8 Common Skeet Shooting injuries (Prevention & Treatment)

The 8 injuries skeet shooters run into: noise-induced hearing loss, eye injuries, recoil bruising to shoulder and cheek, and wrist sprains.

Cuts, muscle strains, sunburn and bug bites round out the list, and each entry explains how the problem develops on the range and what shooters do to avoid it.

Injury Rates and Numbers

The figures below come from injury surveillance data and peer reviewed studies. Each row names the population it was measured in, because rates from elite athletes and from recreational players are not comparable.

Finding	Measured in	Source
Shotguns and other big bore firearms produce peak noise levels of 160 to 170 decibels, far above the 140 decibel hazard threshold.	recreational shooters using big bore rifles, pistols, and shotguns (general shooting population, not skeet-specific; no skeet-specific injury literature exists), measurement studies 2007-2014, cited in NHCA position statement dated March 16, 2017	National Hearing Conservation Association (NHCA), Position Statement on Recreational Firearm Noise
38 percent of target shooters said they never wore hearing protection while shooting in the past year.	recreational target shooters (general firearm-sport population, not skeet-specific), Nondahl et al. 2000, cited in NHCA position statement dated March 16, 2017	National Hearing Conservation Association (NHCA), Position Statement on Recreational Firearm Noise, citing Nondahl et al. 2000
Adults who had fired at least 1,000 rounds in their lifetime had a 50 percent prevalence of high-frequency hearing loss versus 26 percent among people who never used firearms.	US firearm users, NHANES 2011-2012 sample (general firearm users, not skeet-specific), 2011-2012 NHANES data, analyzed by Hoffman et al. 2016	National Hearing Conservation Association (NHCA), Position Statement on Recreational Firearm Noise, citing Hoffman et al. 2016 NHANES analysis
Wearing earplugs and earmuffs together cuts peak gunshot noise by about 50 decibels, more than either device alone.	recreational shooters using hearing protection devices (general population, not skeet-specific), Murphy and Tubbs 2007 and Murphy et al. 2015, cited in NHCA position statement dated March 16, 2017	National Hearing Conservation Association (NHCA), Position Statement on Recreational Firearm Noise

Overview

Injury	Body area	Typical time out
Noise-induced hearing loss	Inner ear	1 to 2 days, permanent loss stays
Eye injuries	Eye	1 to 3 days, months after surgery
Recoil injuries (shoulder, cheek)	Shoulder and face	Days to 2 weeks, 4 to 6 for a rib
Sprains (wrist, fingers)	Hand and wrist	2 to 8 weeks, 3 months if repaired
Cuts and abrasions	Hand and fingers	3 to 7 days, longer if stitched
Strains (muscle)	Neck, shoulder and lower back	1 to 3 weeks, months if ruptured
Sunburn	Skin	3 to 5 days, 1 to 2 weeks if blistered
Bug bites	Skin	2 to 5 days, weeks if infected

Noise-induced hearing loss

The muzzle blast of a shotgun is an impulse noise that damages the hair cells of the cochlea, the sensory cells that convert sound into nerve signals. These cells do not grow back, so every round fired without protection adds permanent damage. On a skeet field you fire in rapid pairs and stand close to other shooters, so the ear takes many peaks in a short session.

Symptoms

• Ringing or hissing in the ears after a round, sometimes lasting hours
• Sounds feel muffled or dull for the rest of the day
• Trouble following speech when several people talk at once
• You turn the volume up more than the people around you
• A sense of fullness or pressure in the ear

How serious it is: The mild form is a temporary threshold shift: hearing dips after shooting and recovers within a day or two, which is still a warning that damage is accumulating. The severe form is a permanent high frequency loss that shows first around 4000 hertz and does not recover, and in rare cases a single unprotected blast causes sudden loss in one ear.

Typical time out: A temporary threshold shift usually settles within 16 to 48 hours, and you should not shoot again until hearing feels normal. Permanent loss does not resolve at all, so the timeline is about protecting what is left rather than recovery. Sudden loss in one ear is an emergency where treatment started within days to two weeks gives the best chance.

