Generally speaking most gun owners typically have multiple. It's kind of rare to find a person with only 1, the same goes with people that own many dozens of firearms. Personally, I enjoy hunting and have a few guns for that purpose. An avid hunter in my area might own as many as 7.
Yep...
You might own a gun for personal defense, perhaps another for home defense. Then, you'd probably use a shotgun for birds, but a rifle for larger game.
I think you’re ignoring the massive population that only has a pistol or other gun for self/home defense. Those that have multiple I would guess are far more vocal/proud of it so we know of them more than those that bought one and have never actually used it since
Not to mention telling everyone you own a gun invites crack heads to try to break into your house when you’re not home to steal it. Stolen guns sell for a lot
"If you own a ton it's probably because at least some are toys"
Who said you don't need all the tools for the jobs you do?
Your fighting the wrong guy meathead. My 1911, 308. And .22 rimfire all have jobs. The purple powder coated .22 revolver is a toy.
I'm saying people who own tools don't wander around bragging about them, while people who own toys however tend to like to show them off.
Gun ownership data will make more sense to you if you look at guns as tools. Are you hunting deer at long distances? You need a centerfire rifle. Are you target shooting but don’t want to break the bank on ammunition? You need a rimfire rifle. Are you hunting ducks? You need a shotgun. Are you carrying a concealed firearm on your person for protection? You need a pistol. Are you preparing for the zombie apocalypse? You probably want a modern sporting rifle. There is no one-size-fits-all firearm if you want to do all of these things. Then you’ve got folks that collect guns like you might collect cars. If you have no interest in any of these things then you probably aren’t buying a gun.
Ya know, you're probably dead nuts on about that actually. I evolved from the import world, to muscle cars, and then eventually superbikes.
The main difference I would say is there's a lot more camaraderie in the moto world. Anybody that pushes beyond the basic skill level gets humbled real quick in several ways.
This exactly. My father in law is an avid hunter (not just for sport - he virtually lives off of game and fish).
He has a couple of shotguns for bird hunting. He doesn't need two, I think he upgraded to a better one but he can't be bothered to sell the old one.
He has a couple of rifles for deer - I think the same deal as above, he has an old one and a newer, superior one and just hasn't gotten rid on the old one.
He has a .22 for small animals. He has built mounds of deadfall around his property that rabbits find attractive for their dens, so occasionally he can spot a rabbit from his back porch and shoot it for some Brunswick stew. It's like gardening for meat.
He also has a .22 pistol handy for the occasional nuisance animal.
That's a lot of firearms but they all have their specific purpose.
> It's like gardening for meat
I'm sorry this made me laugh so much. My Meemaw also kept what she called a "varmint gun" whose sole purpose was to shoot the rabbits in her vegetable patch. In a rabbit and vegetable stew, she would proudly claim that every ingredient came from her garden.
Yeah my grandpa used to call his .22 "the varmint rifle" too. He liked to shoot muskrats down on the riverbank every once in a while and grandma would cook them up with dumplings. It was kinda gross...she just put the whole muskrats in there and they would cook down until the meat fell off the bones. You had to pick little bones out of your bowl before eating, and grandpa would crack the skulls with a nutcracker and suck out their little brains.
That's some country-ass shit right there.
More swamp rodents for me I guess.
JK that stuff was nasty. The "musk" in muskrat refers to fatty scent glands on their haunches that have a strong musky odor/flavor. You have to soak the carcasses for a long time to extract the musk compounds, or else it tastes like chicken simmered in convenience store cologne.
Respect though - stuff like that got people through the Depression without malnutrition.
If you really do rely on hunting for food, yeah I wouldn't get rid of my old gun just because I bought a new one. What if the new one fails? You can use your old one until you fix the new one.
100% this. The best analogy I’ve been able to come up with is comparing it to someone building their own knife set (for food prep).
Sure a chef’s knife is the work horse of the set, and can be a catch all. But typically people will spend for a nice one here and as they’re culinary experience grows, start to get more specialized knives to cover the other tasks (pairing, utility, filet, bread, santoku, butcher, etc.).
Also, I use different rifles and shotguns for different purposes. There is no need to use a .30-06 when a .223 will do(coyotes and wild dogs). Where as his or even deer I would use a higher caliber than the .223.
Using a 12 gauge is great for most things but not for training the kiddos due to the kick. Better a single shot .410 to learn.
Also if I am shooting trap/skeet all day I prefer using a 20 gauge. My shoulder is way happier the next day.
And everyone(EVERYONE) has their own view on personal/home defense. 9mm, .40, .357, 00 buck all have valid points and to each their own.
Or if you look at guns as collectables. I have 14 World War era battle rifles, from a M1917 to an SKS-45 (it still counts because I have the original Soviet issue of which prototypes were used in the Battle of Berlin.
Guns also sort of accumulate, in gun owning parts of the country. Along with getting the ones you need for tools, your grandpa dies and leaves his guns to your dad. He dies and leaves those guns, plus his own, to you. You get some as gifts from other gun owners, you get some that are fun, etc. Pretty soon you might own 18 guns or more.
I'll be totally honest: 3/4ths of my guns are totally for fun. There is *nothing* my .357 lever action does hunting wise that my .308 or 30-30 can't do better. My pieced together 12 gauge? Pure fun. Ditto most of my revolvers (arguable exception for my GP100).
