‘Nearly One-Third of Gun Owners Have Used Gun in Self-Defense,’ Says Report

[LiberalVet]

I find that part particularly hard to believe. Admittedly, based on my experiences and when talking with others, still 3 in 10 is a lot. I could also just be wrong and the study could just be right.

I also have to wonder how many of them were legal/justifiable incidents. A lot of what I hear people pulling a weapon for is at least unnecessary and at worst illegal.

I came here to specifically post my skepticism, but upon a broader definition of ‘used’ I in fact once used my Mossberg 20 gauge pump to scare off a coyote who was trying to lure my dog into the woods as a special guest for dinner. I lived on 40 acres in upstate New York near Albany at the time, and thank God for the Invisible Fence I installed.

So, yes I am one of the 31% who used, and one of a smaller percent who actually discharged my firearm to protect my family and property. I’ve never thought of it that way before. It was just common sense to have a gun when you live rural.

 

[Carl N. Brown]

John Lott's 2002 Defensive Gun Use survey used screening questions:
_ "I'm a research student doing a short survey on crime.
_ "May I have about a minute of your time?
_ "In the past twelve months have you been in a threatening situation?" (A threatening situation being where the respondent or another person had been threatened by another person.)
_ If the answer was "yes" the subject was asked "How did you respond?"
_ For demographic purposes (to weigh respondents in proportion to US population), all respondents were asked their age by decade, race, and if sex was not obvious from voice, their sex.
_ The number of "yes" responders worked out to about two million defenders per year for Lott 2002. (Less than the 2.4 million defenders of the Kleck and Gertz NSDS 1993, more than the 1.5 million defenders of Cook & Ludwig NSPOF 1994; NSPOF also asked number of times and got 4.7 million defensive gun users divided among 1.5 million defenders.)

The 2021 National Firearms Survey asked all repondents who said they owned guns if they had ever used a gun in self defense, then divided the number of self defenders by the average age of the positive defenders (30 years) to get 1.6 million per year. (For survey purposes, Lott considered memory of events older than a year to be untrustworthy; Kleck & Gertz considered memory of events older than five years to be untrustworthy.) It would nice to read the 2021 NFS introductory spiel, the questions asked, etc,, but the use of lifetime recall (averaging 30 years) puts too much trust on the respondent's memory.

 

[P5 Guy]

LAPD and never once fired a shot in anger

Bad guys tend to behave when police are present

 

[SDGlock23]

A third? I find that one a bit hard to believe honestly. Even 10% sounds high to me.

 

[JTHunter]

A third? I find that one a bit hard to believe honestly. Even 10% sounds high to me.

Then there is the question of how many people are truthful and accurate on polls.

 

[scratcherky]

I do not believe this data at all. It would surprise if it exceeded 5 percent.

 

[tmd16556]

As someone who does and teaches social science data analysis, a few things here. Surveys use self reporting on things, thus “use” of a firearm may be firing at a person for some, pulling a gun out of a drawer because you heard a police helicopter searching your neighborhood for a fugitive, or drawing a pistol on that opossum that snuck up behind you at the fire pit late one night.

There are also response biases. A lot of people here are white, rural, conservatives who tend to distrust government institutions. These same people also tend to rarely answer surveys (this is a big reason for polls underestimating Republican performance in the past few elections) compared to their urban liberal counterparts. This may also be getting at gun owners beyond what we see as the typical “gun guy”.

Plus, a national survey is hard. They used a gigantic sample to get decent numbers for small states. That means the big four (CA, TX, NY, FL) will dominate the data. You also have to make some sacrifices in accuracy and randomization to get good coverage at a reasonable cost.

 

[JohnKSa]

After having read through the paper and this thread, my unscientific opinion is that nearly 1/3 of posters on this thread didn't bother to read the paper before forming an opinion and posting a response...

 

[Double Naught Spy]

Now how can so many people not believe this survey, yet so many gun owners are quick to point to John Lott's stats that gun owners use guns for self defense millions of times a year?

 

[Deanimator]

I find that part particularly hard to believe.

I find it VERY easy to believe.

I'd wager that a large percentage of uses of firearms in a self-defense context do not involve shots fired or a call to the police.

The last time I had to use a firearm in self-defense it was on a deserted stretch of highway when somebody tried to force a friend and me off of the highway in the middle of the night, probably pursuant to a carjacking. He saw a loaded HK93-A3 pointed at him through the windshield and fled at warp speed. This happened in the middle of the night, in the middle of nowhere, in '83 or '84 when cell phones were science fiction. Not only did we not have any way to contact the police, we didn't even know where the closest town was and no Google Maps to find it.