See a doctor if: Sudden loss of hearing in one ear, ringing that lasts longer than a day, or dizziness after shooting means you see a doctor promptly rather than waiting it out.

What helps

• Wear plugs and muffs together rather than one alone, since the combination cuts far more of the peak than either device by itself
• Fit foam plugs correctly by rolling them thin, pulling the ear up and back, and holding them until they expand
• Prefer longer barrels and avoid standing next to muzzle brakes and short barrels, which throw more blast sideways
• Get a baseline audiogram and repeat it yearly so a shift is caught while it is still small
• See an audiologist about hearing aids if speech in noise has become hard, since untreated loss is linked with social withdrawal

Eye injuries

The structures at risk are the cornea, the conjunctiva, and in serious cases the globe itself. On a skeet field the hazards are target fragments raining down, shot pellets that ricochet off hard ground or the trap house, hot ejected hulls, and unburnt powder blown back from the action. A fragment travelling at speed can scratch the cornea or, rarely, penetrate the eye wall.

Symptoms

• Sharp pain and a feeling that something is stuck under the lid
• Watering, redness, and a strong urge to keep the eye shut
• Blurred vision or a smeared patch in the field of view
• Light suddenly feels painfully bright
• Visible blood in the white of the eye or an oddly shaped pupil

How serious it is: The mild end is a superficial corneal abrasion or a piece of grit under the lid, which heals cleanly once the object is out. The severe end is a penetrating globe injury or a blunt impact with bleeding inside the front chamber of the eye, both of which threaten sight and are surgical problems.

Typical time out: A simple corneal abrasion heals in 24 to 72 hours and you can shoot again once vision is clear and the eye is comfortable. A blunt injury with internal bleeding means at least one to two weeks away from any activity with impact risk. After surgery for a penetrating injury the break is months and is decided by the surgeon.

See a doctor if: Any change in vision, a pupil that is not round, blood inside the eye, or the sense that something is embedded means immediate emergency care, and the eye is shielded rather than rinsed or pressed.

What helps

• Rinse gently with clean water or saline only for surface grit and chemical splash, never for a suspected penetrating injury
• Do not rub, since rubbing drags a fragment across the cornea and widens the abrasion
• Cover a suspected serious injury with a rigid shield, such as the bottom of a paper cup, and go to an emergency department
• Wear ballistic rated lenses that meet ANSI Z87.1 or military standards, since ordinary sunglasses shatter
• Choose a wraparound frame with side coverage, because most range fragments arrive from above and the side

Recoil injuries (shoulder, cheek)

Recoil drives the buttstock into the soft tissue over the front of the shoulder and the comb into the cheekbone. What gets injured is usually the muscle and fat over the pectoralis and deltoid, the small blood vessels there, and the periosteum of the cheekbone and jaw. A stock that is too long, too short, or mounted on the arm instead of the shoulder pocket concentrates the force on a small area, and a hundred rounds in a session repeat that impact.

Symptoms

• A dark bruise on the front of the shoulder that appears a day after shooting
• Tenderness when you press the spot or carry a bag on that side
• Soreness or bruising along the cheekbone or jawline
• Flinching or pulling the head off the stock as the session goes on
• A tender lump under the skin where the butt lands

How serious it is: Most cases are simple contusions that fade over one to two weeks. It becomes serious when the impact cracks a rib, tears the tissue enough to form a firm haematoma that will not settle, or lands repeatedly on the cheekbone, since a facial fracture from recoil is rare but does happen with a badly fitted stock.

Typical time out: A plain bruise allows shooting again in a few days to two weeks once pressure on the spot no longer hurts, though the fit problem must be fixed first. A rib injury means four to six weeks before recoil is tolerable again.

See a doctor if: Pain that sharpens when you take a deep breath or cough, a hard swelling that keeps growing, or numbness spreading down the arm needs a medical check rather than another session.

