25
CPSC NEISS Data 2005–2024

Slingshots Or Sling-propelled Toys

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.

Toys & Children's Recreation · CPSC Code 1352

Down 53% over 5 years

The verdict

Slingshots Or Sling-propelled Toys carry a danger score of 25/100 (low risk), driven by roughly 324 ER-treated injuries a year that are declining by about 53% over the last five years.

25/100
danger score (low risk)
324
ER visits per year (avg)
3.3%
end in hospital admission
5-14
most-injured age group

Every figure is rendered from the CPSC NEISS record for product code 1352 - last data year 2024.

PlainSafety danger score

0/100100/10025/100
PlainSafety danger score

Source: CPSC NEISS danger-score model As of 2024

How this 25/100 score is built

The score is computed from four CPSC-derived factors for slingshots or sling-propelled toys - no opinion, no editorializing:

  • Injury volume324 ER visits/yr
  • Severity (hospitalization rate)3.3%
  • Fatality rate0.00%
  • 5-year trend-53%

See the full methodology for the exact weighting of each factor.

What the CPSC Data Shows

Slingshots Or Sling-propelled Toys (CPSC product code 1352, in the Toys & Children's Recreation category) generate an estimated 324 emergency-room visits every year in the United States, adding up to roughly 6,486 ER-treated injuries across the 20-year span from 2005 to 2024. PlainSafety derives a danger score of 25/100 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 53% over the last five years, with the busiest year on record being 2014 (605 estimated ER visits) and the quietest 2020 (10 estimated visits).

The single most common ER diagnosis for slingshots or sling-propelled toys is contusions, abr. to the eyeball, accounting for approximately 1,204 visits across the 20-year NEISS window, followed by other to the eyeball (656 cases). The 5-14 age group absorbs the largest share of injuries, about 3,501 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 3.3% of ER visits involving this product end in hospital admission or transfer.

Beyond the hospital-sampled NEISS projections, this page also aggregates 10 consumer incident reports filed directly on SaferProducts.gov, plus 20 anonymized ER narratives - together forming a layered picture of how slingshots or sling-propelled toys 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.

324
Injuries / Year
3.3%
Hospitalization Rate
0.00%
Fatality Rate

Annual Injury Estimates (2005–2024)

-2000200400600800 20052008201120142017202020232024 131
Estimated annual emergency-room visits for Slingshots Or Sling-propelled Toys, CPSC NEISS

Source: CPSC NEISS national injury estimates As of 2024

Source: CPSC NEISS national estimates CPSC NEISS national estimates Injuries represent ER-treated cases only

Who Gets Injured?

Age Group Male Female Total
0-4 289 119 408
5-14 3,108 393 3,501
15-24 760 240 1,000
25-34 464 98 562
35-44 287 307 594
45-54 15 0 15
55-64 72 76 148
65-74 56 204 260

Most Common Injuries

Body Part Diagnosis Est. Injuries
Eyeball Contusions, Abr. 1,204
Eyeball Other 656
Face Laceration 615
Face Contusions, Abr. 581
Mouth Laceration 419
Face Fracture 274
Hand Laceration 256
Hand Contusions, Abr. 242
Finger Contusions, Abr. 233
Finger Laceration 171
Finger Fracture 147
Knee Contusions, Abr. 116
Eyeball Hemorrhage 108
Head Laceration 102
Lower Arm Laceration 98

Severity Breakdown

Treated/examined And Released 95.8% (6,216)
Treated And Transferred 2.6% (166)
Held For Observation 0.8% (55)
Left Without Being Seen 0.7% (48)
Treated And Admitted/hospitalized 0.1% (5)

ER Visit Narratives

Real anonymized emergency room reports from the CPSC NEISS database.