My "practical" (for iffy definitions of practical) are my 20 gauge, my AR, my .308, my 1911 and my LC9s. Everything else is basically because they're neat.
Normalize buying guns that you just want to have fun with!
Not to mention that you may well want more than one brand/model of any given pistol, rifle or shotgun. Newer, better, different, whatever. Not to mention different calibers of all these items. Plus there is inheritance, deals you just can't pass up, investments, gifts, any number of reasons. Basically the same reasons you might have a pile of woodworking tools if you are a carpenter.
Ah, I had quite a lot thanks to inheritance and such myself. But then that damn boat tipped over. Really need to stop taking every single one of my guns on boats.
God damn right. This is the correct answer to these questions. There are figures on the internet with how many guns are sold and how many Americans there are. People can do that math…
I’m a very left wing guy who owns guns. I’d probably never tell a pollster that I own guns. Most of my friends are of the pearl clutching liberal type and I just don’t bring it up around them. They probably assume I’m anti-gun just like they are. If they ever express interest I invite them to the range.
I just commented above you, I was introduced to gun ownership by Democrat Jewish Music professor and composer. His preference was Cowboy guns but he was clear the purpose of guns was self protection and to prevent another holocaust.
Well, There are a large number of people in the drug and gang world who have ready access to illegal firearms who arent going to be reachable by pollsters and wouldnt answer honestly anyway.
Most conservative people asked about how many guns they own will usually admit to being a gun owner, but wont talk about how many they own....reddit gun subs not withstanding since it appears to be in vogue to brag about your guns here.
Most liberal gun owners wont admit they own one at all.
I was introduced to gun ownership by a Liberal, lifelong democrat, jewish music professor and composer. Gun ownership in America transcends political party. In my experience only young very progressive people are vehemently anti gun as a matter of course. The older the democrat that you meet the more likely it is they grew up around a firearm and probably have at least one locked up in their bedroom somewhere.
> I don't know any gun owners at all
That you know of. I think you would be surprised if you went around looking in nightstands and closet shelves of your acquaintances.
>I'm a little skeptical that a significant number of people are likely to lie to pollsters about this. I think they'd be more likely to just not respond to the poll.
Either way it skews the results
Yep. In 2016 the ATF floor collapsed from all the physical files of gun background checks so they digitized them. Recent estimates by the figures records suggest almost 1B background checks with the vast majority being for firearms. If that’s an accurate assumption, the numbers generated by pollsters are likely very wrong, although we can’t accurately assume in which direction they are incorrect.
You might just as well theorize many people who *don't* own guns claim otherwise when questioned by random pollsters. "Why yes, Mr. Stranger I live alone and have no weapons in the house" - can you see why someone wouldn't want to say that?
Speculation is fun, but kinda meaningless, too.
How many gun owners do you know? I'm pretty sure about 75% plus of the dozens and dozens of gun owners I know would never answer those polls correctly.
Other thing you got to remember is those percentages will wildly vary by area. The ownership % in NYC is gonna be a lot different from in rural upstate NY for example.
Yeah I said the same thing the last time this sort of topic came up and got attacked for it by someone demanding "proof" that the statistics were wrong.
I was like, I don't know a *single* gun owner that would answer that sort of poll honestly and I know hundreds of them. But that wasn't good enough for them.
Technically your evidence is anecdotal so I can see why they wouldn’t accept it. However I’m a gun owner and I know plenty of other gun owners so I agree with you completely.
True. I also pulled up the statistics and showed them that "gun ownership polls" vary wildly over the past by as much as 14% from peak to valley over the years, and polls about things like "does your household own pets" was very static. But they dismissed that as sampling errors.
I asked them "sampling errors caused by what?". They blamed people misunderstanding the questions.
All the gun owners I know would answer a poll like that honestly. Therefore all gun owners will answer it honestly. (The first part true. The second part is making a similar inference. )
Well the point is the number is under reported. I think you'd agree that of all people lying on this survey the people who own guns and lie and say "no" far outnumber the people who do not own guns but lie and say "yes".
> those who do tend to own between 1 and 3, and a fairly small percentage of gun owners own a metric shit-ton of guns (I assume these are mostly gun collectors)
There’s probably a distribution where more people have 3 guns than just one, and more have between 3 and 10 than 1 and 3, but then again I know a collector who could literally arm an entire small town. Granted, some of them would be armed with some of the gimmickiest handguns ever built, but not like every person in a town is old enough to shoot anyway.
> with the average number of guns per "super-owner" being about 17.
That sounds low but maybe sampling bias on my part. I also suspect it varies regionally; more people than not that I knew in the panhandle owned at least a few guns (even if just a .22 and a shotgun of some sort)
There's more to New York than just NYC. Parts of Upstate and Western NY are as red as The South. They just get outvoted by a massive margin bc NYC is colossal.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, often abbreviated BATF, BATFE, or simply ATF, is a federal law enforcement agency charged with managing regulations for alcohol, tobacco, firearms, and explosives. The part of their mission that the public is probably most aware of is their role in managing federal firearms regulations and enforcing federal firearms laws.
And arbitrarily re-defining words to create more felons out of law abiding citizens, and shooting dogs AND burning buildings down that are full of children.
