If you’re new to archery, or wondering if you should allow your child to take up the sport – you’re probably wondering just how safe it is to begin with.

Many people have asked us: Is archery safe? or Exactly how safe IS archery?

Yes, not only is archery safe, but more injuries occur from basketball, baseball, volleyball and golf every year. Unlike other sports, much more attention is placed on safety when learning and practicing archery. All new archers are taught that safety is the number 1 priority, period. In fact, archery is more safe than most other sports played throughout North America and Europe today.

If you look at the history of archery and accident statistics, you’ll find that archery is a safe activity with fewer accidents than other sports. If your daughter has the option to take up cheerleading or archery – then archery is the safer option with far fewer accidents (seriously, look it up). Plus, she can still be hitting the target in her late eighties, as archery is a sport you can continue to practice for life.

So, what makes archery so safe? Archers are intelligent, motivated, and willing to put in hours of practice to be proficient. People who excel at archery are organized and thoughtful – they weigh the risks and try to prevent them. The archers themselves make archery such a safe sport – whether it’s on the range, or in the competition arena. Accidents can happen, but not that many do.

While we’re at it, I highly recommend that anyone who’s new to archery read this before shooting your first arrow. It’s my required reading for anyone who’s starting out in archery and asks me for advice.

The Real Archery Injury Statistics

When you look up cases of fatal injuries involving archery, or any other statistics involving archery’s overall safety record, you find little hard information. Does this mean there’s a giant cover up? Not in the least, you simply cannot find what isn’t there to begin with, and the lack of hard statistics on archery injuries shows that archery as a sport just isn’t responsible for many injuries.

This exemplary safety record is primarily down to the quality and mentality of the people who take up the bow. Archers train hard to perfect their craft, and they pay attention to details, including safe practice.

Archery injury statistics show that archery was responsible for 4,506 incidents requiring medical attention in 2015. It might sound like a lot, but these aren’t fatal injuries, and the bulk of these accidents are hunters cutting themselves on sharp arrowheads in the field.

Comparing archery to other sports shows that in 2015 only three sporting activities caused fewer hospital trips – Billiards and pool (3,299); handball (4,103); racquetball, squash, and paddleball (4,354).

Comparing archery with its average annual accident rate of 4,500 to other sports and activities in 2019, have a look at this…

Archery Injuries Compared to Other Popular Sports

• Basketball has 89 times as many accidents.
• Football has 65 times as many accidents.
• Baseball has 35 times as many accidents.
• Fishing has 14 times as many accidents.
• Volleyball has 11 times as many accidents.
• Hockey has 8 times as many accidents.
• Golf has 10 times as many accidents

These are all sporting activities involving other people, but in 2019 there were 25,728 accidents from people visiting the beach, having a picnic, or camping – and that’s almost 6 times the number of accidents resulting from archery.

Insurance companies rate archery as a relatively safe sport because less than one in a thousand active participants receive an injury while practicing archery. That statistic has held steady for decades. An insurer will tell you that you are statistically safer picking up a bow than a golf club or even going for a picnic on the beach.

Potential Injuries

When it comes to potential injuries from archery, please take the following tip seriously: Regardless of what type of bow you intend to shoot (Recurve, Compound or Longbow) – If you’re new to archery, you need to pick up one of these before you even pick up your bow for the first time. Trust me, you’ll thank me later – I speak from personal experience.

When you look at the sport of archery and consider the potential hazards, most people think about the risk of being shot by an arrow. Being hit by an arrow is perhaps the least likely event because:

• Archers don’t aim at people – hunters can potentially be at greater risk, but hunting accidents are low, and most involve self-inflicted cuts and hunters falling out of trees.
• Archery ranges make sure that people are not in the fire line – the rare accidents that do occur are in backyard ranges.
• A bow is not the homicide weapon of choice for most individuals seeking to harm other individuals.
• Firing a bow involves physical effort, and the risk of an accidental fire is low.
• Injuries to spectators at competitions and ranges are statistically zero. Archers are always careful where they point their bow.

The types of injury that you are most likely to experience as an archer (and most don’t require medical intervention) are:

• Finger cuts from arrowheads – Hunting broadheads are the most likely source of a cut, and these aren’t typically allowed on ranges.
• Shoulder or rotator cuff injuries.
• Archer’s elbow or tendonitis.
• Bruising your forearm or chest with a string slap. (As I mentioned above, talk about pain for days)
• Muscle strain.
• Blisters on fingers.
• Dry fire causing a bow to break and shrapnel injuries.
• Falls and trips while hunting.
• Bone spurs and repetitive strain injury.