What helps

• Have the stock fitted for length of pull, drop, and cast, since most recoil bruising is a fit problem rather than a toughness problem
• Mount the butt in the pocket between collarbone and shoulder joint, not on the upper arm
• Fit a recoil pad or a shoulder pad, and consider lighter target loads while the area is sore
• Cool the fresh bruise briefly for pain relief in the first hours, then return to normal shoulder movement
• Cut the round count and build back gradually rather than shooting through an already tender spot

Sprains (wrist, fingers)

A sprain is a stretch or tear of a ligament, most often the ligaments on the thumb side and back of the wrist or the collateral ligaments of a finger joint. In skeet the loading comes from the lead hand supporting the forend through the swing and from the wrist absorbing recoil in extension, and finger sprains usually come from a stumble on uneven ground or a gun caught awkwardly while loading.

Symptoms

• Pain on one side of the joint that gets worse when you load it
• Swelling around the joint within a few hours
• The joint feels loose or unreliable when you grip
• Bruising over the ligament a day or two later
• Trouble holding the forend steady through a full swing

How serious it is: Grade 1 is a stretched ligament with pain but a stable joint, grade 2 a partial tear with some looseness, and grade 3 a complete tear where the joint is clearly unstable. A thumb sprain that involves the ulnar collateral ligament is worth checking properly, because an untreated complete tear leaves a weak pinch grip.

Typical time out: Two to three weeks for a grade 1, four to eight weeks for a grade 2 with a period of splinting, and three months or more for a grade 3 or after surgical repair. The range is wide because the same word covers a small stretch and a complete rupture.

See a doctor if: A joint that looks crooked, will not move, goes numb, or still cannot bear a firm grip after a week deserves imaging to rule out a fracture or a complete tear.

What helps

• Load the joint early within a pain limited range instead of immobilizing it for weeks, since stiff hands recover slowly
• Use buddy taping for a finger or a short wrist splint for a few days while pain is high, then wean off it
• Build grip and forearm strength progressively, including wrist extension and rotation work
• Switch to lighter loads and shorter sessions during the return rather than stopping and restarting
• Get an x ray if the pain sits on the thumb side of the wrist or in the anatomical snuffbox, since scaphoid fractures are missed there

Cuts and abrasions

These are breaks in the skin and the layer of tissue just under it. On a shotgun the culprits are the sharp edges of the ejector, the checkering on the forend, the rim of a hull, and the spring loaded parts exposed when cleaning or disassembling the gun. Loading fast under time pressure and handling the gun with cold or wet hands makes a slip more likely.

Symptoms

• A stinging split or scrape on the fingers, thumb, or web of the hand
• Bleeding that stops with a few minutes of pressure
• Sensitivity when gripping the checkered part of the stock
• Increasing redness, warmth, or throbbing over the following days if it is getting infected
• Grit or solvent residue visible in the wound

How serious it is: Most are superficial and close on their own. It is more serious if the cut gapes, crosses a joint crease, goes deep enough to affect a tendon or nerve, or is contaminated with lead residue, solvent, or soil, and a wound in the palm that leaves a finger unable to bend fully needs a hand specialist.

Typical time out: A superficial scrape heals in three to seven days and rarely stops you shooting. A cut needing stitches keeps you off for one to two weeks, and a tendon injury means six to twelve weeks with hand therapy.

See a doctor if: Spreading redness, pus, fever, numbness beyond the wound, or a finger that will not bend or straighten fully means medical care the same day.

What helps

• Wash the wound with running water and soap and get every fragment of grit and residue out, since retained dirt is the main cause of infection
• Press with a clean dressing until bleeding stops, then cover it and keep it covered while you finish the session
• Get a wound closed within about 12 hours if the edges gape, because a delayed repair is harder
• Check that tetanus cover is current, especially for wounds contaminated with soil
• Deburr sharp ejector edges, smooth aggressive checkering, and wear a light shooting glove on the loading hand

Strains (muscle)

A strain is a tear within a muscle or its tendon, typically in the rotator cuff and deltoid of the lead arm, the neck muscles that hold the head down on the comb, or the muscles alongside the lower spine. Skeet loads them in a static, rotated position: you hold a gun of three or more kilograms out in front of you, turn the trunk through the shot, and hold the head tilted for a long session, which is a muscular endurance task rather than a single explosive one.

