Interesting stats...

[Quiet]

National Firearms Act Registered Weapons (March 2012)

In the USA
Total Title 2 = 3,184,804
AOW = 54,649
DD = 2,064,091
MG = 488,065
NS = 360,534
SBR = 93,486
SBS = 124,079

Top five states with AOW
1. TX = 6,169
2. CA = 3,698
3. FL = 3,113
4. MN = 2,633
5. VA = 2,514

Top five states with DD
1. CA = 212,800
2. VA = 161,841
3. TX = 159,805
4. PA = 148,700
5. WY = 102,723

Top five states with MG
1. VA = 30,220
2. FL = 29,128
3. CA = 28,774
4. TX = 28,690
5. IL = 24,651

Top five states with NS
1. TX = 47,712
2. GA = 29,259
3. FL = 28,312
4. IN = 16,735
5. AZ = 15,860

Top five states with SBR
1. TX = 9,271
2. FL = 7,432
3. VA = 6,720
4. CA = 5,492
5. PA = 3,853

Top five states with SBS
1. PA = 12,323
2. CA = 12,166
3. GA = 9,422
4. IN = 8,581
5. NY = 7,342

Top five states with most Title 2
1. CA = 268,479
2. TX = 258,204
3. VA =223,303
4. FL = 175,528
5. IL = 112,931

Top five states with the most FFL/SOT in FY2011
1. TX = 477
2. FL = 379
3. AZ = 275
4. PA = 198
5. OH = 186

Top five states with the most FFL in FY2011
1. TX = 8,912
2. CA = 7,535
3. FL = 6,374
4. MO = 5,990
5. PA = 5,649

 

[drsfmd]

Top five states with SBS
1. PA = 12,323
2. CA = 12,166
3. GA = 9,422
4. IN = 8,581
5. NY = 7,342

Huh? SBS are not legal in NY... unless that's 7,342 Serbu Super Shorty's registered as AOWs.

Can anyone shed light on that stat?

 

[AlexanderA]

Wow. Lots of grist for thought here.

It seems obvious that the vast majority of registered NFA items are police department holdings or other "non-transferables."

To wit:

2/3 of all registered items are Destructive Devices. (Over 2 million!)

California leads the list with the most registered items. Illinois makes the top 5. (In spite of their restrictive laws.)

California and Illinois are in the top 5 for registered machine guns.

(This list would be more useful if it broke out just the items that would be eligible for civilian ownership.)

 

[wally]

What exactly are "Destructive Devices"?

I know shotguns greater bore than 12 gauge can be classified this way, and wasn't the Street Sweeper shotgun declared one retroactively during the Clinton era, but other than artillery and its ammo, how would over 2 million of them be registered yet not be commonly known?

Although looking at the state breakout, maybe its stuff in National Guard armories.

 

[AlexanderA]

The stuff in National Guard armories would not be in the NFA registry.

I would guess the 2 million Destructive Devices are mostly held by the police. (CS gas grenades spring to mind.)

 

[Landric]

I suspect most of the destructive devices are flash bangs held by LE agencies. I don't think CS or other gas grenades are considered DDs. Other destructive devices include 40mm launchers, 20mm rifles/cannons, and street sweeper like shotguns.

I suspect all the SBSs registered in NY are LE guns, AOWs are AOWs and wouldn't be listed as SBSs.

 

[clarence222]

Some of the weapons could simply be grandfathered in. I'm thinking I read somewhere that MGs were legal in Illinois up until 1972. Those that were already there and legal of course would've been grandfathered in. Not 100%to sure on that but it would explain a lot especially if other states were the same.

 

[wally]

Those that were already there and legal of course would've been grandfathered in.

Are these stats for the total registry as Mar 2012 or for some time interval like fiscal 2011?

Even as totals I'm surprised there are more MG than NS and so few SBRs.

 

[AlexanderA]

I don't think CS or other gas grenades are considered DDs.

The legal definition of "destructive device" includes any "poison gas" grenade. The question then becomes whether CS gas (or similar disabling gas) qualifies as "poison gas." There's also been some question raised recently over whether the fuzes of military grenades, including smoke grenades and gas grenades, are destructive devices in themselves, since they can be used as components of certain improvised fragmentation grenades. Standard military smoke grenades have recently been taken off the civilian market because of this issue. (ALS no longer sells them.)

Considering that this is a gray area, police departments would be wise to go ahead and register them with ATF, since this costs them nothing.

This may or may not explain the inflated numbers of registered DDs. (We should also add LE flash-bangs to the mix.)

 

[Dr.Rob]

I suspect it's because California is where the movie industry is

 

[Prosser]

More likely we have more LEO, who may own such stuff. They can only convey it to another LEO, pretty much, so the numbers are a bit deceptive.

 

[Quiet]

The amount of registered weapons also includes those possesed by FFL/SOT and state/local law enforcement agencies.

Are these stats for the total registry as Mar 2012 or for some time interval like fiscal 2011?

Even as totals I'm surprised there are more MG than NS and so few SBRs.

Stats are as March 2012.

 

[Quiet]

Comparison stats...

Totals as of 12-2010
AOW = 52,676
DD = 1,864,522
MG = 456,930
NS = 285,087
SBR = 74,729
SBS = 116,462

Totals as of 03-2012
AOW = 54,649
DD = 2,064,091
MG = 488,065
NS = 360,534
SBR = 93,486
SBS = 124,079

So, in 15 months...
AOW = + 1,973
DD = + 199,569
MG = + 31,135
NS = + 75,447
SBR = + 18,757
SBS = + 7,617

 

[AlexanderA]

So, in 15 months...
AOW = + 1,973
DD = + 199,569
MG = + 31,135
NS = + 75,447
SBR = + 18,757
SBS = + 7,617

From this, we can surmise that the increase in DD's is due largely to consumable munitions (and not to things like artillery or big-bore guns), and that these munitions are in the hands of law enforcement agencies. Thus, there's stockpiling going on by the LE agencies. This may be due to fear of riots and terrorism, and to a general "paramilitarization" of the police.

The MG's must represent a mixture of LE weapons and "post-sample" holdings by SOT manufacturers and dealers. None of the increase, obviously, is attributable to transferables available to civilians.

 

[Prosser]

My guess would be that LEO are preparing for what is inevitable:
Pretty much wars with the gangs similar to what is already occuring in Mexico.
Same gangs moving into the US, along with a bunch of others.

LEO has a meeting about gangs, and the information is pretty scary. If I was
LEO I would not want to face 13's, 14's, or some of the others without equal hardware.

 

[Prince Yamato]

For the SBS in NY: I bet it has to do with the Ithaca Stakeout. The Ithaca Gun company used to be one of the largest suppliers of LEO shotguns- including a 14" riot gun.

 

[jman74]

Ca, Tx, NY, Fl, Il, and Pa are the six most populous states and account for just about 40% of the entire population of the nation. This could be why those six states account for the majority of the entries on the lists.

 

[kozak6]

What is the origin of these statistics?

The amount of DD's is surprising. There are more DD's than all the rest put together. I guess it makes sense, though, if it includes various police explosive devices.

I assume the NS designation is for suppressors. I've never seen it expressed quite that way before. What does it stand for?

 

[Landric]

I suspect NS stands for "noise suppressor". As for the DDs, the registry includes all the PD registered flash-bangs, that is why there are so many DDs.