Injury reductions were most significant among men from the South and the West, where gun ownership — and likely NRA membership — is greater.

“Fewer people using guns means fewer gun injuries, which in some ways is not surprising,” said Jena, who is also a practicing physician at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. “But the drop in gun injuries during these large meetings attended by thousands of well-trained gun owners seems to refute the idea that gun injuries stem solely from lack of experience and training in gun use.”