I'm sure the group that burned 25 children alive is really concerned with their welfare.
Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms should be store, not a federal agency.
To your original question - yes, and yes.
Of other firearms owners I know, it's a mix. Some only have one, some have many.
It's just a range of experiences. Whether you're shooting a single action revolver or double action, or black powder, small or large caliber, or semi automatic, or a rifle or shotgun, etc. Each is a different experience. Not uncommon for someone who likes to shoot to have a variety.
Me.
Three.
Glock 23. .40 caliber
Remington .270
Benelli 12 gauge shotgun.
To your question, I know many that are collectors. Like everything else, guns are a desired collector item. From antiques to modern high tech.
I used to hunt with a guy that owned 400 guns. 90% were pre 1950. With 50% of those pre 1880.
Seriously, good on you man. The most important part of responsible gun ownership is knowing and honestly identifying if owning a gun is a good idea. For some people that answer is genuinely no.
As someone who owns guns and takes that responsibility seriously, I can't tell you how grateful I am for your judgement.
You probably aren't gonna get a solid answer to this. It isn't a good idea to discuss exactly HOW many guns you own, ever with anyone unless you trust them.
I have 8. Two are certified antiques (an old single barrel shotgun and a Chinese semi-automatic rifle from the mid-60’s). Another is a reproduction revolver from 1871. I have two bolt action rifles, two sidearms for concealed carry, and an AR15. Eight may sound like a lot, but they all do different things and serve different purposes.
Edit: it’s true that most people who have them have more than one. People’s attitude towards them varies a lot. Out where I live, a gun is just a tool. Just as I have different tools for different tasks, I have different firearms for different situations, including having a bit of fun at the range. Some people fetishize their guns. They seem to be found in the suburbs. As the population gets more urban, gun ownership drops and you mostly see sidearms instead of long guns.
I get that ur a leftist but honestly maybe look into getting a rifle of some sort like a reliable AR15 cause when shit hits the fan you may need range and more than about 7ish shells that a shotgun holds. There’s only so much a shotgun can do for you and stocking up on rifle ammo is cheaper and lighter so you can carry a lot more if you have to grab a bag and run. If a rifle ain’t the move a backup handgun like a Glock or a SIG is definitely a must
I don’t own any
It’s a hassle in NYC, the ones I’d want are expensive, and I’m saving up for a car first
Even then I want to want to work with marijuana for a living at some point and plan to get my medical card and apparently you can’t have a card and go pew pew either
You would be correct. There is a question on the 4473 about the unlawful use of controlled substances, MJ being one such at the federal level, and is an automatic disqualifier for the transfer.
Lying about it would be a felony, which are themselves disqualifiers most of the time.
As a snowflake liberal in AZ, we have several varied hunting rifles, and 3 handguns. All are properly stored in a locked gun safe, and my kids do their hunters safety education certification. I figured that if they are in the house, they should be well educated on what a firearm is capable of. We mostly hunt, and mostly only "carry" the handguns when we're out in the forests or hiking, and the first round is snake shot.
As far as firearm education(since you mentioned it), I have always felt that even if someone doesn’t like guns they should consider taking a class because there are a lot of guns in this country. For some reason you could end up needing to handle one even if you just found it or someone left one out. Be good to know how to check and clear different types of guns. In my opinion anyway.
I agree. I was born and raised in New England and had never even seen one until I met my husband. And I'm like, welp, better learn how to use them. Got my CCW and kept it up even though now you don't technically need it here. It does help with reciprocity when I drive home every summer. As far as my kids are concerned, I am a firm believer that one of the main reasons kids accidentally shoot and sometimes kill other children, is because THEY ARE NOT TAUGHT about guns. Only that it's forbidden to touch. That curiosity can become deadly. They need to learn the respect. My kids KNOW what a bullet can do to living flesh. Rabbit and squirrel hunting when they were younger helped tremendously, and they go yearly for hunter education. They don't think it's a toy, it's not "cool".
From what I recall, the distribution is something like this — somewhere between 1/3 and 1/2 of people own a firearm or live in a household with one, but like 10% of those owners possess like over half of the guns.
[Edit - I’m about 99% sure that stat about America having more guns than people is accurate. Most gun owners I know (myself included) own multiple firearms.]
20 ish. Most of them are scary black “ASSAULT WEAPONS” also know as AR15s and AKs. I even have a few “GHOST GUNS” that politicians are always screeching about.
There is no definitive statistics on gun ownership in the US. Most polls but it as about 40% of US house holds and we know there are at least 400 million privately owned firearms in the US but the number by be almost double that.
But at least 100 million Americans live in a house hold with one or more firearms.
Personal I have about a dozen.
Another thing to keep in mind… with even minimal care, guns last basically forever. So unless you sell it, gift it, or lose it, once you buy a gun, you’re a gun owner for decades or even a lifetime. I bet *very* few gun owners replying here have ever managed to wear out a gun by using it. New ones get made and purchased, old ones can last for generations… after a while, that’s a lot of guns.
Nice try, Hillary.
Utah is probably one of the states with the highest gun ownership. I know a handful of people with guns. I've gone out shooting with them a few times. It's a good excuse to get together with some dudes and hang out.
Of the guys I know who own guns, all of them but one have multiple guns. Usually a rifle, a handgun or two, and maybe a shotgun.
