Interesting Gun Ownership Article

[Sarge]

We're all suitably impressed sarge. Go back into your bunker.

Which one?
Sarge

 

[toivo]

I can honestly say I have no idea how many guns I own; can pass a lie detector to that effect.

I'm with you. I know how many handguns I have because my state requires me to register them and carry a little card with all of them listed on it whenever I carry one concealed.

But I have no idea how many long guns I own. I could count, but I don't really want to. So, no, I don't know how many guns I own either. I will say, though, that if 17 guns makes you a "super owner," then I'm a supercalifragilisticexpialidocious owner.

 

[wooldl]

Quiz:

If I have 15 firearms, and the gov't comes to collect 10 of those, how many firearms will I have when they leave? That's correct.....15.

 

[Carl N. Brown]

"A recent Harvard/Northwestern University joint study" -- is that the long-ballyhooed Bloomberg funded Harvard-Northeastern study chaired by David Hemenway that has yet to pass peer review for academic publication?

The creation of the Newly Discovered Superowner is a rhetorical device to explain away the millions of new NICS gun sales checks under Obama. "Hey, it's not been new gun owners buying those guns" (ignore the newbies at handgun permit classes, or the ammo shortages cause by new gun owners needing ammo for their new guns), "it's these newly discovered superowners who are just a minority of gun nuts the politicians can safely attack."

I call party line on this. I have been awake for sixty+ years. Gun buffs who own more than seven guns are nothing new. The NSPOF did find the average was three guns per owner, but in the 1960s and 1970s I knew friends and relatives who were "superowners". People owning more than seven guns is NOT a new phenomenon. The newly discovered superowner is a rhetorical trick to diminish the American Gunowner to a minority, so politicians can successfully run on calls for reinstating the Assault Weapon Ban, $50 background checks for private sales on used guns, and maybe even an Australian-style mandatory turn-in. Or even bringing back the NY and MD ballistic fingerprint databases (which were defended as a ~$55 surcharge per gun even tho' the databases were useless).

The anti-gun strategy is to claim that gun ownership in America has declined from 51% of all households to 34% of all households; therefore, gun owners are a minority and their rights can be safety crushed with no political backlash.

Gallup Poll in 1994 showed 51% of households responded they owned a gun.
A federal government survey in 1994 showed 34% of respondents to the National Survey on Private Ownership and use of Firearms survey said they had a gun in their household. As I recall 1994, Senate hearings on Ruby Ridge and house hearings on Waco were on CSPAN.

Gallup has pointed out their own gun ownership polls have shown minor fluctuation over the past forty years and the percentage of households reporting guns seems to reflect the climate of gun control rhetoric, especially from the government, especially after people were shot in enforcement of gun control in 1992 and 1993.

Zogby Analytics Feb 25, 2015
QUESTION: "If a national pollster asked you if you owned a firearm, would you determine to tell him or her the truth or would you feel it was none of their business?"
36% of Americans feel it is none of the pollster's business and that includes 35% of current gun owners, 47% of Republicans and 42% of Independents

John Lott's Crime Prevention Research Center has commented on this [with my additions]:

http://crimeresearch.org/2016/09/problems-new-harvard-northeastern-gun-survey/
The new Harvard-Northeastern survey is very disappointing. There are two points to this survey. That the percentage of the population owning guns is falling and that a very small percent of the population is buying a huge number of guns. [Lott's] new book The War on Guns has a chapter showing that both of these points are inaccurate.
— If one looks at all the surveys on the question of changes in gun ownership, most surveys [eg Gallup] show that gun ownership rates have been constant over time (some evidence shows that gun ownership has been increasing). ...
— But there is a general problem with survey data. Hard data, such as the number of permits that are required before someone can own a gun in some states such as Illinois [FOID numbers], show a dramatic increase in gun ownership at the same time that these surveys for those states are showing a drop in gun ownership. The likely reason that all these surveys on gun ownership are biased against showing an increase is because gun owners have been relatively less willing over time to tell pollsters that they own guns.
This hard data [new FOIDs required for individual IL owners] indicates such a large increase in gun owners relative to the polls [cited for IL] that it makes it mathematically impossible for the claim to be true that gun sales are being driven by a small group of gun owners.
— A more detailed analysis can’t be done because, as is so typical of them, the people who have done this survey have only released copies of it to Bloomberg The Trace and to Lois Beckett at the Guardian (Beckett also has a connection to the very left wing ProPublica). If the people who did this survey also remain true to form, the survey data will be released sometime 10 to 15 years from now. They do all these things to make it difficult for anyone [especially Lott] to comment during the news cycle when they release the survey.