You can prevent most of these physical injuries by learning and adopting proper form, stretching and strength exercises that improve your archery, taking regular breaks, and wearing appropriate safety gear like a forearm protector. Archery is an incredibly safe activity because you are responsible for managing yourself and your bow. Your safety is in your hands, and most archers are safety conscious not only for their own well being, but also for that of their friends and family.

So, How Do You Stay Safe on the Range?

If you go to a professional range for target practice, you can rely on the range master to follow the industry standards to provide a safe shooting experience for all archers involved.

Most archers who set up a backyard range pay attention to the safety fundamentals:

• Local regulations – Some places don’t allow ranges on your property.
• Controlled Access – Preventing people from wandering in accidentally.
• Safe Firing Wall – Also known as a backstop, to catch the arrows that miss the target.

Your goal on the range is to only shoot at the target. You only retrieve your arrows when everyone else finishes shooting, not only is it basic common sense – it’s usually very strictly practiced.

How Do You Stay Safe While Hunting?

Most injury risks while hunting are from hunting practices rather than archery practices. This means that hunting itself presents any potential danger, not archery. the main fear is that you mistake another hunter for an animal – it happens, but even with guns, it is relatively rare.

General hunting safety basics include:

· Don’t wear white as you may look like a deer, instead stick to dark colors with a flash of hunter orange.

· Go equipped for wilderness survival – Bring a first aid kit, maps, GPS, a compass, sunscreen, bug repellent, phone, supplies, and foul weather clothing.

· Pay attention to the weather and the terrain – avoid any unnecessary risks like climbing rotten trees and be careful when walking on wet rocks.

· Follow State rules, stay in your approved hunting area, and always have your license with you.

Bowhunting safety basics include:

· Keep your equipment in tip top condition.

· Take care when sharpening and using your broadheads – Most injuries result from hunters cutting themselves on their own arrows.

· Stay within your draw weight and length. Never use a bow that’s not right for you.

· Be sure of your target – no shooting over blind ridges and be extra careful in low light conditions.

· Put in the practice, so that you’re a skilled archer that only ever takes ethical shots.

The next most significant danger to bowhunters is tree stand safety; falls from tree stands account for many of the few archery related accidents each year.

· Make sure the tree or stand is strong enough to bear your weight.

· Check the ladders are safe and beware of rain and snow, making the rungs slippery.

· Wear a safety harness and use three points of contact when you climb.

· Use a haul line to take your equipment onto the stand.

· Stay alert when you are on the platform and make sure someone knows where you are.

If you are new to bowhunting, it’s worth tagging along with a suitable mentor who knows the territory and can give you some additional good practice tips in the field.

Only Use Safe Equipment

A broken or worn bow is potentially an unsafe bow. The kinetic energy involved in powering an arrow is high. The potential energy backlash can jolt loose components, break bowstrings and the bow limbs if your equipment is not in good working order.

Most archers maintain their bows with a regular maintenance routine, including:

· Visual inspection both before and after shooting.

· Lubricating and waxing the bowstring as needed.

· Regular restring and professional service inspection.

· Regular tightening of potentially loose components.

· Safe storage between shooting sessions.

Arrows are reusable, but a damaged or bent arrow can snap and potentially veer off target, cause a dry fire, and (the worst case scenario with a carbon arrow) explode. A visual inspection of the arrow includes:

· The straightness of the shaft.

· The quality of the fletching.

· The integrity of the nock.

· Checking for any signs of brittleness (carbon arrows are slightly flexible).

· Checking for any visible damage on the shaft.

· The arrowhead is securely attached.

An Archer’s knowledge of their equipment and their willingness to keep it maintained and in excellent working order is a commitment to keeping archery safe for everyone involved.

The Most Important Factor

The most important component in safe archery practice are the archers themselves. The two parts of a safe archer are their mental attitude and physical fitness.

Your mental attitude determines how safe you are as an archer – your willingness to maintain your bow, your focus on safety, and the effort you put into becoming a skilled archer all contribute towards safe practice.

An archer’s body strength powers the arrow. If you ignore your muscles and how you use your body to fire the bow, you risk damage to yourself and others through inaccurate shooting. Learning the correct form, putting in the practice, taking regular breaks, and strengthening muscles in between shooting all contribute to you being both a skilled and safe archer.

The archer and the bow are the two parts of the team, the bow must fit the archer, and the archer must be in shape to fire the bow. That fitness for archery includes paying attention to your diet and hydration because you need mental alertness as well as physical skills.

Taking care of yourself and being fit for archery involves a regular eyesight check and being aware of your own physical fitness. As you age or recover from an injury, you need to pay attention to your draw weight because your muscle strength is part of the fine tuning of your archery equipment – you are part of the process, as essential as using the right length and weight of arrow.

So there you have it, archery is statistically safer than most other sports and everyday activities, and that excellent safety record is down to archers like you who look after themselves, take care of their equipment and always put safety first.