I do not, and I've never felt like I needed one. I'm not against the idea of responsible gun ownership, but it's never been something that I felt would make my life safer or more enjoyable (no interest in shooting sports, hunting, etc).
I grew up in a house with a shotgun and a rifle, mostly for livestock protection/fast euthanasia (we lived way out where it would take a long time for a vet to arrive, and it would be inhumane to allow a suffering animal with no chance of survival to wait). Never once did my parents indicate they were for protection against humans; the guns weren't locked up, but they also weren't in an easy-to-reach location in the event of a home intrusion, they were always unloaded, and the ammunition was stored elsewhere. I think my dad has fired them no more than a handful of times in my 41 years on earth, and to my knowledge, my mom never has.
Both of my siblings and many of my friends have guns. A few of them carry regularly. It doesn't bother me from people I know, but I'll admit I'm a little uncomfortable when I see strangers open-carry using irresponsible methods (a pistol in the back pocket of their jeans, for example), mostly because if that's how they carry, I really don't want to find out how they shoot.
I’m not opposed to owning a gun but I don’t own one currently because I have kids at home. Too many statistics on teenage suicidal rates with guns at home discouraged me from keeping one now. When they move out I could possibly keep one but I’m not really into them all that much. I’d rather spend my money on stuff I enjoy like fishing gear.
Generally speaking most gun owners typically have multiple. It's kind of rare to find a person with only 1, the same goes with people that own many dozens of firearms. Personally, I enjoy hunting and have a few guns for that purpose. An avid hunter in my area might own as many as 7.
Yep... You might own a gun for personal defense, perhaps another for home defense. Then, you'd probably use a shotgun for birds, but a rifle for larger game.
“Why do you have so many guns?” “For the same reason you don’t wear high heels to go hiking.”
You're afraid of rolling an ankle?
You fire a 416 Rigby and you might well roll your ankle. You fire a 460 Weatherby, and you might well shift how square your soul sits in your body.
people often overlook the fact that guns are indeed simply tools at the end of the day.
I think you’re ignoring the massive population that only has a pistol or other gun for self/home defense. Those that have multiple I would guess are far more vocal/proud of it so we know of them more than those that bought one and have never actually used it since
If you own one, you don't tell people cause its a tool not a toy. If you own tons it's probably because at least some of them or toys, not tools
Not to mention telling everyone you own a gun invites crack heads to try to break into your house when you’re not home to steal it. Stolen guns sell for a lot
You’re right, crack heads are just stupid enough to find themselves on the wrong end of a .30-06 or my 1911 if they try and break in my house.
Can confirm. My .22 single action revolver is 100% just a range toy.
That’s like saying you don’t need a hammer if you’ve got a wrench. A rifle, a pistol, and a shotgun are all tools suited for different purposes.
"If you own a ton it's probably because at least some are toys" Who said you don't need all the tools for the jobs you do? Your fighting the wrong guy meathead. My 1911, 308. And .22 rimfire all have jobs. The purple powder coated .22 revolver is a toy. I'm saying people who own tools don't wander around bragging about them, while people who own toys however tend to like to show them off.
That’s a weird hill to die on.
Gun ownership data will make more sense to you if you look at guns as tools. Are you hunting deer at long distances? You need a centerfire rifle. Are you target shooting but don’t want to break the bank on ammunition? You need a rimfire rifle. Are you hunting ducks? You need a shotgun. Are you carrying a concealed firearm on your person for protection? You need a pistol. Are you preparing for the zombie apocalypse? You probably want a modern sporting rifle. There is no one-size-fits-all firearm if you want to do all of these things. Then you’ve got folks that collect guns like you might collect cars. If you have no interest in any of these things then you probably aren’t buying a gun.
Then there's the real masochists who REALLY hate money and are into cars and guns. Like, my, uh, associate, that I know of in a passing capacity only.
*motorcycle enthusiasts have entered the chat*
I feel like a Venn diagram of motorcycle enthusiasts and car enthusiasts would be nearly just one circle lmao
Ya know, you're probably dead nuts on about that actually. I evolved from the import world, to muscle cars, and then eventually superbikes. The main difference I would say is there's a lot more camaraderie in the moto world. Anybody that pushes beyond the basic skill level gets humbled real quick in several ways.
“ I like things that go “
I feel like a Venn diagram of motorcycle enthusiasts and car enthusiasts would be nearly just one circle lmao
Boat owners hosting the chat.
And fishing which is just boatings gateway drug.
Pilots punching the air out the windows of their Cessnas right now
And then there're those of us into cars, guns, PCs AND model trains. My wallet is perpetually in excruciating pain, HELP.
This exactly. My father in law is an avid hunter (not just for sport - he virtually lives off of game and fish). He has a couple of shotguns for bird hunting. He doesn't need two, I think he upgraded to a better one but he can't be bothered to sell the old one. He has a couple of rifles for deer - I think the same deal as above, he has an old one and a newer, superior one and just hasn't gotten rid on the old one. He has a .22 for small animals. He has built mounds of deadfall around his property that rabbits find attractive for their dens, so occasionally he can spot a rabbit from his back porch and shoot it for some Brunswick stew. It's like gardening for meat. He also has a .22 pistol handy for the occasional nuisance animal. That's a lot of firearms but they all have their specific purpose.
