHIN
18 YOM ACCIDENT SHOT HIS L HAND W/PELLET GUN DX; FOREIGN BODY
20YOM TO ER FOR LEFT EYE TRAUMA FROM BB GUN, HE & UNCLE DECIDED TO PLAY AROUND W/ BB GUNS AFTER THEY GOT BACK FROM THE BARS & & BOTH INTOXICATED (NO BAL) & UNCLE ACCIDENTALLY SHOT PT IN LEFT EYE W/ BB GUN DX ABRASION LEFT CORNEA, PAIN IN LEFT EY, MONOCULAR VISION LOSS
18YOM,ATTEMPTING TO USE BB GUN AN ASSUMED EMPTY BUT WONDERED IF THERE WAS STILL AIR AN CHAMBER FIRED AT HAND,DX:HAND PAIN
56YOM WAS ACCIDENTALLY SHOT W/ A PELLET GUN. DX: PUNCTURE WOUND OF HAND W/ FB
Consumer Incident Reports
Reports filed by consumers on SaferProducts.gov.
I received a Ruger Air Hawk Elite air rifle as a Christmas present about 3 years ago. After about one year of intermittent (not heavy) use, I tried to use it and it discharged by itself. I tried several times to load and use the air rifle and it discharged about 1/2 of the time without the trigger being pulled. This is a break barrel air rifle, which means the barrel must be cocked open to load the pellet and engage the spring for firing. One time the barrel swung up by itself and discharged, bending the barrel. If my finger had been in the way while loading the pellet, I am sure it would have caused severe damage. I called the company (Umarex) to report the problem and they said it was my fault for pulling the trigger while it was open, which I did not do, and that the warranty was void because of that. I have a hole in my wall and a hole in my rain gutter from it firing on its own. For about $50 return shipping, another fee to straighten the barrel and the cost of me shipping the air rifle to the company, they said they would straighten the barrel, so I decided to locate a local repair person. The gun has remained untouched for about 1.5 years as it was unsafe to use due to both the bent barrel and the firing on its own. I finally found a local repair person who fixed it. He said the spring that pushes the air was broken (I have the broken spring), the barrel was obviously bent, and the firing holding mechanism was a lousy design. According to what I was told, he said there is a small piece of metal that falls into place and it was worn and no longer holding the firing mechanism, which is why it fired on its own. He flipped this piece over to the non-worn side and placed it back in the gun, and also told me it was soft metal which will wear out again. This means at some time it will fire without the trigger being pulled, and I have no idea when. While researching the problem, I came across a review on Cabelas web site whereby another consumer
I purchased a Challenger Bullpup airgun in .303 caliber. The gun has a design flaw that nakes the magazine fail and hurl pieces of it forcefully to your face. The Challenger Bullpup air gun is a high-powered hunting rifle that can take medium sized prey. The rifle was being used by myself for target shooting and has failed twice, resulting in injury during second failure. The pressure in the gun's chamber is more than the magazine can tolerate. When this happens, the magazine explodes in front of your nose hurling sharp fragments to your face.
The paintball/marker pistol exploded while not in use and shot shrapnel out at dangerously high speeds with a large piece ended up stuck in the wall a few feet from someone's head.
Bought a air pistol model Blackwater 85 and it only worked for two magazines and not all that well , the safety never did work and will just fall down to safe and still not keep the gun from firing , it jams and then will fire by itself with the safety on or off , missed breaking my shop window by 2 inches , have been trying to get any answers from the company but no return calls - been over 3 weeks trying and again nothing , you would think someone would care .
Purchased Air Soft Gun model DE R36C TacSpec Electric AEG Rifle w/ Flashlight and Red Dot Scope from airgunplace via Amazon. After 3 months, it started firing automatically when it was on semi-automatic. Then it started firing only on automatic. Now it fires automatically without the trigger being pulled even with the safe on. There are no "jams" to cause this. I removed the battery several times. Despite attempts to correct the issue, the gun will fire without pulling the trigger, even with the safety on.
I noticed that an airsoft gun appeared to be a real gun and I could not tell the difference until I handled the toy. The reason the airsoft gun was not marked resulted from the orange tip breaking off as it is used to secure a fake silencer to the toy. This fake silencer also did not have orange markings. This missing orange marking could very well allow the toy to be mistaken for a real gun. https://www.airsoftgi.com/product/Elite-Force-Walther-PPQ-Spring-Airsoft-Pistol-w-Mock-Suppressor-Dark-Earth-Black-15850/
Hatsan air rifle fired prematurely
Battery exploded when it was charging resulting in fire and damage
Showing 8 of 32 reports.
Product Recalls
Search for active and past recalls related to gas, air or spring-operated guns on the CPSC website.
Frequently Asked Questions
How dangerous are gas, air or spring-operated guns?
Based on 20 years of CPSC data, gas, air or spring-operated guns have a danger score of 37/100 (low risk). An estimated 14,504 ER-treated injuries occur annually in the U.S. related to this product category.
What are the most common injuries from gas, air or spring-operated guns?
The most common injury is foreign body to the hand, accounting for approximately 27,214 injuries over 20 years.
Are injuries from gas, air or spring-operated guns increasing or decreasing?
Down 36% over 5 years.
Who is most at risk for gas, air or spring-operated guns injuries?
The 5-14 age group accounts for the most injuries, with approximately 112,510 cases recorded over 20 years. Males are more frequently injured in this age group.
What happens when someone is injured by gas, air or spring-operated guns?
Of all ER visits involving gas, air or spring-operated guns, approximately 6.8% result in hospital admission. The majority of patients (93.2%) are treated and released from the emergency department.
How can I report a safety problem with gas, air or spring-operated guns?
You can file a consumer incident report at SaferProducts.gov, the official CPSC reporting portal. Reports help the CPSC identify emerging hazards and trigger investigations or recalls. You can also call the CPSC hotline at 1-800-638-2772.
Related Products in Sports & Recreation Equipment
Safety Guides
What this means for you
Treat the 37/100 score as relative risk between products, not your personal odds of injury.
- See where this category ranks against every other tracked product. Full rankings
- Injuries cluster in the 5-14 age group, take extra care if that describes your household.
- Check for active recalls on this product before you assume it is safe. CPSC recalls
NEISS estimates ER-treated injuries from a national probability sample of hospitals; they do not capture injuries treated elsewhere or not treated at all.
Data: CPSC National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) 2005–2024 and SaferProducts.gov consumer incident reports. Injury estimates are based on a nationally representative probability sample of U.S. hospital emergency departments. This page is for informational purposes only and is not affiliated with the CPSC.
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, scored, and verified.