Symptoms

• A pulling or burning ache that builds as the session goes on
• Pain when you first lift the gun the next morning
• Local tenderness in one clear spot rather than a general soreness
• Reduced reach or turn on the affected side
• A sudden catch during a fast swing on a low house target

How serious it is: Grade 1 is a minor tear with full strength and mild pain, grade 2 a partial tear with clear weakness and often bruising, and grade 3 a full rupture with a defect you can feel and a dramatic loss of power. Most shooting related strains sit at grade 1 and come from cumulative load rather than a single event.

Typical time out: One to three weeks for a grade 1, three to eight weeks for a grade 2, and several months for a grade 3 or a case that goes to surgery. Neck and back strains often settle inside two weeks provided you keep moving.

See a doctor if: Pain shooting down the arm or leg, numbness, a visible dent or bulge in the muscle, or an arm you simply cannot lift means examination rather than more rest.

What helps

• Keep moving within a pain limited range from the first days, since complete rest slows healing of muscle tissue
• Progress from isometric holds to loaded work as pain allows, aiming at the endurance the sport actually asks for
• Train the rotator cuff, the shoulder blade stabilizers, and the trunk rotators between range days
• Break long sessions into blocks and set the gun down between stations rather than holding it out for minutes
• Ask a physiotherapist for a look if the same spot flares three sessions in a row, since it usually points at a technique or load problem

Sunburn

Sunburn is direct ultraviolet damage to the DNA of skin cells in the epidermis, which triggers inflammation and, at higher doses, blistering as the top layer separates. A skeet round keeps you outdoors facing open sky for hours, and the face, neck, ears, and forearms take the exposure while your eyes and attention are on the target. Repeated burns are the main behavioral risk factor for skin cancer later.

Symptoms

• Skin that turns red and feels hot four to six hours after exposure
• Tightness and pain when clothing or a gun strap touches the area
• Blisters where the exposure was heaviest
• Peeling several days later
• Chills, nausea, or headache when the burn is extensive

How serious it is: A first degree burn is red and painful but heals without scarring. A second degree burn blisters, takes longer, and can leave lasting pigment changes, and a large burn with fever, chills, or faintness counts as sun poisoning and needs medical attention.

Typical time out: A mild burn is comfortable again in three to five days, and there is no reason to stop shooting once clothing is tolerable. A blistering burn takes one to two weeks and you stay covered or off the field until the skin has closed.

See a doctor if: Widespread blistering, fever, confusion, or feeling faint means medical help, and so does any burn in a young child.

What helps

• Cool the skin with cool showers or damp cloths and drink more than usual, since a burn pulls fluid to the surface
• Apply a plain moisturizer or aloe gel while the skin is still damp, and skip products with local anesthetics that often irritate
• Take an over the counter anti inflammatory early for pain if nothing speaks against it
• Leave blisters intact and cover them loosely, since the roof is the best dressing available
• Use a broad spectrum SPF 30 or higher, reapply every two hours, and add a wide brim hat, a collar, and long sleeves, which outperform lotion alone over a long day

Bug bites

A bite injects saliva or venom into the skin, and the swelling you see is your own histamine response rather than the insect itself. Ranges sit in open grassland near tree lines and standing water, which is prime habitat for mosquitoes and ticks, and a tick attached for many hours is the part that matters medically because it can transmit disease.

Symptoms

• An itchy raised bump appearing within minutes to hours
• Redness and mild swelling around a central point
• A firmly attached tick you find while undressing
• An expanding ring shaped rash days to weeks after a tick bite
• Flu like aching, fever, or headache in the weeks after a bite

How serious it is: Almost all bites are a local reaction that fades within days. Serious cases are anaphylaxis after a sting, with breathing difficulty and swelling of the face or throat, a spreading infection at the site, or a tick borne illness, which announces itself with a rash or fever rather than with pain at the bite.