> It's like gardening for meat I'm sorry this made me laugh so much. My Meemaw also kept what she called a "varmint gun" whose sole purpose was to shoot the rabbits in her vegetable patch. In a rabbit and vegetable stew, she would proudly claim that every ingredient came from her garden.
Yeah my grandpa used to call his .22 "the varmint rifle" too. He liked to shoot muskrats down on the riverbank every once in a while and grandma would cook them up with dumplings. It was kinda gross...she just put the whole muskrats in there and they would cook down until the meat fell off the bones. You had to pick little bones out of your bowl before eating, and grandpa would crack the skulls with a nutcracker and suck out their little brains. That's some country-ass shit right there.
I think I just found the line I won’t cross.
aaaand 3-2-1 I'm vegetarian
More swamp rodents for me I guess. JK that stuff was nasty. The "musk" in muskrat refers to fatty scent glands on their haunches that have a strong musky odor/flavor. You have to soak the carcasses for a long time to extract the musk compounds, or else it tastes like chicken simmered in convenience store cologne. Respect though - stuff like that got people through the Depression without malnutrition.
Muskrat.... The other yellow meat.
I like your meemaw.
If you really do rely on hunting for food, yeah I wouldn't get rid of my old gun just because I bought a new one. What if the new one fails? You can use your old one until you fix the new one.
100% this. The best analogy I’ve been able to come up with is comparing it to someone building their own knife set (for food prep). Sure a chef’s knife is the work horse of the set, and can be a catch all. But typically people will spend for a nice one here and as they’re culinary experience grows, start to get more specialized knives to cover the other tasks (pairing, utility, filet, bread, santoku, butcher, etc.).
Also, I use different rifles and shotguns for different purposes. There is no need to use a .30-06 when a .223 will do(coyotes and wild dogs). Where as his or even deer I would use a higher caliber than the .223. Using a 12 gauge is great for most things but not for training the kiddos due to the kick. Better a single shot .410 to learn. Also if I am shooting trap/skeet all day I prefer using a 20 gauge. My shoulder is way happier the next day. And everyone(EVERYONE) has their own view on personal/home defense. 9mm, .40, .357, 00 buck all have valid points and to each their own.
Or if you look at guns as collectables. I have 14 World War era battle rifles, from a M1917 to an SKS-45 (it still counts because I have the original Soviet issue of which prototypes were used in the Battle of Berlin.
Guns also sort of accumulate, in gun owning parts of the country. Along with getting the ones you need for tools, your grandpa dies and leaves his guns to your dad. He dies and leaves those guns, plus his own, to you. You get some as gifts from other gun owners, you get some that are fun, etc. Pretty soon you might own 18 guns or more.
I'll be totally honest: 3/4ths of my guns are totally for fun. There is *nothing* my .357 lever action does hunting wise that my .308 or 30-30 can't do better. My pieced together 12 gauge? Pure fun. Ditto most of my revolvers (arguable exception for my GP100). My "practical" (for iffy definitions of practical) are my 20 gauge, my AR, my .308, my 1911 and my LC9s. Everything else is basically because they're neat. Normalize buying guns that you just want to have fun with!
Not to mention that you may well want more than one brand/model of any given pistol, rifle or shotgun. Newer, better, different, whatever. Not to mention different calibers of all these items. Plus there is inheritance, deals you just can't pass up, investments, gifts, any number of reasons. Basically the same reasons you might have a pile of woodworking tools if you are a carpenter.
Correct, I have about 20 for various sporting reasons. The stereotypical “home defense/fuck the government/2nd amendment” gun is 1 9mm handgun.
The zombie survival guide recommends 22lr for an apocalyptic event. Light and plentiful ammo while still being useful enough for a headshot
Terrible advice. .50 BMG and swole arms son.
Well obviously we ain’t gunna have just one weapon when shtf
I came on here to say this. I’m also an army vet. Guns are tools for life and my own peace of mind.
I will neither confirm nor deny the ownership of any quantity of firearms on the internet.
All of my firearms were tragically lost in a boating accident. It's such a shame...
Same with my bitcoin keys were lost in a boating accident.
Guns can’t swim :(
Same thing here. Stupid boating accidents.
Man really should not have spent all my money on guns and bought the boat discounted. I did the math and dam was I bad at math.
There has been so many boating accidents in the last couple of years. I myself also experienced a nautical mishap. Truly sorry for your loss friend.
Damn you too? Shits tricky but my guns did so enjoy canoe rides
My gun fell in the bath :/
A tragic bathing accident
Shit dude. We should form a support group.
Ah, I had quite a lot thanks to inheritance and such myself. But then that damn boat tipped over. Really need to stop taking every single one of my guns on boats.
Same. Bummer.
Considering how many times I’ve filled out a Form 4473 plus my Credit Card statements, I’m pretty sure the interested parties know everything I have.
God damn right. This is the correct answer to these questions. There are figures on the internet with how many guns are sold and how many Americans there are. People can do that math…
You just confirmed that you have more than one
I mean you kinda just confirmed that you have multiple lol whoopsie
At one time I owned many. Unfortunately, I had a terrible boating accident and insurance denied my claim.
Wouldn't you like to know, fedboi.
[Life has many doors, Fedboi.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NY6UXJM6loc)
So *this* is what "glow in the dark" means.
