Shooting Incidents Among Hunters Fewest Ever

State officials say last year's hunting season in New York had the fewest number of shooting incidents on record with 24 people shot.

The Department of Environmental Conservation says two people died in hunting incidents, each when they were shot by another member of their hunting party. Of the 24 shooting incidents, just over half were self-inflicted.

There were no hunting-related shooting incidents during the first youth hunt for deer over the Columbus Day weekend. The number of New York hunters has declined about 20 percent since the 1960s. Over the same period, the number of shooting incidents per 100,000 hunters has fallen more than 70 percent.

Over the past five years, the annual average is 5.3 incidents per 100,000 hunters, compared to 19 per 100,000 in the 1960s.