What's the gun in the average "one gun household?"

[BigN]

I'd say it was a 22 rifle or a 38 revolver.

 

[JohnBiltz]

Probably its all about location. I grew up in Ohio, in what was then a rural farming community. Everyone had at least one shotgun for pheasant or rabbit hunting. Out west its rifles. Urban I'd say its handguns.

 

[wrangler708]

It's either shotgun or .22 and... if you make me pick one I'd say .22.

 

[B!ngo]

45% of American households contain a firearm.

1% or less are hunters.

That rules out rifles and shotguns.

I would suspect the answer is a .38 revolver.

Ditto on the .38. I believe that more people own one for home/personal protection than any other single reason. And since gun's don't 'go bad' or generally 'wear out', the long tail, or accumulated number of .38's from other decades, from LEO sales, etc. likely dominate the single gun numbers. And people still buy these due to their apparent simplicity and cost.

 

[GCBurner]

I've visited family in a few rural areas around the country, and the guns propped in the corner or the closet for regular use were most often a .22 rifle or a single barrel shotgun in 12 or .410 gauge. Single-shot guns predominated, mostly because they're cheaper, and these guns are used as farm tools, not match guns or collectors' items.

 

[wyohome]

I believe that more people own one for home/personal protection than any other single reason

Again as a regional thing, I am the only person that I know with a 38. Others have handguns, but of other loadings. Here, handguns are used more for range toys than serious firearms.

 

[Axel Larson]

I agree with Shoobee but I would say that right now it would be a semiautomatic pistol that is in either 9mm or 40S&W. I have also read that the majority of gun owners have handguns.

 

[Byrd666]

Having been a "one gun" household in the past, mine was a snubby Ruger .357 until it was stolen. After that it was a 2.5" Smith .357 mag

But I would think, or agree that it would be some sort of hunting rifle or a "cheap" pump shotgun.

 

[JohnKSa]

I'd guess that, based on the "single gun" gun owners I've known, it's a .22 revolver for urban/suburban dwellers and a .22 rifle for rural folk.

 

[bscott29]

In Ohio you can't hunt deer with a rifle, but you can hunt deer, rabbit, pheasant squirrel and groundhogs with a shotgun. Most people have a Winchester, Remington or mossberg 12ga pump.

 

[tubeshooter]

Demographics seems to play a big role in the answers. Makes sense; different "single gun" households with different needs.

 

[Armored farmer]

In Ohio you can't hunt deer with a rifle, but you can hunt deer, rabbit, pheasant squirrel and groundhogs with a shotgun. Most people have a Winchester, Remington or mossberg 12ga pump.

It's the same here in Illinois. As far as this part of the country, Id go with a shotgun on this one.

 

[cl4de6]

Here in New Jersey, it's probably either a pump-action shotgun, a 4" .38 caliber revolver, or a 9mm pistol - most likely a Glock 19, Beretta 92FS, or Sig P226.

Why am I so confident? The hunters have the shotguns (you can't hunt with a rifle in NJ). The older residents have the old .38 caliber revolvers. The younger people have the 9mm Glock 19's and Beretta 92's. So why am I being so specific?

NJ has a magazine capacity limit of 15 rounds. If you buy a Glock 17 or an M&P9 the gun comes with 10 round magazines. So (at least in NJ), a Glock 19 holds more rounds than a Glock 17. The Glock 19, Beretta 92 and Sig P226 come with 15 round magazines standard.

I would imagine that in states with 10 round limitations, you would see people go with an increase in caliber to compensate for the limited magazines. This leads me to believe that in states with 10 round limitations, you would see more .40's, .45's or .44 wheelguns, but I could be wrong.

I know a couple of people who only have one gun in their home. Those guns are:
Mossberg 590.
Sig P220 38 Super (An odd caliber, but she likes it)
Glock 19
Colt Python
Kimber .45
Remmington 870
Glock 22
Glock 22
Sig P226
Sig P226

 

[maple_leaf_eh]

I have to agree with the function of geography on choice. Here in Canada, there are fewer guns to begin with, but probably more hunters and target shooters, than handgun owners. Our gun laws since the 1930's have discouraged people having handguns except for collecting and target shooting.

So, on just about every farm it would be a single shot shotgun or an old Cooey .22LR rifle. For those closer to the East Coast, it would be a 12ga duck or goose gun. Further west and in the Arctic a centrefire rifle, maybe a .303BR Lee Enfield No.1 or No.4. In the Quebec it is definately a hunting rifle. In urban Toronto, Vancouver or Montreal (our three big cities), I going to derisively suggest an unregistered handgun.

 

[Onward Allusion]

Can't say which one would be the most common, but it can probably be narrowed down to a revolver in 38 Spl, a 22LR rifle, or a shotgun.

 

[Sniper66]

Only one gun?? That's downright depressing.

 

[Taurus 617 CCW]

My folks only had one gun in the house growing up. It was an old Stevens single shot 12 gauge shotgun. For me it all started with a $49 8mm Mauser rifle.

 

[JoeMal]

12 gauge

 

[Claude Clay]

urban vs rural helps with perspective

reading and hearing news for decades about homeowners taking out the trash the news usually refers to the weapon as a handgun. if they are more specific, its usualllly a revolver. though this does not mean that the homeowner did not have more than that weapon...im gonna say the under 4" revolver in 38 special

 

[valnar]

I know many people with a CCW type of gun and no .22. In fact, my first 10 guns I purchased did not contain a .22

I live in an urban area.

I imagine the .22 is a staple of rural people for a variety of reasons, but I just don't see that much use up in my neck of the pavement.

 

[mortablunt]

^ True dat. I don't have much cause for a 22 either and I learned to shoot without one. I see the point if you're going to need a strong degree of marksmanship in your daily life, but in population centers, the only marksmanship you will likely need will be hitting a thug in the vitals from not even 10 yards away. At those distances, spending days perfecting your sharpshooting technique a waste when what you needed to be learning was how to engage and neutralize a threat at short range ASAP with the gun you have on hand.
___________
Whatever I own at the time.

The answer is more likely a cheapo 12 ga pump shotty locked up in the closet.

 

[csa77]

i know afew people who only own 1 gun

grandma- very old h&r american double action .32s&w
my current boss- old h&r 22 special
my past boss - some sort of sig 9mm
a friend of mine- ruger blackhawk .357
my sister airlight S&W j frame .38 special

 

[al123]

I think it depends on the region.

My guess locally is a glock or a 12 gauge pump as the most common weapon in a one firearm household.

 

[abq87120]

I've had only one twice. The first was a Sears .22 that I left in the closet when I left my folks home. My younger brother shot it after I left. When I got married, I bought a short 20 ga pump with a pistol grip for home defense. That was joined later by a 44 Mag S&W 629 6.5" barrel for hiking in bear country, Colorado.

 

[gym]

I go with a 38. Most ex cops took them home, and up untill 15+ yrs ago they were the most popular gun amoung civilians.They have been handed down by generations.And until Glocks came out, every guy I knew including me, had at least one snubby for carry, since theses small 9's and 40's didn't exhist 20 years ago. Hi power and walthers, were about the first popular autos to grab market share from revolvers. When I got mine in 1972, everyone had a Colt- DS or a S&W revolver in 38 or 357.