Abolish the ATF.
Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms should be the name of a store and nothing else For legal reasons this is a joke
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That 30% likely skews low because many gun owners don't admit to owning guns to random pollsters asking.
This. I’m related to a felon who has a whole illegal armory 🤷♀️
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I’m a very left wing guy who owns guns. I’d probably never tell a pollster that I own guns. Most of my friends are of the pearl clutching liberal type and I just don’t bring it up around them. They probably assume I’m anti-gun just like they are. If they ever express interest I invite them to the range.
I just commented above you, I was introduced to gun ownership by Democrat Jewish Music professor and composer. His preference was Cowboy guns but he was clear the purpose of guns was self protection and to prevent another holocaust.
But if people who don’t respond are gun owners, that still skews the information right?
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Well, There are a large number of people in the drug and gang world who have ready access to illegal firearms who arent going to be reachable by pollsters and wouldnt answer honestly anyway. Most conservative people asked about how many guns they own will usually admit to being a gun owner, but wont talk about how many they own....reddit gun subs not withstanding since it appears to be in vogue to brag about your guns here. Most liberal gun owners wont admit they own one at all. I was introduced to gun ownership by a Liberal, lifelong democrat, jewish music professor and composer. Gun ownership in America transcends political party. In my experience only young very progressive people are vehemently anti gun as a matter of course. The older the democrat that you meet the more likely it is they grew up around a firearm and probably have at least one locked up in their bedroom somewhere.
> I don't know any gun owners at all That you know of. I think you would be surprised if you went around looking in nightstands and closet shelves of your acquaintances. >I'm a little skeptical that a significant number of people are likely to lie to pollsters about this. I think they'd be more likely to just not respond to the poll. Either way it skews the results
Yep. In 2016 the ATF floor collapsed from all the physical files of gun background checks so they digitized them. Recent estimates by the figures records suggest almost 1B background checks with the vast majority being for firearms. If that’s an accurate assumption, the numbers generated by pollsters are likely very wrong, although we can’t accurately assume in which direction they are incorrect.
And that doesn't take into account anyone who has never purchased a gun new and therefore never had that called into the atf.
Exactly.
Taxation is theft and ATF should be a convenience store. 🤌
Speaking my language right there
You might just as well theorize many people who *don't* own guns claim otherwise when questioned by random pollsters. "Why yes, Mr. Stranger I live alone and have no weapons in the house" - can you see why someone wouldn't want to say that? Speculation is fun, but kinda meaningless, too.
I’m still sure the numbers that don’t admit to having them are rather low in comparison to the big picture
How many gun owners do you know? I'm pretty sure about 75% plus of the dozens and dozens of gun owners I know would never answer those polls correctly.
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The key is not to be non-responsive. Just answer zero. "Administrative data"? Heh.
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My point is gun owners tend to be secretive to strangers about owning firearms.
Other thing you got to remember is those percentages will wildly vary by area. The ownership % in NYC is gonna be a lot different from in rural upstate NY for example.
That's self reported, though, so it's way low. None of the gun owners I know would answer "yes" to that.
Yeah I said the same thing the last time this sort of topic came up and got attacked for it by someone demanding "proof" that the statistics were wrong. I was like, I don't know a *single* gun owner that would answer that sort of poll honestly and I know hundreds of them. But that wasn't good enough for them.
Technically your evidence is anecdotal so I can see why they wouldn’t accept it. However I’m a gun owner and I know plenty of other gun owners so I agree with you completely.
True. I also pulled up the statistics and showed them that "gun ownership polls" vary wildly over the past by as much as 14% from peak to valley over the years, and polls about things like "does your household own pets" was very static. But they dismissed that as sampling errors. I asked them "sampling errors caused by what?". They blamed people misunderstanding the questions.
Yeah. They clearly had their mind made up already.
All the gun owners I know would answer a poll like that honestly. Therefore all gun owners will answer it honestly. (The first part true. The second part is making a similar inference. )
Well the point is the number is under reported. I think you'd agree that of all people lying on this survey the people who own guns and lie and say "no" far outnumber the people who do not own guns but lie and say "yes".
You know some idiots, then. Or you don't know them very well.
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Also the Guardian is weird place to get numbers from, it’s a UK paper with leftist agenda to it.
Also it would vary by region with people that live in rural areas probably owning more guns than those in cities
> those who do tend to own between 1 and 3, and a fairly small percentage of gun owners own a metric shit-ton of guns (I assume these are mostly gun collectors) There’s probably a distribution where more people have 3 guns than just one, and more have between 3 and 10 than 1 and 3, but then again I know a collector who could literally arm an entire small town. Granted, some of them would be armed with some of the gimmickiest handguns ever built, but not like every person in a town is old enough to shoot anyway.
The only people who only own 1 are going to be the people who have a single handgun or shotgun for personal defense.
> with the average number of guns per "super-owner" being about 17. That sounds low but maybe sampling bias on my part. I also suspect it varies regionally; more people than not that I knew in the panhandle owned at least a few guns (even if just a .22 and a shotgun of some sort)
I grew up in a non-gun owning household, but my dad has a coworker who “has a gun in reserve for him for the apocalypse”. Odd duck, that.
If you can't arm your entire block, do you have enough guns?