Typical time out: A simple bite costs no time at all and the itch fades in two to five days. A local infection needs about one to two weeks of treatment, and a tick borne infection means several weeks of antibiotics and a longer return depending on how you feel.

See a doctor if: Difficulty breathing, swelling of the lips or throat, or dizziness after a sting is an emergency, and a spreading rash or fever after a tick bite needs a doctor the same week.

What helps

• Remove a tick with fine tipped tweezers close to the skin, pull straight out, and note the date rather than using oil or heat
• Wash the site with soap and water and use a cold compress for the swelling
• Take an oral antihistamine or use a short course of a topical steroid for the itch
• Keep fingernails off it, since scratching is what turns a bite into an infection
• Apply a repellent with DEET, picaridin, or IR3535 to skin, treat clothing with permethrin, and do a full body tick check after every session in long grass

First Aid for Soft Tissue Injuries: PEACE and LOVE

Sports medicine has moved on from RICE. The current guidance, published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine in 2019, splits care into the first days after the injury and everything that follows.

PEACE, the first two to three days

• Protect: unload the area and limit movement that hurts, but only briefly.
• Elevate: keep the limb above heart level when you can.
• Avoid anti-inflammatories: they may blunt the healing you need.
• Compress: a bandage or taping limits swelling.
• Educate: your body heals this on its own; passive treatments rarely speed it up.

LOVE, from day three onward

• Load: return to movement as pain allows, early loading builds tissue.
• Optimism: expectations shape recovery more than most people assume.
• Vascularization: easy cardio that does not hurt brings blood to the area.
• Exercise: restore strength, mobility and balance before returning to play.

Ice still helps with pain in the first hours. What changed is the evidence that long icing and routine anti-inflammatory drugs slow tissue repair.

How to Lower Your Risk in Skeet Shooting

• Wear foam plugs under muffs every session, since the combination cuts far more of the peak blast than either device alone and the shotgun peaks well above the level considered hazardous.
• Use eye protection rated to ANSI Z87.1 or a ballistic standard with wraparound side coverage, because target fragments and ricochets from hard ground arrive from above and the side, not from straight ahead.
• Get the gun fitted for length of pull, drop, and cast, and mount the butt in the shoulder pocket rather than on the upper arm, which is the single biggest lever against recoil bruising to shoulder and cheek.
• Plan the round count and split long practice into blocks, since almost all neck, shoulder, and back strains in this sport come from holding a heavy gun in a rotated position for too long rather than from one violent movement.
• Train shoulder blade and rotator cuff endurance plus trunk rotation between range days, so the muscles that hold the gun out and turn you through the shot can last a full round.
• Treat sun and insects as range equipment: broad spectrum SPF 30 or higher reapplied every two hours, a wide brim hat and long sleeves, repellent, and a tick check after any session near long grass.

When to Stop and Get Medical Help

Most of the injuries on this page are treated at home. These signs are not.

• A sudden drop in hearing in one ear, or ringing that has not settled by the next day
• Any change in vision, blood inside the eye, a pupil that is not round, or the sense that something is stuck in the eye
• A blow to the head with confusion, memory gaps, repeated vomiting, or loss of consciousness
• Numbness, tingling, or loss of power in an arm or leg, or a limb that goes cold and pale
• A joint that looks deformed, will not move, or cannot take any load, or pain that sharpens with every breath after a recoil impact
• A wound with spreading redness, pus, or fever, or breathing difficulty and facial swelling after a sting

Sources

• National Hearing Conservation Association (NHCA), Position Statement on Recreational Firearm Noise

This article is general information, not medical advice. If you are hurt, a doctor or physiotherapist who can examine you is worth more than any web page. Last reviewed: August 2026.

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