Skeet Shooting (activity, Apparel Or Equipment)
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 Protective Equipment & Gear · CPSC Code 3203
Down 40% over 5 years
The verdict
Skeet Shooting (activity, Apparel Or Equipment) carry a danger score of 32/100 (low risk), driven by roughly 398 ER-treated injuries a year that are declining by about 40% over the last five years.
- 32/100
- danger score (low risk)
- 398
- ER visits per year (avg)
- 12.7%
- end in hospital admission
- 15-24
- most-injured age group
Every figure is rendered from the CPSC NEISS record for product code 3203 - last data year 2024.
PlainSafety danger score
How this 32/100 score is built
The score is computed from four CPSC-derived factors for skeet shooting (activity, apparel or equipment) - no opinion, no editorializing:
- Injury volume398 ER visits/yr
- Severity (hospitalization rate)12.7%
- Fatality rate0.00%
- 5-year trend-40%
See the full methodology for the exact weighting of each factor.
What the CPSC Data Shows
Skeet Shooting (activity, Apparel Or Equipment) (CPSC product code 3203, in the Sports Protective Equipment & Gear category) generate an estimated 398 emergency-room visits every year in the United States, adding up to roughly 7,966 ER-treated injuries across the 20-year span from 2005 to 2024. PlainSafety derives a danger score of 32/100 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 40% over the last five years, with the busiest year on record being 2017 (1,058 estimated ER visits) and the quietest 2021 (175 estimated visits).
The single most common ER diagnosis for skeet shooting (activity, apparel or equipment) is laceration to the face, accounting for approximately 1,391 visits across the 20-year NEISS window, followed by laceration to the hand (698 cases). The 15-24 age group absorbs the largest share of injuries, about 1,877 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 12.7% of ER visits involving this product end in hospital admission or transfer.
Beyond the hospital-sampled NEISS projections, this page also aggregates 0 consumer incident reports filed directly on SaferProducts.gov, plus 20 anonymized ER narratives - together forming a layered picture of how skeet shooting (activity, apparel or equipment) 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 | 6 | 0 | |
| 5-14 | 876 | 155 | |
| 15-24 | 1,406 | 471 | |
| 25-34 | 1,001 | 201 | |
| 35-44 | 664 | 108 | |
| 45-54 | 1,091 | 0 | |
| 55-64 | 916 | 0 | |
| 65-74 | 770 | 100 | |
| 75+ | 200 | 0 |
Most Common Injuries
| Body Part | Diagnosis | Est. Injuries |
|---|---|---|
| Face | Laceration | |
| Hand | Laceration | |
| Finger | Laceration | |
| Head | Internal Injury | |
| Lower Leg | Laceration | |
| Lower Leg | Puncture | |
| Head | Laceration | |
| Face | Fracture | |
| Shoulder | Strain, Sprain | |
| Lower Arm | Laceration | |
| Eyeball | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Upper Leg | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Head | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Wrist | Contusions, Abr. | |
| Hand | Fracture |
Severity Breakdown
ER Visit Narratives
Real anonymized emergency room reports from the CPSC NEISS database.
47YOM WAS ADJUSTING SOME TARGETS FOR SHOOTING PRACTICE. THEY HAD SOME OLD DUST ON THEM AND AS HE LIFTED THEM TO PUT IN PLACE, SAWDUST OR DIRT FLEW INTO HIS EYE WITH THE WIND MOSTLY IN HIS RIGHT EYE. DX: CORNEAL ABRASION.
70YOM- WAS WORKING ON A TRAP SHOOTER THAT LAUNCHES CLAY PIGEONS. ACCIDENTALLY HIT THE FIRE BUTTON AND IT STRUCK HIM IN THE FRONT FACE, KNOCKING OUT HIS TEETH-DX: FRACTURE OF HARD PALATE, OPEN, TOOTH FRACTURE
19YOF PRESENTS TO ED FOR LEFT AHND INJURY. PT WAS SKEET SHOOTING TODYA HWEN SOMEBODY RELEASED CLAY PIGEON THROWER WHIEL HAND WAS ENGAGED. HAS LACERATION TO ULNAR/DORSAL ASPECT LEFT AHND. DX: CLOSED FX OF LEFT HAND
19 YOM C/O EAR PAIN AFTER SHOOTING SKEET AT GUN RANGE WITHOUT HEARING PROTECTION DX BUSTED EAR DRUM
46YOM FINGER CAUGHT IN LEVER ARM OF A SKEET SHOOTER DX: CLOSED NONDISPLACED FRACTURE OF PROXIMAL PHALANX OF LEFT INDEX FINGER
41 YOM WAS HIT IN THE ARM BY A SPRING ACTION PLATE OF A LAUNCHER FOR SHOOTING PRACTICE. DX: CONTUSION OF LEFT ELBOW
19YOM WAS OUT SHOOTING SKEET AND A PIECE WAS BROKE OFF AND HIT HIM IN HTE EYE. DX OPEN GLOBE LACERATION
9YOF WAS RUNNING 3 DAYS AGO WHEN SHE COLLIDED WITH A CLAY PIGEON MACHINE. DX: RIGHT LOWER LEG LACERATION.
30YOM PATIENT STATES THAT HE WAS LOADING A PIGEON SHOOTER AND IT LAUCHED EARLY AND HIT HIM IN THE ELBOW, ELBOW PAIN DX: LEFT ELBOW INJURY
29YOM was shooting clay pigeons at *** trap and skeet club, he was using a shotgun with barrel resting in his right hand when the barrel of the gun exploded in his right hand, he has two open wounds. DX: hand laceration, injury of right hand
55 YOM WAS SHOOTING AND GOT HIT WITH A METAL SKEET SHOOTER. DX: INJURY OF HEAD, FACIAL LACERATION
57 YOM WAS USING A CLAY PIGEON THROWER AND IT SNAPPED AND CAME BACK AND HIT HIM IN THE FACE. DX: OPEN FRACTURE OF NASAL BONE, FACIAL LACERATION, HYPERTENSION
Product Recalls
Search for active and past recalls related to skeet shooting (activity, apparel or equipment) on the CPSC website.
Frequently Asked Questions
How dangerous are skeet shooting (activity, apparel or equipment)?
Based on 20 years of CPSC data, skeet shooting (activity, apparel or equipment) have a danger score of 32/100 (low risk). An estimated 398 ER-treated injuries occur annually in the U.S. related to this product category.
What are the most common injuries from skeet shooting (activity, apparel or equipment)?
The most common injury is laceration to the face, accounting for approximately 1,391 injuries over 20 years.
Are injuries from skeet shooting (activity, apparel or equipment) increasing or decreasing?
Down 40% over 5 years.
Who is most at risk for skeet shooting (activity, apparel or equipment) injuries?
The 15-24 age group accounts for the most injuries, with approximately 1,877 cases recorded over 20 years. Males are more frequently injured in this age group.
What happens when someone is injured by skeet shooting (activity, apparel or equipment)?
Of all ER visits involving skeet shooting (activity, apparel or equipment), approximately 12.7% result in hospital admission. The majority of patients (87.3%) are treated and released from the emergency department.
How can I report a safety problem with skeet shooting (activity, apparel or equipment)?
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 Protective Equipment & Gear
Safety Guides
What this means for you
Treat the 32/100 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 15-24 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.