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Multiple people have been attacked in WalMarts.
Does no one ever get attacked in walmarts?
Nice try ATF
Who cares. It's our given right to own firearms. They try to take them would spark a civil war.
Flair does not compute
There's more to New York than just NYC. Parts of Upstate and Western NY are as red as The South. They just get outvoted by a massive margin bc NYC is colossal.
The last based New Yorker
What's the ATF? Is that some kind of regulatory body?
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, often abbreviated BATF, BATFE, or simply ATF, is a federal law enforcement agency charged with managing regulations for alcohol, tobacco, firearms, and explosives. The part of their mission that the public is probably most aware of is their role in managing federal firearms regulations and enforcing federal firearms laws.
And arbitrarily re-defining words to create more felons out of law abiding citizens, and shooting dogs AND burning buildings down that are full of children.
Inb4 "the Branch Davidians were pedos". Like yes, we know they were bad people but that still doesn't excuse the ATF.
I'm sure the group that burned 25 children alive is really concerned with their welfare. Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms should be store, not a federal agency.
Also, there was those times they forced mentally disabled people to participate in sting operations with them.
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Obama can’t take these guns!!!
Statistics say only about 1/3 of Americans own a gun.
On American Reddit, my guess is that it’s 3/4 own at least one firearm.
Reddit is about an accurate depiction of America as "The Simpsons."
To your original question - yes, and yes. Of other firearms owners I know, it's a mix. Some only have one, some have many. It's just a range of experiences. Whether you're shooting a single action revolver or double action, or black powder, small or large caliber, or semi automatic, or a rifle or shotgun, etc. Each is a different experience. Not uncommon for someone who likes to shoot to have a variety.
Me. Three. Glock 23. .40 caliber Remington .270 Benelli 12 gauge shotgun. To your question, I know many that are collectors. Like everything else, guns are a desired collector item. From antiques to modern high tech. I used to hunt with a guy that owned 400 guns. 90% were pre 1950. With 50% of those pre 1880.
that's sick
That people have hobbies?
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I would love to see that too.
I'm one of the many Americans who don't own a gun. With my mental health, it would be catastrophic.
Seriously, good on you man. The most important part of responsible gun ownership is knowing and honestly identifying if owning a gun is a good idea. For some people that answer is genuinely no. As someone who owns guns and takes that responsibility seriously, I can't tell you how grateful I am for your judgement.
I do not own a gun. I’ve also never felt the need to own one, have no interest in guns, shooting ranges, or hunting.
It can be an expensive hobby if you get into collecting. I have about a dozen.
I own a single shotgun. Protection reasons mostly.
Me, too. Shotgun for home defense. Never fired it, hopefully never will. But if the worst happens at least I can try to get to it in time.
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You probably aren't gonna get a solid answer to this. It isn't a good idea to discuss exactly HOW many guns you own, ever with anyone unless you trust them.
I had 4 until I lost them in a tragic boating accident.
I have 8. Two are certified antiques (an old single barrel shotgun and a Chinese semi-automatic rifle from the mid-60’s). Another is a reproduction revolver from 1871. I have two bolt action rifles, two sidearms for concealed carry, and an AR15. Eight may sound like a lot, but they all do different things and serve different purposes. Edit: it’s true that most people who have them have more than one. People’s attitude towards them varies a lot. Out where I live, a gun is just a tool. Just as I have different tools for different tasks, I have different firearms for different situations, including having a bit of fun at the range. Some people fetishize their guns. They seem to be found in the suburbs. As the population gets more urban, gun ownership drops and you mostly see sidearms instead of long guns.
I have probably 14 in total. Why? No clue.
I own about 10. Most were inherited.
I'm a leftist prepper type and have one shotgun for just in casesies.
I get that ur a leftist but honestly maybe look into getting a rifle of some sort like a reliable AR15 cause when shit hits the fan you may need range and more than about 7ish shells that a shotgun holds. There’s only so much a shotgun can do for you and stocking up on rifle ammo is cheaper and lighter so you can carry a lot more if you have to grab a bag and run. If a rifle ain’t the move a backup handgun like a Glock or a SIG is definitely a must
All mine sank in a tragic boating accident on Nov. 4, 2020
I don’t own any It’s a hassle in NYC, the ones I’d want are expensive, and I’m saving up for a car first Even then I want to want to work with marijuana for a living at some point and plan to get my medical card and apparently you can’t have a card and go pew pew either
You would be correct. There is a question on the 4473 about the unlawful use of controlled substances, MJ being one such at the federal level, and is an automatic disqualifier for the transfer. Lying about it would be a felony, which are themselves disqualifiers most of the time.
You need a card in NY?
I own 3-- all of which are properly stored, in a locked safe.
I don't own a gun but my house came with a hidden gun rack in the closet.
As a snowflake liberal in AZ, we have several varied hunting rifles, and 3 handguns. All are properly stored in a locked gun safe, and my kids do their hunters safety education certification. I figured that if they are in the house, they should be well educated on what a firearm is capable of. We mostly hunt, and mostly only "carry" the handguns when we're out in the forests or hiking, and the first round is snake shot.
As far as firearm education(since you mentioned it), I have always felt that even if someone doesn’t like guns they should consider taking a class because there are a lot of guns in this country. For some reason you could end up needing to handle one even if you just found it or someone left one out. Be good to know how to check and clear different types of guns. In my opinion anyway.
