Most shootings don’t end with the victim dying. Perhaps the marginal shooters were less likely to be familiar with their gun, or not shooting as intentionally.

I’m thinking about people getting frustrated and using their guns in a fight, rather than planning to and intentionally trying to kill an “enemy”.

Small arms gunshots are surprisingly survivable if you can get to an ER in time. The victim will probably have permanent nerve and/or organ damage to the point of being crippled, but they're still alive.

Also people miss a lot.

That doesn't explain why people are surviving and/or missing _more_ (as a percent) in 2020 than in 2019.

Social distancing?

Maybe there were less stabbings, poisonings, murders without a weapon, etc?

~72% of murders are shootings [0], which makes the math on that pretty much impossible. Maybe the increase is all in wild shooting / firefights, while targeted and determined gun murders have stayed around the same level?

[0] https://ucr.fbi.gov/crime-in-the-u.s/2018/crime-in-the-u.s.-...

Covid masks interfere with aim.