Gennifer
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,009
Jun 26, 2014 8:22:26 GMT
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Post by Gennifer on Oct 5, 2017 5:37:36 GMT
In a FB conversation, I was alerted to the information that there are an estimated 112 guns per 100 people in the US, meaning that statistically, every person owns at least one gun. I was shocked. Obviously, there are a great many of us who don't own any guns at all, and some who own more than one. I'm curious if my own estimates are accurate, so will you please answer this poll? I'm going with an average per household, because I think we might skew just because we are a board of primarily women. Estimated number of guns per capita
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Gennifer
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,009
Jun 26, 2014 8:22:26 GMT
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Post by Gennifer on Oct 5, 2017 5:40:04 GMT
Answering for myself: Currently, we have no guns in a household of 6. My husband has had guns before, but never more than one at a time. We recently moved to a new house that's in the mountains, and have seen tracks for bear, mountain lion, and coyotes in our yard, so we will probably be getting one soon. It makes me nervous, but so do bears.
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sueg
Prolific Pea
Posts: 8,085
Location: Munich
Apr 12, 2016 12:51:01 GMT
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Post by sueg on Oct 5, 2017 5:47:56 GMT
Are those of us not in the US allowed to vote, or do you just want a US estimate?
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Post by PolarGreen12 on Oct 5, 2017 5:52:24 GMT
There are probably more than 50 guns in this house. Not one of them is mine. Just sayin.
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Gennifer
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,009
Jun 26, 2014 8:22:26 GMT
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Post by Gennifer on Oct 5, 2017 5:52:34 GMT
Are those of us not in the US allowed to vote, or do you just want a US estimate? I'm kind of curious to see how the US statistics match up in this super controlled, totally accurate poll, so... Maybe just let us know in the comments?
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Gennifer
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,009
Jun 26, 2014 8:22:26 GMT
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Post by Gennifer on Oct 5, 2017 5:53:33 GMT
There are probably more than 50 guns in this house. Not one of them is mine. Just sayin.
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Post by Delta Dawn on Oct 5, 2017 5:55:58 GMT
There would have been one somewhere as my mother had a hunting rifle somewhere but it is long gone and in a province 3 away. It might have been destroyed or something I don’t know. This goes back more than 60 years. I hope it got destroyed as she was anti gun. My grandpa (who used to hunt about 90 years ago) had rifles . We are talking in the 40s maybe???
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sueg
Prolific Pea
Posts: 8,085
Location: Munich
Apr 12, 2016 12:51:01 GMT
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Post by sueg on Oct 5, 2017 5:56:18 GMT
Are those of us not in the US allowed to vote, or do you just want a US estimate? I'm kind of curious to see how the US statistics match up in this super controlled, totally accurate poll, so... Maybe just let us know in the comments? OK. I have lived in both Australia and now Germany and have never lived in a household with guns. Growing up, my best friend's family had a rural property and so they had guns for animal control issues. I did go out shooting with my friend and her older brothers a few times, mainly aiming at coke cans on a tree stump. When my MiL died, we found a gun in her house when we were cleaning out. Her older brother had been a policeman for many years, and it was his old service revolver. It was totally unusable and there was no ammunition, but we handed it into our local police station the next day. ETA: gun ownership is allowed in both these countries, but is highly regulated. Germany actually has a very high per capita gun ownership rate. Article on German gun rules, in English
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Post by gale w on Oct 5, 2017 7:19:23 GMT
I'm actually not positive but I think dh has a pistol that belonged to his dad, a shotgun of some sort, some kind of rifle, and a brand new 22 rifle that his brother bought for him. He doesn't really use any of them. He did a couple of times a few years ago when something (coyotes I think) went after the hogs and another time when some dogs went after a calf. But he didn't shoot the animals. Just used it to scare them away. He also has an old civil war weapon (some kind of firearm) that my brother in law gave him but it probably doesn't work. DH is a big civil war buff so bil bought it for him at an estate sale.
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Post by anniefb on Oct 5, 2017 7:31:14 GMT
No guns in my house in New Zealand. I know one of my great grandfathers had a hunting rifle because I have a photo of him with it, but that's the only family member I know of who owned a weapon. And that was in Ukraine in the early 1900s!