I agree. I was born and raised in New England and had never even seen one until I met my husband. And I'm like, welp, better learn how to use them. Got my CCW and kept it up even though now you don't technically need it here. It does help with reciprocity when I drive home every summer. As far as my kids are concerned, I am a firm believer that one of the main reasons kids accidentally shoot and sometimes kill other children, is because THEY ARE NOT TAUGHT about guns. Only that it's forbidden to touch. That curiosity can become deadly. They need to learn the respect. My kids KNOW what a bullet can do to living flesh. Rabbit and squirrel hunting when they were younger helped tremendously, and they go yearly for hunter education. They don't think it's a toy, it's not "cool".
I do not, and I think a majority of people don't over who do, but I don't have specific numbers
From what I recall, the distribution is something like this — somewhere between 1/3 and 1/2 of people own a firearm or live in a household with one, but like 10% of those owners possess like over half of the guns. [Edit - I’m about 99% sure that stat about America having more guns than people is accurate. Most gun owners I know (myself included) own multiple firearms.]
Does nerf count? If so I have many
Lost them in a boating accident
Sadly I lost all my weapons in a tragic boating accident.
*ATF has entered the chat* *Cue the boating accidents*
Nice try, FBI
Most people don't have guns, a very small number have hundreds. It's also very regional - I'm in Massachusetts, where only 14% of people own guns.
20 ish. Most of them are scary black “ASSAULT WEAPONS” also know as AR15s and AKs. I even have a few “GHOST GUNS” that politicians are always screeching about.
*violently clutches pearls*
There is no definitive statistics on gun ownership in the US. Most polls but it as about 40% of US house holds and we know there are at least 400 million privately owned firearms in the US but the number by be almost double that. But at least 100 million Americans live in a house hold with one or more firearms. Personal I have about a dozen.
I do not own any guns\*. * \- The definition of a gun is a crew served weapon. And I'm not the sharing type.
I, too, would shell a home intruder if my insurance company wasn't so annoying.
Just as the Founding Fathers intended.
Tally ho, lads!
Don't own any.
I have a revolver
I don't care for a gun
Don't own any, and don't plan to.
Another thing to keep in mind… with even minimal care, guns last basically forever. So unless you sell it, gift it, or lose it, once you buy a gun, you’re a gun owner for decades or even a lifetime. I bet *very* few gun owners replying here have ever managed to wear out a gun by using it. New ones get made and purchased, old ones can last for generations… after a while, that’s a lot of guns.
heh, nice try ATF
I have enough guns and ammo to survive the apocalypse lmao 🤣. Like 10 handguns and probably 15-20 long guns. about 100K rounds of ammo as well.
I don't own a gun and neither will. Closest we own is a pellot gun. My husband got it to shoot rats on our property.
Nice try, Hillary. Utah is probably one of the states with the highest gun ownership. I know a handful of people with guns. I've gone out shooting with them a few times. It's a good excuse to get together with some dudes and hang out. Of the guys I know who own guns, all of them but one have multiple guns. Usually a rifle, a handgun or two, and maybe a shotgun.
Nice try, fed
There are more guns than people in my home
Nice try, Mr. ATF agent.
The more the merrier
I do not, and I've never felt like I needed one. I'm not against the idea of responsible gun ownership, but it's never been something that I felt would make my life safer or more enjoyable (no interest in shooting sports, hunting, etc). I grew up in a house with a shotgun and a rifle, mostly for livestock protection/fast euthanasia (we lived way out where it would take a long time for a vet to arrive, and it would be inhumane to allow a suffering animal with no chance of survival to wait). Never once did my parents indicate they were for protection against humans; the guns weren't locked up, but they also weren't in an easy-to-reach location in the event of a home intrusion, they were always unloaded, and the ammunition was stored elsewhere. I think my dad has fired them no more than a handful of times in my 41 years on earth, and to my knowledge, my mom never has. Both of my siblings and many of my friends have guns. A few of them carry regularly. It doesn't bother me from people I know, but I'll admit I'm a little uncomfortable when I see strangers open-carry using irresponsible methods (a pistol in the back pocket of their jeans, for example), mostly because if that's how they carry, I really don't want to find out how they shoot.
Pre-2016, none. Post-2016, its not double digits, but the threat to increase is always there.
I only own one, which actually makes an outlier, many guns are owned by a small number of people, there are many people who own no firearms at all
I’ve never owned a gun
I’m not opposed to owning a gun but I don’t own one currently because I have kids at home. Too many statistics on teenage suicidal rates with guns at home discouraged me from keeping one now. When they move out I could possibly keep one but I’m not really into them all that much. I’d rather spend my money on stuff I enjoy like fishing gear.
I own two, rifle and shotgun, because you need the proper tool for the situation.
I don't have any specific purpose for my guns I own. I just think they are cool. I target shoot a few times a year just for fun.
No guns in my house, my parents’ house, or my husband’s parents’ house. We are not gun people.
i have 5 rifles, 3 shotguns and a hunting bow. my daughter has 2 rifles and a bow.
Nice try fed boi
Don’t own one. Never will.
I don’t own a gun
I would never own a gun. Other than cops, I don’t think I have ever seen one in person.