And that leaves aside the fact that depending upon where you live, it may be inadvisable to contact the police when no shots were fired and your wouldbe (probable convicted felon) assailant fled, never to be seen again.

 

[Carl N. Brown]

Lott and Mustard's DGU statistics are about 2 million per year.
Kleck and Gertz' NSDS survey about 2.4 million per year.
Cook and Ludvig's NSPOF survey pretty much like Kleck & Gertz.
So 2021 National Firearms Survey gets 1.6 million per year based on 30+% of gunowners having a DGU in their adult lifetime (averaging 30 years).

 

[coloradokevin]

There are some great statistics in this survey! Thanks for sharing. I think it provides some nice credentialed backing to counter some of the arguments from the anti-gun crowd, especially when they throw around made-up statistics about how guns are supposedly never used for self-defense.

 

[coloradokevin]

I find it VERY easy to believe.

I'd wager that a large percentage of uses of firearms in a self-defense context do not involve shots fired or a call to the police.

The last time I had to use a firearm in self-defense it was on a deserted stretch of highway when somebody tried to force a friend and me off of the highway in the middle of the night, probably pursuant to a carjacking. He saw a loaded HK93-A3 pointed at him through the windshield and fled at warp speed. This happened in the middle of the night, in the middle of nowhere, in '83 or '84 when cell phones were science fiction. Not only did we not have any way to contact the police, we didn't even know where the closest town was and no Google Maps to find it.

And that leaves aside the fact that depending upon where you live, it may be inadvisable to contact the police when no shots were fired and your wouldbe (probable convicted felon) assailant fled, never to be seen again.

I agree with this. I had a somewhat similar use the first time I used a firearm for self-defense: very rural area, no cellphones available, and the show of force was sufficient to end the encounter without any violence.

By the way, for as long as I've seen you posting on here, I don't think I ever realized that you lived in my hometown until I saw this post. I grew up off Walter Rd. in N.O.

 

[Deanimator]

I agree with this. I had a somewhat similar use the first time I used a firearm for self-defense: very rural area, no cellphones available, and the show of force was sufficient to end the encounter without any violence.

By the way, for as long as I've seen you posting on here, I don't think I ever realized that you lived in my hometown until I saw this post. I grew up off Walter Rd. in N.O.

A deceased friend and fellow club member lived on Walter Rd.

 

[theotherwaldo]

Over the last 57 years, I have defended myself and those that look to me, with gun in hand, seven times from man, animal and that which goes bump in the night.

I do not think that it is remarkable that almost a third of respondents that admit to at one point owning a firearm would also admit to using it to defend themselves.

I am amazed and amused that there are so many members of this board that do find this statistic to be unlikely... .

 

[CryptKeeper5]

That's a WHOLE lotta BS there...NO WAY have 1/3 of gun owners used their firearm for self defense. I bet only 1/3 of gun owners even SHOOT their firearms. I know a number of owners who simply collect them but rarely if ever shoot them. I bet the number is less that 1%. There's a HUGE difference in a PERCIEVED threat to a REAL one. Just because you're passing through a sketchy part of town and decide to have your weapon at the ready does NOT mean there's a clear threat. And IF you are using it that often....it's time to move. Who makes up this hokey tripe???

 

[Deanimator]

That's a WHOLE lotta BS there...NO WAY have 1/3 of gun owners used their firearm for self defense. I bet only 1/3 of gun owners even SHOOT their firearms. I know a number of owners who simply collect them but rarely if ever shoot them. I bet the number is less that 1%. There's a HUGE difference in a PERCIEVED threat to a REAL one. Just because you're passing through a sketchy part of town and decide to have your weapon at the ready does NOT mean there's a clear threat. And IF you are using it that often....it's time to move. Who makes up this hokey tripe???

I "perceived" somebody trying to run me off the highway. He "perceived" that if he persisted, he was going to get shot.

"Move"? Move WHERE? It's a good thing that people like Alton Coleman are stopped by anti-crime forcefields, so that they can't travel cross-country, committing robberies, rapes, carjackings and murders as they go...

 

[Deanimator]

Over the last 57 years, I have defended myself and those that look to me, with gun in hand, seven times from man, animal and that which goes bump in the night.

I do not think that it is remarkable that almost a third of respondents that admit to at one point owning a firearm would also admit to using it to defend themselves.

I am amazed and amused that there are so many members of this board that do find this statistic to be unlikely... .

Some people have a powerful urge to block out unpleasant reality. I see it in my own family, even in those with personal knowledge of that which they deny.