In New Zealand, my experience is that most people who own a gun would use it for hunting. Gun ownership is pretty regulated - a firearms licence is needed from the police. Applicants need to attend a safety program and pass a written safety test. The police will also interview the applicant and two referees (one must be a close relative and the other not related) to determine whether the applicant is "fit and proper" to have a firearm. The applicant's residence is also visited to check that they have appropriate storage for firearms and ammunition.
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AllieC
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,059
Jul 4, 2014 6:57:02 GMT
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Post by AllieC on Oct 5, 2017 10:18:14 GMT
In Australia, no guns in any household I've lived in.
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teddyw
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,867
Jun 29, 2014 1:56:04 GMT
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Post by teddyw on Oct 5, 2017 10:26:47 GMT
I am 100% anti-gun. My fil gifted dh some kind of antique pistol years ago. It's kept in a safe that no one can access except dh. I'm thinking of getting rid of it. I don't think he'd even notice.
I grew up in a household with no guns. My dad never hunted.
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Deleted
Posts: 0
Jun 1, 2024 22:28:41 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Oct 5, 2017 10:48:35 GMT
There are no guns in our house, but ours is the only one I can think of. Everyone around here has guns and many have way more than their share.
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peabay
Prolific Pea
Posts: 9,630
Jun 25, 2014 19:50:41 GMT
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Post by peabay on Oct 5, 2017 10:56:27 GMT
Not a one. I don't know one person who owns a gun. Not even for hunting or gaming or sport or whatever. I don't know anyone who hunts (I think maybe I have a friend whose husband goes to a hunting camp or something once a year) or uses a gun for any purpose.
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Post by Merge on Oct 5, 2017 11:01:16 GMT
In the interest of full disclosure, there are two guns in my house. One is an antique rifle DH inherited from his grandfather. The other is a pistol he purchased from a friend when the right was convinced Obama was going to take away all their guns. Both are locked in a safe. Since I am opposed to having guns in the house at all, our compromise is that there is no ammunition here and there never will be. Neither of these guns has ever been fired by anyone in my house.
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stittsygirl
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,580
Location: In the leaves and rain.
Jun 25, 2014 19:57:33 GMT
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Post by stittsygirl on Oct 5, 2017 11:23:10 GMT
No guns. DH is a military retiree and Iraq and Afghanistan vet, and I am prior service. I'm stating that because I see comments occasionally to the tune of "I or SO are military or prior military so of course we keep guns". The two don't have to go hand in hand. We've never kept a gun in our home and have never felt the need for one. If we lived in an area with lots of big, scary wildlife we'd probably consider a rifle though . My extended family, on the other hand, are huge pro-gun people. Lots of hunters, and a couple of my siblings even teach classes about ownership and conceled carry. My one brother always has a gun on his person, and my mother carries a pistol in her purse and under the seat of her car. I don't even want to know how many weapons she has in her home, registered or not. It scares me to think about. My mom is a "prepper" though, so that kind of weapon hoarding is par for the course for her.
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Post by pondrunner on Oct 5, 2017 11:39:27 GMT
Zero, and zero forever.
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Post by melanell on Oct 5, 2017 11:39:57 GMT
I don't know if that statistic is true, but I don't consider it to be unbelievable. Plenty of people have none, but on the flip side, hunters often have more than one hunting rifle, and gun enthusiasts tend to own more than one gun as well.
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Post by Linda on Oct 5, 2017 11:41:47 GMT
In the interest of full disclosure, there are two guns in my house. One is an antique rifle DH inherited from his grandfather. The other is a pistol he purchased from a friend when the right was convinced Obama was going to take away all their guns. Both are locked in a safe. Since I am opposed to having guns in the house at all, our compromise is that there is no ammunition here and there never will be. Neither of these guns has ever been fired by anyone in my house. sounds like us - DH has a 'something' (rifle, shotgun? I'm not sure) but it's locked up and there is and will be no ammunition. I'm not sure if he's ever fired it - certainly not in the past 20 years though. so 4 people - 1 inoperable gun = .25 DS won a hunting something (rifle, shotgun? something like that) at a work raffle several years ago but he ended up selling it to a coworker
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Nanner
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,975
Jun 25, 2014 23:13:23 GMT
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Post by Nanner on Oct 5, 2017 11:50:51 GMT
I'm in Canada, so didn't vote. But we have none. If we were in the U.S., we still would have none. I would not allow guns in my house.