 

[Cannibul]

Quiz:

If I have 15 firearms, and the gov't comes to collect 10 of those, how many firearms will I have when they leave? That's correct.....15.

I'll have more than 15, I'm going to pick up what's laying on the ground.


If asked about firearms I always reply with "I don't have a single firearm".

It's a true statement. I just mean something different that what most people hear.

 

[boatdoc173]

who wrote this fake news article?

more people have permits these days than ever before thus more people own guns

 

[tark]

Gee, Sarge, I'm kinds jealous, I can't have any machine guns here in Illinois. I really MUST move back to the United States......but my place is paid for and I like being able to shoot on my land. At least they let me have my Tannerite. (At least for now)

 

[Sarge]

Well you could just sell your paid for property and relocate to gun country - Colorado, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, Wyoming, Montana etc! There are also some gun friendly states east of the Mississippi.
Sarge

 

[Ignition Override]

Even though Trump's time in the White House might total four years maximum, people who live outside the Anti-US Constitution states (i.e. CA, WA, MA, NJ etc), might finally have less incentive to buy add any guns 'out of fear', especially duplicate/triplicate guns, if not already owned.

An article--maybe among many--in the last few days described the smaller gun manufacturers, distributors and shops which seem to be facing a serious struggle to survive, if this is their only business.

Whether married was discussed. Two winters ago I gradually sold a few handguns and two rifles (plus 2,500 rds. of M2 Ball ammo @ .40/rd.) which were never, or almost never used.
My wife didn't realize that when a 'nib' Saiga .223 came into the house, days later a 'nib' Saige 7.62x39 also entered the house, when she was gone.

 

[steelerdude99]

I was once but not now, I sold off a tonne of guns in the past ten years.

Good cover story. I am going w/ I lost mine on a fishing trip.

 

[BearBrimstone]

Last summer I had over 17, but I have dropped below that number now. I have been recently selling off the guns that I never use and have no sentimental attachment to.

 

[Squire Western]

Certainly, the gun buying surge of the Obama years cannot be sustained unless some catastrophic events occur, but a steady pace of buying should continue as new innovative products come along.

 

[Sauer Grapes]

I think their data\stats are wrong. Over the last few years, I've seen a lot of new gun owners at our club. I don't think number of households owning guns has decreased.
2% of us own 50% of the guns?
What I have seen is an increase in women coming out to the range. Seems like every time I go to shoot I end up spending the majority of my time schooling new shooters on safety and skills. Yesterday was such a day.
Super gun owner? I consider my collection pretty meager. And yes, I know I need every one of them.

 

[larryh1108]

I've come to not believe any stats that pertain to guns and gun ownership. The truth is no one knows for sure who has what and where they are. I believe gun owners do not answer poll questions about their guns. We feel it is no one's business if we own any or how many we do own. These polls had Trump losing by a large margin and we know how that turned. These polls are as worthless as anything out there. Let the antis think what they want. They have no clue in what is reality and I like it that way.

 

[Carl N. Brown]

some things bear repeating

The new survey claims "super owner" is something new?
The 1994 National Survey on Private Ownership and use of Firearms NSPOF was performed for the National Institute of Justice of the US DoJ Nov-Dec 1994 using a random selected national sample of 2,568 noninstitutionalized adults aged 18 and over, fluent in English or Spanish, living in households with a telephone, one adult from each household.
Quote:
Concentration. Despite enough guns in private hands to provide every adult in America with one, only one-quarter of adults actually own firearms. Those who have one gun usually have several: 74 percent possessed two or more in 1994.
Gun ownership is quite concentrated but not more so than for other durable goods. In marketing circles, the "80/20 rule" suggests that the top fifth of all consumers of a product typically account for four-fifths of all purchases by value.
NSPOF data indicate that the top 20 percent of firearm owners possessed 55 percent of privately owned firearms. Of gun owners in 1994, 10 million individuals owned 105 million guns, while the remaining 87 million guns were dispersed among 34 million other owners.
:Endquote
25% of NSPOF gun owners owned only one gun: 12% owned a single handgun; 13% owned a single longgun (which to me implies a gun bought purely as a weapon for defense like folks I've known who acquire one gun only).
NSPOF found most people who own four or more guns owned at least one each of rifle, shotgun, and handgun (which to me implies people involved in one or more shooting sports disciplines again based on my experience).
Since NSPOF estimated that the top 20% of owners owned about 50% of the guns, the idea that there were people owning seven or more in 1994 is not far fetched, so "super owner" is not a new thing.
What is far fetched is claiming that the tens of millions of NICS BG checks since 1999 have been run on fewer and fewer "super users" buying more and more guns for a dwindling number of collections.