Age 66 · Male · Hand · Laceration · 2024

66 YOM HURT R HAND USING SLING SHOT DX; HAND LAC

Age 13 · Male · Face · Contusions, Abr. · 2024

13YOM WAS SHOT WITH A SLING SHOT IN THE LEFT EYE DX: ABRASION TO LEFT EYE

Age 40 · Female · Hand · Laceration · 2024

40YOF WAS PLAYING WITH A SLINGSHOT DEVICE WITH HER SONE AND PART OF THE PLASTIC CAME BACK AND HIT HER HAND AND FINGER DX: RT HAND LACERATION

Age 10 · Male · Head · Internal Injury · 2024

10YOM. PT TOLD MOM THAT CLASSMATE HAD A SMALL SLINGSHOT WAS POSSIBLY HIT TO HEAD WITH A SMALL PEBBLE OR ROCK. MOM CALLED SCHOOL. PT WITH HEMATOMA TO LEFT TEMPLE. DX: CHI EPISTAXIS- HEMATOMA TO LEFT TEMPLE.

Age 5 · Male · Eyeball · Derma/conjunct · 2024

5YOM. PT WAS HIT TO LEFT EYE WITH CRAB APPLE THAT SIBLING & PT PLAYING WITH SLINGSHOT PT WITH PAIN & BLURRY VISION. DX: LEFT CONJUNCTIVA/HYPHEMA.

Age 5 · Female · Mouth · Dental Injury · 2024

5 YOF C/O DENTAL INJURY S/P ACCIDENTALLY HIT WITH A SLINGSHOT WHILE AT A DOG PARK. DX: DENTAL INJURY

Age 11 · Male · Eyeball · Hemorrhage · 2023

11YOM STATES GOT HIT IN THE EYE WITH A PIECE OF A BLACK WALNUT SHELL WHILE SHOOTING A SLING SHOT WITH A FRIEND. REPORTS PUTTING WALNUT IN SLING SHOTAND FIRED IT. PER PROVIDER NOTE FROM DESCRIPTION IT SOUNDS LIKE HE WAS STRUCK IN THE EYE WHEN THE SLING SHOT BAND RECOILED. DX: BLUNT TRAUMA OF RT EYE., HYPHEMA OF RT EYE

Age 17 · Female · Finger · Contusions, Abr. · 2023

17 YOF C/O THUMB INJURY USING SLINGSHOT STRUCK BY ROCK DX ABRASION THUMB

Age 2 · Male · Eyeball · Contusions, Abr. · 2023

2YOM WAS SHOT IN THE LEFT EYE WITH A TOY SLINGSHOT FROM HIS BROTHER DX: CORNEAL ABRASION

Age 16 · Female · Finger · Contusions, Abr. · 2023

16 YOF USING A SLING SHOT THAT BROKE AND HIT FINGER. DX CONTUSION

Age 41 · Female · Eyeball · Laceration · 2023

41YOF HAS RIGHT EYE PAIN AFTER SHE WAS HIT WITH TOY CAR FROM SLING SHOT. DX: LACERATION OF RIGHT CONJUNCTIVA; SUBCONJUNCTIVAL HEMORRHAGE OF RIGHT EYE

Age 9 · Male · Eyeball · Contusions, Abr. · 2022

9YOM PT WAS PLAYING WITH A SLINGSHOT THAT SNAPPED BACK HITTING PT'S LT EYE PAINFUL DX CONTUSION LT EYE

Consumer Incident Reports

Reports filed by consumers on SaferProducts.gov.

9/6/2012 · Injury, No First Aid or Medical Attention Received · JA-RU INC · New York

Bought "Silly Shotz", a toy slingshot with foam balls and when my daughter pulled back the launcher the strink untied and she hit herself in the face extremely hard. Her lip is red and swollen.

8/6/2024 · Injury, First Aid Received by Non-Medical Professional · PlayMonster, LLC · Georgia

My six year old child was gifted an Original Koosh Sharp Shot toy which has an electronic target and rubberized Koosh Flingers which are soft rubberized balls with rubber band like attachments that are sling shot at the target using the shooters to loop the rubber band around and pull back the ball to aim at the target. My child pulled back on a Koosh Flinger from a shooter but accidentally let go of the hard plastic shooter instead of the Koosh Flinger. The hard plastic shooter flipped around the rubber band part of the Koosh Flinger and struck him hard in the face. It just missed his eye and could blind any child. The Original Koosh Sharp Shot manual says the product is from PlayMonster, LLC, and is licensed by Hasbro, and that Koosh is a trademark of Oddzon, Inc.

