I guess it could be the magnifying effect of the Internet, but there sure seem to be a lot. I have my own ideas about why, but would like to hear your thoughts before I comment.

Data please...

Proliferation of video cameras, and yes the internets.

I think you hit on it. It's simply reported more like many things.

Speculation.

The number of "first time" firearm owners, fewer people were exposed to firarms growing up and the increased numbers over the past 8 years has a lot to do with it, as well as the proliferation of information spread on social media.

quote:

Originally posted by Cassandra:
Data please...

I have none and never claimed to have any. I acknowledged that it may be perception.

I understand, I think sigmonkey prolly has it right...

quote:

Originally posted by sigmonkey:
Speculation.

The number of "first time" firearm owners, fewer people were exposed to firarms growing up and the increased numbers over the past 8 years has a lot to do with it, as well as the proliferation of information spread on social media.

I agree. Seems to me that with record gun sales virtually every month for years that the number of people with guns, and no training, would dictate more incidents of accidental or negligent discharges.

And, not to derail the thread, but training does not always stop these incidents.

I know a cop, combat veteran and Ranger, who shot himself through the hand while preparing to clean his pistol.

quote:

Originally posted by sigmonkey:
Speculation.

The number of "first time" firearm owners, fewer people were exposed to firarms growing up and the increased numbers over the past 8 years has a lot to do with it, as well as the proliferation of information spread on social media.

Agreed, but I'd add that (more speculation) experienced shooters are about as likely to have ND's as new shooters, the difference being overconfidence ("I iz de on'y one po'feshnul 'nuf to carry dis Glock") instead of ignorance.

I know this will be somewhat controversial. but I'd bet the proliferation of manual safety-less, light trigger striker fired guns has at least something to do with it.

When more miles are driven, there are more vehicle crashes.

If more people have guns and are shooting more, there are more unintentional discharges.

But I suspect that that’s only part of the issue. I believe that per capita there were probably more UDs years ago than now. I can certainly remember more reports of accidental shooting deaths associated with hunting when I was a kid than in recent decades. There may have been more hunters then, but there weren’t the requirements for hunter safety courses either. It would be interesting to see some hard data, but those are my perceptions.

Same perception here. I would guess there are several factors.

* No doubt more incidents are reported.
* More knuckleheads, dope dealers, and gangsters who violate every rule in the book, especially this one: "Don't handle a firearm when drunk or high."
* Many "accidental" shootings are anything but.

It's the same as bad things in the news. Almost everyone has a cellphone with a camera and access to instantly upload it.

quote:

Originally posted by sigmonkey:
Speculation.

The number of "first time" firearm owners, fewer people were exposed to firarms growing up and the increased numbers over the past 8 years has a lot to do with it, as well as the proliferation of information spread on social media.

I agree. Lots of new firearms owners that weren't taught by their parents growing up, and had NO firearms experience before buying a gun. Also the internet allows word to travel a lot more Nationally than it used to. Seems like a lot of people bought a gun in the last 10 years for the first time. Women for example. When I started seriously shooting, I would NEVER see a woman at the range shooting without being accompanied by a guy, now I see a lot of women shooters (by themselves) that have gotten into the hobby, which is great provided they get some sort of formal training and not the 4 hour concealed weapons class to 50 students at the gun show.

I know I may be stepping on a live wire here, but would the increase in number of light trigger weight striker fired pistols combined with relative product immunity of firearms manufacturers contribute to increased unintentional discharges?

quote:

Originally posted by EasyFire:
I know I may be stepping on a live wire here, but would the increase in number of light trigger weight striker fired pistols combined with relative product immunity of firearms manufacturers contribute to increased unintentional discharges?

Seriously doubt that firearms manufacturers' product immunity has anything to do with it. I see no cause and effect relationship there at all.

Whether or not there are more NDs happening now than in the past is an open question. Maybe so, maybe not. It's the perception that is the issue.

As others have speculated, that perception probably exists because of changes in the way we get our information, and the volume of information that we get. We no longer rely on the morning newspaper and the ten o'clock news. Instead we get a HUGE volume of information from:

Social media that spreads both fact and rumor with the speed of light to more people than ever

A plethora of blog sites and forums, both personal and professional, that focus on guns

Agenda-driven hoplophobes capitalizing on the first two bullets above

Things that used to be local "news" aren't just local anymore. If somebody in Pocatello, Idaho, had an ND in 1960, it MIGHT have appeared on page 5 of the Idaho State Journal, and some subscribers to that local paper MIGHT read about it. But if that same person has an ND now, it gets reported via blogs and forums to the whole world, and instead of just dozens being made aware of it, tens of thousands are made aware of it.

quote:

Originally posted by sigmonkey:
Speculation.

The number of "first time" firearm owners, fewer people were exposed to firarms growing up and the increased numbers over the past 8 years has a lot to do with it , as well as the proliferation of information spread on social media.

This why I stopped going to unsupervised ranges.

Go to any shooting range and watch way to many people with no clue about gun safety. Not putting the blame on the ranges, that is just a good place to find people with guns.
Rod

My wife worked in various ERs for a long time, Oakland, Seattle etc... She's seen a lot of gun shot wounds and heard all the time that they were just cleaning their gun. She believes that was just the standard excuse for when they were either being stupid, intoxicated or covering for something else.

Seriously, how do you think people in Florida heard about an ND in California in the 1980's? Well they didn't.

I doubt the people of yesteryear were any less negligent than the folks of today.