Oh, there are problems with all these surveys, even the 1994 NSPOF used as a base line for so many researchers.
:Quote
NSPOF: Gun ownership
Prevalence. According to conventional wisdom, about half of American households own guns, a belief affirmed by a
long series of national polls dating back to 1959.[1](1. For example, the December 1993 Gallup Poll estimated that 49 percent of households possessed a gun.) Yet data from the 1994 telephone survey ... indicate that just 35 percent (plus or minus 1.3 percent) of households own guns.
:Endquote
There was a drop from the Dec 1993 private poll from 49-51% to only 34-35% in the Nov-Dec 1994 government survey. (¿really?)

 

[CapnMac]

I've come to not believe any stats that pertain to guns and gun ownership. The truth is no one knows for sure who has what and where they are. I believe gun owners do not answer poll questions about their guns. We feel it is no one's business if we own any or how many we do own.

Well said.

Only "survey" number I give any credence to, is Admiral Yamamoto's from his time in the US at Harvard in the 20s. His estimate was that there is "..[a] rifle behind every blade of grass..." in the US. Sounds about right to me.

Has a bit of Koan to it too--consider how far away from Chicago, New York City, LA and the like that natural grass grows. (Or, I've left the Hoppe's open too long again)

 

[Guy B. Meredith]

I was thinking the same thing re campus carry. How long has it been in effect, and what, if any incidents have come up?
Florida has been trying to get it passed, but it's meeting some resistance, obviously from the politicos and the ivory tower types.
I've "educated" a couple of friends, college faculty and administrator, who happen to own guns and shoot, that campus carry wouldn't make them any less safe from a wacko student, but might instead enable them to legally protect themselves in what I impolitely refer to as a target rich environment.

These laws are based on "something might happen". SAF is in court with Chicago for limiting locations for gun shops and ranges for the same reason. Chicago just ran into problems as the law is based on "might be" and "what if" rather than demonstrated danger to the public.

I hope they are successful and can expand this. Too many laws are based on assumption of guilt like this.

Campus carry has been in effect a long time. Dunno how many states give means, but here in Oregon anyone with a CHL can carry on campus. The institute can claim restriction, but the CHL over rides that unless the carrier is asked to leave the property. Failing to comply to comply at that point is trespass. But the request needs to be made and concealed is concealed.

And I know of no incidents of danger presented by the presence of these firearms.

 

[RPRNY]

This is an interesting article on the newest topic of super gun owners. I'm guessing a majority of the people who regularly post here are super gun owners. However, the stats still seem to be way off and I don't think that the MSM or .gov really knows how many guns are out there. Threads posted here suggest we have in excess of 500 millions guns in our possession because the 300 million figure has been around for a few decades now but "they" still talk about less than 300 mil out there. They don't have a clue.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/money/tops...un-owner-has/ar-BBy4JYY?li=BBnbfcL&ocid=wispr

There is a new ploy afoot by the anti-civil rights movement to try to portay the number of gun owners as declining, despite the massive increase in sales during the Reign of the Great Divider, via this concept of the super gun owner and the speculator. That way they don't have to admit that their program to decrease the social acceptability of gun ownership isn't working.

 

[Decoy80]

I guess a person can be Super at something. Nothing like Sarge by a long shot. A new gun owner, yes. Every time I can afford or even rationalize the purchase to my wife. Were I a wealthy man Id try to be a new gun owner when I saw one I liked. I suppose instead of reading here I would be ordering another one now. I will now have to crow with the rooster. Im currently in need of another safe but probably get a new gun instead to help guard the hoard.

 

[SSN Vet]

Survey says: "how many guns do you own?"

I say: "not quite enough, but I'm working on it."

 

[Legionnaire]

Interesting thread ... and interesting article. The point of the latter seems to be whether or not investing in gun and ammo manufacturers is a good financial strategy. It makes total sense for an investor to think through whether or not there will continue to be demand for such products. Isn't really a pro- or anti- gun piece in my opinion.

 

[MachIVshooter]

Shoot, I had more than 8 before I was through my first year being "of age".

I'm the kind of person they have night terrors about, one who would be armed within a couple hours of their having magically disappeared every gun extant, and whose goal is to equip as many people as I can with the knowledge and skills to build their own firearms.

 

[slumlord44]

In my circles 17 isn't enough to talk about. I quit counting years ago but I have and accurate written inventory. Only a few close frinds have an idea what I have. If asked my standard answer is more than I need but less than I want.

 

[garymc]

I don't know how many I have. I'm pretty sure its a little over 20. I read some where "If you know how many guns you have, you don't have enough." Sounds about right to me.

 

[rondog]

I'da voted "nunyabiz" but there wasn't an option for that.