I Want to Know

Status
Not open for further replies.
P5 Guy

P5 Guy

Member
Joined
Apr 13, 2004
Messages
4,106
Location
Tampa Bay area
I would like to know what the ratio is comparing agency sales to commercial/private gun sales?
I'm guessing that all the government (federal, state and local) out number private sales. By how much is the crux of my wondering. Seeing the number of sales over the past decade makes me think the commercial market is approaching the agency sales number.
 
I would think there is no contest, that commercial/private sales would far outnumber sales to government. I perused the linked information. One thing that caught my eye was the number of FFLs. During the Clinton administration, he indicated he would like to eliminate 3/4 of the FFLs. It would appear that he was successful in that effort......
 
lysanderxiii said:
https://www.atf.gov/resource-center/docs/2016-firearms-commerce-united-states/download

There are somewhere around one and a half to two million LEOs in the US. That is roughly 7 per 1000 citizens.

You can figure out which is the bigger market.
Click to expand...
Yeah, and I’ll take it a step further. Polls suggest that approximately 30% of Americans own a gun. And that figure is probably low: many Americans probably would claim to a pollster that they don’t own guns when they actually do (I know I would).

https://www.cnn.com/2018/02/15/politics/guns-dont-know-how-many-america/index.html

So, that means the ratio of LEOs is at the very least 7 per 300 gun owners. Also, I’d guess that the average police department owns fewer guns per LEO than the average gun owner owns.

Yes, I think it’s safe to say that the market for civilian guns is way bigger than the market for LEO guns. That said, having the police carry a specific manufacturer’s guns is a big marketing tool to sell more guns to the cilivilan market, so I’d guess that the LEO market is disproportionately valuable to some gun companies for marketing reasons.
 
Last edited:
"Agency" arms will stay in inventory for 10 or more years before being replaced. The feebs can be very slow on this. The military is often even slower. They might buy a half-million arms in a go, but not buy anymore for 12 or 15 years, Which is not that many in a month.It's germane here to note that the US military is only 0.75% (that includes NG & reserves) of the US population.
 
stchman said:
By this are you asking the number of firearms sold to agencies(FBI, police, Federal, etc.) compared to firearms sold to civilians? I would think the civilians/commercial FAR outweigh agencies.
Click to expand...

Yes that is what I'd like to know.
Interesting information, thanks to all. So, there are more sales to private hands.
 
Last edited:
Theohazard said:
Yeah, and I’ll take it a step further. Polls suggest that approximately 30% of Americans own a gun. And that figure is probably low: many Americans probably would claim to a pollster that they don’t own guns when they actually do (I know I would).

https://www.cnn.com/2018/02/15/politics/guns-dont-know-how-many-america/index.html

So, that means the ratio of LEOs is at the very least 7 per 300 gun owners. Also, I’d guess that the average police department owns fewer guns per LEO than the average gun owner owns.

Yes, I think it’s safe to say that the market for civilian guns is way bigger than the market for LEO guns. That said, having the police carry a specific manufacturer’s guns is a big marketing tool to sell more guns to the cilivilan market, so I’d guess that the LEO market is disproportionately valuable to some gun companies for marketing reasons.
Click to expand...
The fact that approximately 2 to 6 million guns are manufactured/imported each year, means that 2 to 6 million guns are purchased each year by someone. In order for LEO purchases to out number private sales at a minimum each department would have to purchase about one gun for each officer every year.

Then there is the used gun market...
 
CapnMac said:
"Agency" arms will stay in inventory for 10 or more years before being replaced. The feebs can be very slow on this. The military is often even slower. They might buy a half-million arms in a go, but not buy anymore for 12 or 15 years, Which is not that many in a month.It's germane here to note that the US military is only 0.75% (that includes NG & reserves) of the US population.
Click to expand...

The agency I worked for replaced all of their equipment every 5 years. That would include all of the sheriffs dept. equipment. Some of their vehicles lasted longer because they were on a 100,000 mile replacement schedule. Generally they never even looked at condition, they just replaced equipment when they were due. The waste of tax dollars was unbelievable.

The military is different. Sometimes they kept things in service for decades. One of our aircraft was 20 plus years old and still in service. The way they determined if an aircraft was to be taken out of service was weight. If it weighed more than a certain percentage of the new weight it headed for the bone yard.

I once purchased a Sig P220 LE trade in. It was 6 years old and in very good condition.
 
Last edited:
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

stevek
  • Locked
Question on selling...
Replies
23
Views
820
SCKimberFan
S
W
  • Locked
Bravo Zulu (well done) LaRue Tactical
Replies
1
Views
423
InkEd
I
C
  • Locked
The Decline of Gun Auction and Retail Sites
2
Replies
29
Views
2K
Caimlas
C
D
  • Locked
Military surplus ammo
Replies
3
Views
575
alsaqr
alsaqr
F
  • Locked
Well done Mark LaRue
Replies
23
Views
901
psyopspec
P
Back
Top