Survey shows gun ownership declining?

Status
Not open for further replies.
Yes, the same folks are buying more than their fair share of firearms. I know I haven't bought a firearm since 2013. And now all the ammunition for that firearm has been sucked into a blackhole somewhere.
 
[sarcasm on] Of course firearm ownership is declining. That clearly explains the constant downward spiral of NICS checks and the glut of ammunition on all the gun store shelves. [sarcasm off]


NICS%202007%20thru%20feb%202015_zpszkl0meag.gif

This is monthly NICS data from Jan, 2007 through Feb 2015.

If people aren't buying guns, who's running up the background check totals?
 
denton said:
[sarcasm on] Of course firearm ownership is declining. That clearly explains the constant downward spiral of NICS checks and the glut of ammunition on all the gun store shelves. [sarcasm off]

This is monthly NICS data from Jan, 2007 through Feb 2015.

If people aren't buying guns, who's running up the background check totals?
Click to expand...

The article said gun sales are increasing but the percentage of households that own guns is declining. That would imply the number of guns per owner is increasing.

I fit that scenario. For two decades I owned exactly one gun. Then in the past 2 years I purchased 6.
 
^^^^ This. Those under thirty buying firearms have been raised on shooter games and they aren't coveting a Weatherby bolt action. It's all about milsurps and issue weapons they see in the news and in games.

Since the AWB had it's sunset old school guns have taken a dive and every major Brand offers an AR15. Even Mossberg.

Now, tell them that 5.56 is going to be outlawed.
 
I think ammunition sales would be far more accurate in estimating gun ownership. No matter how many guns you own, you only have so much time to pull the trigger. If you adjusted the numbers for the increasing rate of semi-auto weapons being sold in the last couple decades (would have to survey range users to see how the numbers vary for semi/manual shooting totals) you could probably get even closer. It'd be like estimating population based on mass of food sold and eating habits; not exact, but trends would show through

There are more shooters than ever before
They each own more guns than ever before
More of them are women and minorities than ever
More of them are young than in recent history
They are shooting more, and more often
They are carrying their guns more
They are more responsible than ever before

TCB
 
Several have touched on the surveys premise that the number of households having guns has gone down - but the number of guns per owner has gone up.

Okay - tin foil sombrero time (or papal mitre considering what I'm about to say) -

given the proclivities of this administration's attempts at "bending" the rules to fit a narrative - is it possible the entire study was commissioned for the specific purpose of being used as reference material in a piece of anti-gun legislation? perhaps aimed at limiting the number of guns that can be held by "reasonable people"

/hat off.
 
What dframe suggested. Bovine fecal matter. The media is agenda driven and trying to show that while there are more firearms in public hands than before, that fewer individuals have them than before; thus the declining popularity. Yeah, sure.
 
Survey shows gun ownership declining?


Maybe, maybe not. Given enough money, I'll design a survey that proves chickens have lips. Given more money to throw around as grants, I'll get a thousand "scientists" to sign on to it. Whoever pays for a "survey" or "study" gets the results they seek.
 
Seems to be the opposite in my area. People seem to be arming themselves more. Alot of my friends have come to me lately regarding what they should get, etc, some quite surprising. According to local cwp instructors the amount of females has grown alot. What used to me 90 percent male classes are now commony 50/50 male to female ratio.
 
...And according to this article, California in 2014 broke its previous record for handgun sales by about 80,000. Long gun sales dipped by 120,000 between 2013 and 2014, but STILL represented the third highest number of sales on record.

http://townhall.com/tipsheet/mattve...a-had-a-record-year-in-handgun-sales-n1966067

Not saying that California represents the entire country in terms of firearm sales -- but there's definitely something fishy in that Chicago "survey"...

.
 
That poll just proves that you can make a poll say anything you want if you prepare the question properly.

I learned in college that there are 3 kinds of lies!

1. Lies
2. Political lies
3. Statistics

And no, I don't own any guns. Not since the terrible boating accident.
 
A survey conducted among liberals at the University of Chicongo does not exactly speak for the United States.
 
Irrespective of the polling criteria or the source, the results just seem illogical. Based on the financial and volume performance of leading gun manufacturers in the past 3-4 years which have seen sales revenue and volume at record or near-record rates, it's hard to imagine that people are discarding their guns at an even-greater rate. Assuming this is so, it is not possible for the total of guns owned in the U.S. to be in decline.
It is likely that the rate of gun purchasing (rate of change in growth - or second derivative) in the past 12 months is in decline, or off it's previous peaks. But that is likely the anticipated reduction after the enormous buying rate in prior years. And in fact recent numbers from S&W indicate that they are now rebounding from a few tough quarters.
It's generally recommended that when you see the results of a poll you step back and analyze the logic behind the polling techniques, assumption and results. And without casting aspersions on the polling group, this just can't be right.
B
 
B!ngoFuelUSN said:
Irrespective of the polling criteria or the source, the results just seem illogical. Based on the financial and volume performance of leading gun manufacturers in the past 3-4 years which have seen sales revenue and volume at record or near-record rates, it's hard to imagine that people are discarding their guns at an even-greater rate. Assuming this is so, it is not possible for the total of guns owned in the U.S. to be in decline....
Click to expand...

It is entirely possible for the number of households with guns to be in decline while gun manufacturers are seeing record sales. It all depends on who is buying guns. Is it new owners buying their first gun or existing owners filling the safe and then buying another safe to fill. I see a lot of the later, existing owners buying more guns.

Demographics also come into play. Older people are more likely to own a gun than young people. Baby Boomers are dying while at the same time Gen Y is going out on their own establishing a household. This generation is also delaying getting married much later than previous generations. So you have a generation with low gun ownership rates maintaining separate households for longer.

The reality is there is no real data to know how many people in the USA own a gun or how many they own. The data does not exist. Some limited study could be done in some states that have a registry.
 
We all know stats can be made and presented with info to show whatever the presenter wants it to show.
 
JSH1 said:
It is entirely possible for the number of households with guns to be in decline while gun manufacturers are seeing record sales. It all depends on who is buying guns. Is it new owners buying their first gun or existing owners filling the safe and then buying another safe to fill. I see a lot of the later, existing owners buying more guns.
Click to expand...

Gun sales are a good number to start with. But doesn't give the whole picture. Those who have entire gun rooms or multiple full gun safes offset the number of new buyers. A more helpful number is looking up the number of concealed carry permits issued by state/county from one year to another. Especially comparing from one year to another. Below is a link of carry permits in my current state. Since Alabama renewals are yearly (up until a few months ago when 1-5 years can be renewed) it is easy to monitor trends.

http://www.al.com/news/index.ssf/2014/09/washington_county_has_highest.html
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

needmorecowbell
  • Locked
Gun ownership on the decline?
2
Replies
47
Views
2K
Carl N. Brown
Carl N. Brown
hso
Gunowners surveys...shy a few
Replies
21
Views
1K
AlexanderA
A
R
  • Locked
According to the VPC, gun ownership is dropping...
2
Replies
40
Views
2K
eidsvolling
E
E
  • Locked
Gun show, decline in quality?
2 3 4 5
Replies
116
Views
7K
mortablunt
M
G
  • Locked
We always talk about statistiics
Replies
3
Views
498
Zanad
Z
Back
Top