BeepOptical illusion
VictorClose, but the best estimates are there are 470 million guns in US civilian hands. With a population of 338 million, youâre looking at approximately 1.4 guns per person in this crazy land of free-dumb. đ
If it makes you feel better, most gun owners own many guns, so there isnât actually a gun in everyoneâs hands.
Just a lot of them in a few hands⌠Much betterâŚ
Some people are collectors, but a lot of people just have some old guns around.
Also if guns are a hobby or interest of yours, you are likely to own several. Just like people who are into headphones, mechanical keyboards, vintage gaming consoles, bicycles, etc.
Just like people who are into sarin, questionably stored viral samples, bombs, gillotines, etc.
You can call these things âcollectablesâ but their nature doesnât change because you put a friendly term to it. It is psychologically fucked up to stockpile lethal weapons that can only be used for taking life without even having a practical application in mind.
starman2112Iâm going to push back a little bit. For one thing, have you ever gone hunting? Some would say that taking life (specifically deers and rabbits and stuff) is a practical application. For two, sport shooting is a thing. Being good at using a weapon can be rewarding in and of itself, whether youâre talking about guns, bows, slingshots, or throwing knives.
I was about to compare it to telescopes. Most people donât have one, most people who have one only have one, but a few of us have upwards of five
That dude would have been shot so damn quickly in Texas.
Most gun owners have more than one. If youâre a hunter, you might want to shoot different rounds for different game or seasons.
My state bans the use of rifles for deer hunting in most circumstances. In that example, youâd want 12ga for deer hunting, 20ga for duck, and 5.56 would be used for coyotes, boar, or groundhogs. And if you go boar hunting youâll want a sidearm (9mm or .45) because theyâll gore you if they get the chance.
So that totals 4 guns for a single person with decent reasoning. Plus, if you had kids and took them hunting, youâd want at least 1 more of each type.
And for people who live in non-rural areas, you might decide to concealed carry a 9mm for protection. But handguns arenât as ideal for home defense, so you might want a shotgun or 9mm carbine for that task, so thatâd be 2 guns for 1 person.
BuelldozerClose, but the best estimates are there are 470 million guns in US civilian hands.
Thatâs the the lower boundary. The real number is probably closer to a billion.
You have to remember that untold millions of firearms were sold before anyone really started keeping track, no federal authority was keeping track before 1968ish, and that firearms will easily last a century if they are not fired too often and given even a minimum amount of care.
I myself inherited several pre-'68 firearms that would never have been counted. My 90 year old father in law has a dozen or more that he inherited or bought (western ranching family) that are still functional despite being manufactured over a century ago!
To put a fine point on the issue; into the 1970âs you could buy firearms off the shelf at hardware stores or even CoD via mail order. 470 million is a low number.