Some solid numbers on firearms, ownership, etc.

Jim Horn · Sep 9, 2022

There has been a serious survey and study to measure the number and types of firearms and ownership done and published. Having known Clayton Cramer for decades, I can vouch for his reliability:
Details here

In short: lots of defensive gun use including where it happens. Solid numbers on how many handguns, rifles, ARs, magazines, etc. including ownership by sex, race, and more.

titsonritz · Sep 9, 2022

Trying to prevent Idiocracy from becoming a documentary.

Good luck with that, I think were at "current events" there.

tallfoo · Sep 9, 2022

Interesting. I'll give that a good read through.

I wonder if there is research on who fills out surveys when presented with one. On any survey, there will be a certain number of folks who don't respond to the survey no matter what it is. Then there will be those who don't want anyone knowing about their firearm arsenal and don't respond to a survey like this one. Then there will be those who might not even read and lie on the survey just to get it done with and appease the people who asked them to do it.

That said, the results listed in the Abstract section do pass a sanity check.

salmon creek gary · Sep 9, 2022

tallfoo said:
. . . . I wonder if there is research on who fills out surveys when presented with one. On any survey, there will be a certain number of folks who don't respond to the survey no matter what it is. Then there will be those who don't want anyone knowing about their firearm arsenal and don't respond to a survey like this one. Then there will be those who might not even read and lie on the survey just to get it done with and appease the people who asked them to do it. . . .

The survey's described methodology actually addresses issues such as those you mention, and some details of how the data was handled to to minimize adverse impact of those issues on the survey results.

The entire survey (not just the abstract) was an interesting read. Also, it was short enough to avoid being a "snore", so I'd seriously recommend a full-read rather than just savoring the summation presented by the abstract.

The relatively large size of the sampling is significant: "approximately fifty-four thousand U.S. residents aged 18 and over", which included 16,708 self-identified gun owners who were then presented with follow-on questions pertaining to several important aspects of gun ownership. Those questions are listed at the end of the report.

Yarome · Sep 10, 2022

It seems like all you can see is the summary unless you register an account? View and download leads to signup.

Yarome · Sep 10, 2022

salmon creek gary said:
The survey's described methodology actually addresses issues such as those you mention, and some details of how the data was handled to to minimize adverse impact of those issues on the survey results.

I dunno. How can they address issues like that when they have absolutely no idea how their survey may be impacted, or by what degree, wth information that they can not know?

I guess I usually look at surveys like that as... well, it's a valiant effort but it's maybe/probably "at least" that, but likely a whole lot more... and could be a whole lot different breakdown than what is represented. :s0155:

salmon creek gary · Sep 10, 2022

Yarome said:
It seems like all you can see is the summary unless you register an account? View and download leads to signup.

And . . . the Signup page also has a large blue button labeled, "Download without registration". Works great, I accessed the PDF document - and saved it - without any difficulty.

Yarome · Sep 10, 2022

salmon creek gary said:
And . . . the Signup page also has a large blue button labeled, "Download without registration". Works great, I accessed the PDF document - and saved it - without any difficulty.

Ah! I see that now. Thanks!

nwslopoke · Sep 10, 2022

A morbid question. Some time ago I was searching to find roughly how many homeless people were dying on the streets. This was a while back but I recall about 300 a year in Oregon. I could be wildly off because there wasn't a solo source.

Point is, seems like the county morg or whatever it is referred to now, should publish accurate numbers. We pay for it and we should have facts on what's really killing us.

Flopsweat · Sep 10, 2022

That guy needs to learn how to properly employ a hyperlink.

Jay Walk · Sep 10, 2022

68.9% of adults do not own a firearm is the only statistic that really counts.
We are screwed.

Mark W. · Sep 10, 2022

Jay Walk said:
68.9% of adults do not own a firearm is the only statistic that really counts.
We are screwed.

Unless you factor in spouses I know a few couples where the wife does not own any firearms yet has the same support for the second as the one who owns the firearms.

Flopsweat · Sep 10, 2022

Mark W. said:
Unless you factor in spouses I know a few couples where the wife does not own any firearms yet has the same support for the second as the one who owns the firearms.

Plus they listed the percentage of people willing to tell a stranger that they own a gun. I don't know what percentage of people who own a gun are willing to take a survey.