How many gun shops in the US?

[Monkeyleg]

The thread about the number of gunowners in the US got me to thinking about how many actual storefront gun shops are left. During the 90's, Clinton bragged about the number of licensed gun dealers who had been put out of business.

Ten or more years ago, we had almost double the number of stores here in Milwaukee that we have now.

Would anyone hazard a guess as to how many actual storefront dealers there are left?

 

[Traveler]

30% of the total FFL list. It's rough, but close.

It should also be noted that there are still more FFL's than there are McDonalds in the USA.

 

[FPrice]

"It should also be noted that there are still more FFL's than there are McDonalds in the USA."

Two points immediately pop to mind about this statement.

1. I have traveled this land quite a bit and have found a McDonald's in many different places that I have not seen a gun shop.

2. What does it matter?

 

[FPrice]

I just did a quick search and found this reference on a McDonald's corporate website:

"More than 30,000 local McDonald’s restaurants serve 47 million customers each day in more than 100 countries,"

Now to find how many gunstores there are. Taking into account large chains like Dick's (sporting goods), WalMart, and others, there may very well be more stores where you can buy guns than a McDonald's hamburger.

But my second question still stands.

 

[Mark Tyson]

Clinton's rules affected hobbyists and collectors - ie the occasional seller - more than regular gun shops.

I think Traveler was just trying to illustrate that there's a lot of gun shops left in the country. The "More gun stores than _____" line is used a lot in blissninny propaganda though.

Actually we would be better off as a nation with more people going to gun shops and fewer going to fast food joints.

 

[Justin]

"It should also be noted that there are still more FFL's than there are McDonalds in the USA."

Does that include C&R holders as well?