How many guns per American are there?

[JeffsSig]

This maybe silly questions to ask.

How many Guns have been sold in the US?

How many are still out there?

How many guns per American are there?

Just some thoughts that crossed my mind. Is there a place online to find this info?

[Guest Sgt. Joe]

I have seen estimates of 80 million gun owners....cant remember where though.

I would think that most who own one, actually own several, add all the collectors who own scores ( I have a friend who has near 100).

I would think all added together that there is at least 2 or 3 guns for every American citizen today, if not more.

But that is just random guessing by a total non expert on anything...

[Guest jackdm3]

You've got this:

WikiAnswers - How many guns are in the united states of America

Then you've got this:

WikiAnswers - How many guns are there in the world right now

America: Billions????

Which leads to this mess:

How many guns are sold annually in the U.S. and around the world? | Answerbag

Which gets us back to something more sane:

How many guns are owned by private owners in the world and where can I find the complete audio to the DC case? - Yahoo! Answers

[Guest oldsmobile98]

There's a gun control group in Switzerland that puts out the Small Arms Survey every year. I'd cautiously trust their numbers on this, but remember that they have an agenda. Their 2007 survey estimates about 90 civilian firearms for every 100 Americans (270 million firearms, 300 million people). Lots of interesting stuff on that website if you dig around.

Source: Ch. 2, page 47 of the 2007 Small Arms Survey. It's a .pdf file. Don't look at page 1 unless you want to cry.

http://www.smallarmssurvey.org/files/sas/publications/year_b_pdf/2007/CH2-Stockpiles.pdf

----------------------

Some of those question/answer sites have some pretty funny responses/comments.

One comment:

i happen to no for a fact that in 1999 there where 215 million guns in the us so there are a lot more than 200 million

Good to "no".

Another guy's response to a different question at another link:

4.6 billion each year are sold in america and american holds 1/3 of all the guns in the world.

Haha, that would be about 15 firearms sold per American per year! Edited April 2, 2010 by oldsmobile98

[Guest jackdm3]

Desite all I hear about the armitude of the Swiss, this happens more than once:

Armed robbers raid Swiss casino - CNN.com

[Guest Catdaddy]

Short answer- not enough....

[Guest oldsmobile98]

This is slightly off-topic, but it is related to the amount of firearms per capita.

I posted a comment in response to an article in the Vanderbilt student newspaper on the Senate. Guns aren't the main topic, but he mentioned 'em, so I will include the firearm-related excerpts.

He wrote:

For example, people waste countless hours debating the precise meaning of the Second Amendment, which completely misses the point. Guns and society are very different today than they were hundreds of years ago, so the Founding Fathers’ opinions on them are irrelevant to today’s debate. Instead of trying to decipher the Second Amendment, we should ask questions like, “Is it good for our society to have nearly one gun per person?†or “Would it be possible to enact effective methods to regulate guns when there are already so many?†We should not ask, “What did *insert Founding Father here* think about guns?†That would be tantamount to asking Henry Ford to come up with modern-day vehicular safety standards.

I wrote:

Later, you say that we should ask the question, “Is it good for our society to have nearly one gun per person?†I know that this isn't the main point of your article, but I thought I'd address it. It's not good for violent criminals to have any firearms. If we're talking about peaceable, responsible American citizens? One firearm per person is not a bad start. But we should try to encourage the citizens of our republic to exercise their rights as much as possible. Really, you need different firearms for different tasks. A rifle can't do the job of a side arm, and vice versa. A basic arsenal should have at least one centerfire rifle, one shotgun, one centerfire handgun, and a .22 rifle. So, accounting for various adjustments (collectors' mint-condition guns that won't ever be shot; children who are too young or don't have a responsible adult to teach them gun safety and operation), I estimate that America should aim for perhaps double the current amount per capita. Of course, the new shooters should take the initiative to get proper training.

Link: Partisan politics threatens Senate efficacy | InsideVandy

[Guest Knightsr25]

I know at least 6 people with more than 600 [each person ]. Ive been just shy of 100 myself . But I still agree with [ not enough ]

[JeffsSig]

Ok so it is safe to say IF things hit the fan and a good guess is there is one gun per american (who can shoot) We are armed rather well.

If those who have more than one share.

[gregintenn]

I may skew the results slightly.

[I_Like_Pie]

I know at least 6 people with more than 600 [each person ]. Ive been just shy of 100 myself . But I still agree with [ not enough ]

LOL...My wife went into my "man" room the other day and did some counting. She said "You have more guns than you have clothes hanging in your closet?!?!?"

My response was "priorities my dear - I've got'em right!!!"

[Mike.357]

LOL...My wife went into my "man" room the other day and did some counting.

We have a don't ask/don't tell agreement. She does not ask how many and I offer no info. I do admit she has more shoes than I have guns though.

[Guest strelcevina]

i read somewhere, one of those gun magazines, that most of gun owners, have more than 5 guns.

[Guest mikedwood]

This is slightly off-topic, but it is related to the amount of firearms per capita.

I posted a comment in response to an article in the Vanderbilt student newspaper on the Senate. Guns aren't the main topic, but he mentioned 'em, so I will include the firearm-related excerpts.

He wrote:

I wrote:

Link: Partisan politics threatens Senate efficacy | InsideVandy

I really liked your response.

[mcurrier]

I know at least 6 people with more than 600 [each person ]. Ive been just shy of 100 myself . But I still agree with [ not enough ]

"We" have more guns than "they" do (by 100-fold I would guess). That's why "they" can't do what they really want right now and have to appear to be doing it legislatively. "We" will either reverse their this November and in 2012, or "they" will push it too far at some point, and then it's on baby. American Revolution: Part Deux.

[Chief07]

I agree with CatDaddy - Not Enough.

We have the Second Ammendment!

You can own as many as you can afford!

God Bless America!

[Chief07]

We have a don't ask/don't tell agreement. She does not ask how many and I offer no info. I do admit she has more shoes than I have guns though.

I love your humor Mike!

"You Da Man":D

[Guest db99wj]

Kinda surprised myself when I started counting them.

I need more. I need mo money.

[Mike.357]

I am hopeful to "up" the average this weekend.

[Bubba0031]

Problem is guns cost more than shoes

[Mike.357]

Problem is guns cost more than shoes

uhh, not always

[Bubba0031]

I had not thought about it but when I do I have to agree, your right.

[SpartaTN]

We have a don't ask/don't tell agreement. She does not ask how many and I offer no info. I do admit she has more shoes than I have guns though.

That's only because most guns don't come in pairs.... not ones you'd want to take out of the safe and shoot anyway...

[Guest db99wj]

uhh, not always

Mike, I'm thinking you had a conversation similar to this:

Mike: YOU PAID HOW MUCH FOR THAT PAIR OF SHOES?

Mike's Better half: Ummm, you paid how much for "X" gun?

Mike: Sh%*!

Next day.

Mike: Nice shoes.

Mike's Better Half: Yep. Nice gun.

[Patrick Henry]

I heard a # of yrs ago the avg American gun owner has 7. So multiply the # of gun owner by 7 for a rough estimate of # of guns in the hands of American citizens.