http://www.youngmans.com/acatalog/law.html
http://www.thamesvall...p-saferst-repguns.htm
it looks like all the "shot and injured" shot and killed stories involve at least one offence.
I am not by nature a supporter of the nanny state. When i was a child I loved being a cowboy and had a collection of cap guns.
Its a shame that times have changed though and i think we need to recognise that and tighten up on ownership BUT this has to include import and illegal possession otherwise there's no point.
I don't have much connection with guns at all but my only two close experiences were scary. We lived for a while in New jersey in the USA and our neighbour used to shoot off his huntin' rifle for the entertainment of the grandkids in his back yard. In the autumn there if you go into the woods, you are warned to wear fluorescent clothing to minimise the risk (not avoid you note) being shot.
In the UK, I live in the New Forest and walk my dogs early. One morning there was a Forest Ranger parked in his van culling deer with a rifle...well i guess it does need to be done but he was shooting towards and over footpaths used by riders and dog walkers. The paths are deep in bracken at that time of the year (4 or 5 feet high) and it would have been easy for him not to have seen a human or a dog.
so excuse me if I am not convinced by the gun lobby.