When BIL died and DH and I had to clean out his house, we found 2 loaded guns, a handgun in the headboard of the bed and a rifle in the bedroom closet. Scared the hell out of me. I made DH take them to the garage.
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Post by myboysnme on Oct 5, 2017 12:02:29 GMT
I did not vote even though there are guns in my house. My husband has a musket and Springfield rifle repro for reenactments and living history, and a replica 1880's pistol used also at living history performances. They are all black powder guns. I don't think any of them could use bullets. We don't have any ammunition for them, musket balls or the like.
A more modern gun used for protection, hunting or just because - we don't have any of those and likely never will.
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carhoch
Pearl Clutcher
Be yourself everybody else is already taken
Posts: 2,992
Location: We’re RV’s so It change all the time .
Jun 28, 2014 21:46:39 GMT
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Post by carhoch on Oct 5, 2017 12:04:06 GMT
We don’t have any guns and don’t plan to ever have one in the house again we use too because my husband was a officer but he gave it away when he got out .
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Post by twistedscissors on Oct 5, 2017 12:08:01 GMT
Without looking I’m guessing 10 +. I have 4 of my own, my DH has at least 4, and my 15 year old DD has 3. She shoots in competitions since she was 9 yrs old.
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Post by tracyarts on Oct 5, 2017 12:12:44 GMT
A basic rifle and shotgun. Both for hunting (game meat, not trophy).
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Post by Fidget on Oct 5, 2017 12:16:55 GMT
We have 2, DH has a hunting rifle and he has a vintage black powder pistol. The pistol is a hand gun, however it needs to be loaded and packed after every shot, it's used for black powder hunting season.
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schizo319
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,030
Jun 28, 2014 0:26:58 GMT
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Post by schizo319 on Oct 5, 2017 12:23:21 GMT
My husband has a gun that his grandfather passed down to him. I had to vote .5-.9 per person because we're only a 2 person household.
ETA. We also have a civil war replica pistol - it's a "decorative piece" never been fired that I know of - neither of us would know how to load it or where to find the gear to do so (though it was used as a prop in a local movie once). DH also owns two pellet guns for rodent control, but I assume that those aren't included in the "small arms" category.
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Post by peano on Oct 5, 2017 12:26:22 GMT
DH has a rifle he once used for hunting and a handgun he bought after he was robbed at gunpoint.
They are concealed somewhere in our basement. I’ve never seen them. He has not used them since we’ve been together.
ETA: DH and I were talking and I am wrong. He gave his shotgun to his brother, since his brother still hunts. The handgun is in the basement with a trigger lock on and he got rid of all his ammunition at the time his father died as they got rid of all of FIL's ammunition at that time.
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Post by librarylady on Oct 5, 2017 12:28:03 GMT
DH has 3 hunting guns, I think. They are deep in the closet under the stairs in a gun safe. He has given some of them to sons/grandson so I am a bit unclear as to how many are still here.
When his father died, he received a little pistol from that estate. It is so small it fits in the palm of my hand. It is in a huge safe (from a hotel) in our garage.
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Post by just PEAchy on Oct 5, 2017 12:30:17 GMT
I almost voted none, then I remembered DH had 3 hunting guns locked in the basement, There's no ammunition and they haven't been used in over 15 years. And, as someone mentioned unthread, he's retired military and has never felt the need to own any other firearms. No one in my extended family owns guns either. A few of our friends do.
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AmeliaBloomer
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,842
Location: USA
Jun 26, 2014 5:01:45 GMT
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Post by AmeliaBloomer on Oct 5, 2017 12:32:45 GMT
-No guns growing up and no friend ever said their family owned one. -No guns in my house now and no friends/neighbors have said they own one (quite the opposite). -No guns in my husband's house growing up. -Both my kids live on their own now. No guns among their roommates.
I appreciate this poll. I'm always gobsmacked by the statistics (over 300,000,000 guns now, I think), but I think it's deceptively easy to make incorrect assumptions about the incidence of gun ownership from that, especially if you don't live here. Actually, *I* wouldn't fully understand it if I didn't read this forum.
I actually thought of this stat yesterday when somebody here said she has a large safe full of guns. There seems to be an awful lot of people who own an awful lot of guns. (Also, a lot of people who added to their already-substantial arsenal, including ammunition, during years of scaremongering about Obama Confiscation.)
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