8/27/2012 · Injury, Emergency Department Treatment Received · FUNTASTIC TOYS · Florida

A 14 year old boy purchased a Mega Rocket toy from Winn-Dixie in Jacksonville, FL, on October 16, 2011. On that same date, the boy launched the rocket using the instructed method for a single individual. In the launch process, he was struck in the left eye by the Mega Rocket and experienced severe injury and blindness in his eye as a result thereof. The Mega Rocket toy is unreasonably dangerous because when launched as instructed, it passes at high rates of speed within inches of the user's face. This creates a high risk of being struck in the face by the Mega Rocket which can cause serious injury, including blindness. The Mega Rocket is not safe for children 8 years of age as advertised and is not made of "Safe Soft Foam."

8/23/2022 · Injury, Seen by Medical Professional · Zhengzhou Meifang Import and Export Trade Co.,LTD · Utah

I was shooting the ucho Professional slingshot when the top of the frame broke, sending the metal piece into my cheek. It almost knocked me out and at first I thought somebody had hit me with a pole. My teeth started hurting that night and after a week or so I went to the dentist, and he had to pull the tooth. When you get hit by a metal piece stretched with a rubber band it's really a shock.

7/10/2022 · Injury, Emergency Department Treatment Received · Idea Village · Michigan

Child was pulling the rocket back with the sling shot. Upon release it hit her thumb resulting in a deep cut. 3 hours in the ER - Doctors removed part of her nail bed and put in three stitches. Child was under adult supervision at the time of the event.

3/10/2015 · Injury, Emergency Department Treatment Received · BARNETT OUTDOORS LLC · Minnesota

Purchased a new Barnett Black Widow slingshot for my 14 yr old son. Third time shooting it with him the wrist support slid off at full draw causing the sling shot to torque out of my hand and into my face/eye causing er visit, including brow stiches and eye damage. The wrist strap is not permenantely attached in any way and it's soft plastic, causing it to flex and pull right off the handle/wrist support. Very unsafe design. This happened to me and not my son, thankfully.

12/27/2023 · No Incident, No Injury · Namii W · Rhode Island

Purchased this product and inside was a packet of multicolored water beads, packaging looked like a toy Namii W Slingshot Chicken Rubber Chicken Flick Chicken Flying Chicken Flingers Stress Gag Toys, Rubber Chicken Slingshot Funny Christmas Stuffers Easter Chicks Novelty Gifts for Kids (Yellow 10 Pcs) https://a.co/d/glkRka6

11/14/2013 · Incident, No Injury · I-Star Entertainment, LLC · Alabama

My 4 year old son and I were playing with the Superheros Flying spiderman and the spiderman part of the toy broke into 5 pieces in mid air. The body pieces were extremely sharp and could have easily caused bodily injury had it hit either one of us.

Showing 8 of 10 reports.

Product Recalls

Search for active and past recalls related to slingshots or sling-propelled toys on the CPSC website.

Frequently Asked Questions

How dangerous are slingshots or sling-propelled toys?

Based on 20 years of CPSC data, slingshots or sling-propelled toys have a danger score of 25/100 (low risk). An estimated 324 ER-treated injuries occur annually in the U.S. related to this product category.

What are the most common injuries from slingshots or sling-propelled toys?

The most common injury is contusions, abr. to the eyeball, accounting for approximately 1,204 injuries over 20 years.

Are injuries from slingshots or sling-propelled toys increasing or decreasing?

Down 53% over 5 years.

Who is most at risk for slingshots or sling-propelled toys injuries?

The 5-14 age group accounts for the most injuries, with approximately 3,501 cases recorded over 20 years. Males are more frequently injured in this age group.

What happens when someone is injured by slingshots or sling-propelled toys?

Of all ER visits involving slingshots or sling-propelled toys, approximately 3.3% result in hospital admission. The majority of patients (96.8%) are treated and released from the emergency department.

How can I report a safety problem with slingshots or sling-propelled toys?

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.

Safety Guides

What this means for you

Treat the 25/100 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.