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How many guns are really out there?

5956 Views 57 Replies 27 Participants Last post by  Levant
We always hear these estimates of roughly 80 million gun owners and roughly 300-350 million guns out there. it got me thinking that roughly 4 guns per gun owner. How many people do you know that only 4 guns? How many people do you know that have under 10? Personally of all the gun owners i know well enough to know how many guns they have in every instance the number is higher than 4 and all but 1 or 2 have more then 10 guns. Many have 30, 40 and i know quite a few where the numbers are a 100 or more Yes I'm sure there are lots of people who only own 1 or 2 guns but how many people that own 4 or less are there compared to the people who own much more than 4? So do you guys think the number of gun owners they say is higher than it should be or do you think the number of guns they say are out there is much much lower than what it really is? Personally I'm thinking the 300-350 million guns is much lower than reality.
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I think you might be right in questioning the figures, but, I am glad that it is really hard to know for sure, and it is a question best left a mystery, as I am sure you would agree. The less government knows about these figures, the better off we all are. Like you I know people who own a fairly large number of firearms, and some only a few, but I do not know anyone who only owns one.
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"They" don't know how many guns are in civilian hands. And I have often questioned the actual NRA Membership number, just as I question how many Illegal Immigrants and Aliens we have in our country. I just don't trust the numbers "They" provide.

In all instances concerning these types of estimates and "actual" numbers, Consider the Source.
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It's always fun when you see a raid on TV, and the news describes the individual's "arsenal", and you think to yourself *pfft amateur"...
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imo over 400 million. The real number is unknown though I'm well sure it exceeds 400 mill. Just look at all the firearms alone coming into America everyday to be sold. Just for example in recent years look how many Mosin Nagants (all designations) and Nagant pistols were coming in and being sold. Just look at how many build their own firearms now during this craze or fad of the 80% now a days. Look how many come in illegally from mexico. The true number I'm sure will never be known.
The number of guns is inconsequential in that a person can only operate with effectivity, "one-gun-at-a-time".
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imo over 400 million. The real number is unknown though I'm well sure it exceeds 400 mill. .....
I highly suspect the number is a lot closer to 1-2 BILLION. If you look here ----> https://www.fbi.gov/file-repository/nics_firearm_checks_-_month_year.pdf/view

..... there were 322,891,499 NICS checks since Nov. 1998 through Aug. 2019. That doesn't include firearms made before Nov. 1998, or build in someone's basement.
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I highly suspect the number is a lot closer to 1-2 BILLION. If you look here ----> https://www.fbi.gov/file-repository/nics_firearm_checks_-_month_year.pdf/view

..... there were 322,891,499 NICS checks since Nov. 1998 through Aug. 2019. That doesn't include firearms made before Nov. 1998, or build in someone's basement.
That's a very happy number.

I hope a good percentage of them vote...
I highly suspect the number is a lot closer to 1-2 BILLION. If you look here ----> https://www.fbi.gov/file-repository/nics_firearm_checks_-_month_year.pdf/view

..... there were 322,891,499 NICS checks since Nov. 1998 through Aug. 2019. That doesn't include firearms made before Nov. 1998, or build in someone's basement.


I tend to agree that the numbers are probably closer to a billion but the NICS numbers can throw you off as well. Is that all of them, pass and fail or just pass? Also many used guns are sold over and over through guns shops and UBC's so you would counting the same guns over and over. I do wonder where they got the figure. Did they just start keeping track of what was manufactured and imported at a certain date or did someone toss a dart at some numbers on a board? What about all the guns that aren't sold just sitting in gun shops around the country, are they counted? I realize there is no way to figure this out and certainly don't think the govt should know, just more curious where these numbers came from and if people think they are right or wrong.
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Seems like whoever starts the business for disposing seized guns, will make a fortune.

Wood Plant Twig
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Seems like whoever starts the business for disposing seized guns, will make a fortune.
Benchmade?
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We always hear these estimates of roughly 80 million gun owners and roughly 300-350 million guns out there. it got me thinking that roughly 4 guns per gun owner. How many people do you know that only 4 guns? How many people do you know that have under 10? Personally of all the gun owners i know well enough to know how many guns they have in every instance the number is higher than 4 and all but 1 or 2 have more then 10 guns. Many have 30, 40 and i know quite a few where the numbers are a 100 or more Yes I'm sure there are lots of people who only own 1 or 2 guns but how many people that own 4 or less are there compared to the people who own much more than 4? So do you guys think the number of gun owners they say is higher than it should be or do you think the number of guns they say are out there is much much lower than what it really is? Personally I'm thinking the 300-350 million guns is much lower than reality.
When I got my first gun, a handgun, it was the only gun I had for about two and a half years and then I got my second gun, a shotgun. For many years those were the only two guns I had. It wasn't until about twelve years later that I started getting more guns. Now I've got over 20 guns.
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"Now I've got over 20 guns."

Sounds like the "normal" evolution, all over time.
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I had several guns before the boating accident. Now not more than a few.
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Now I've got over 20 guns.
If you know how many guns you have, you don't have enough guns.
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You know, not for nothing, I too always thought 5 or 6 million people in the nra was a small number for the whole United States.
I had several guns before the boating accident. Now not more than a few.
Gun owners should just never own boats...
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It's always fun when you see a raid on TV, and the news describes the individual's "arsenal", and you think to yourself *pfft amateur"...
"10 guns and over 8000 rounds of ammunition"

What ? ONLY 800 rounds per gun ?
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"10 guns and over 8000 rounds of ammunition"

What ? ONLY 800 rounds per gun ?
Right?

800 Rounds is a trip to the range.

I'll never understand why having a good stock of ammunition became something nefarious.
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