I would guess that those two are the most common calibers in accidental shootings also. My logic is slightly different from yours though, but only slightly. I think, those two calibers are the most commonly used calibers in the US (22LR followed by 9mm). The sheer number compared to how many 10mm or 50AE weapons there are would make it seem likely to me. You have a valid point about the newcomers starting on those calibers and having more accidents through lack of training also. I add a third possible contributor though - the over-familiarity of the experienced user. A lot of new comers try to be very careful about weapons. They make mistakes based on lack of knowledge though. Experienced users, on the other hand, tend to get sloppy when they are relaxing or doing something they have repeated thousands of times. If they normally carry or use a more powerful weapon, their mind starts thinking that the 22 or 9mm is a beginner's gun and not a real weapon or dangerous. This lets them get much sloppier than they would with other weapons. We tend to relax our guards around things we have done a lot, it is just human nature.Tex1961 wrote: ↑Tue Feb 25, 2020 3:40 pm I think you have an interesting question... I have a theory though... In handgun calibers I would think .22 would be the most common followed by 9mm. Here is my reasoning. Most beginner shooters start out with a 22, that being said their lack of awareness and standard safety rules makes for a high potential of ND's. Followed of course by the 9mm since it is arguably the next most popular caliber today. Again due to lack of training and safety rules, I can see a large % of ND's through that caliber....
I do agree that this would be a really interesting study to do, if someone could get the data. Number of rounds of a certain caliber sold each year to count the use of the weapons, number of weapons of each caliber sold each year as a proxy for number of them in circulation, then number of unintentional shootings with injuries (because it is highly unlikely to find reports of NDs when no one is hurt). The rate of shootings per round per weapon would be interesting and might help provide some start on reducing this problem.