Who are the Gun Owners in the United States?

[ScottRiqui]

Male, 42 years old
Married to my high school sweetheart, no kids (lots of cats, though)
Liberal on some issues, conservative on others.
B.S. in engineering and M.S. in physics
18 years active duty in the Navy so far.
Enjoy working with computers, photography, and reading.
Ride a motorcycle and occasionally race a MINI Cooper.
Have about ten guns so far - shotgun, AR, 10/22, and a mixture of pistols

 

[BlueTrain]

I wonder, do threads like this tell us more about people who like internet forums than gun owners? Or do they tell us anything?

 

[Bud Helms]

I'm not positive, but I'm going to take a chance and say that the OP was after something a little different than what we are reading. On the other hand, he hasn't complained or tried to change the direction of the discussion, so I could be wrong.

In response to Blue Train's question, I do think there is a faction of gun owners that is very active on the internet. Are they representive? Mostly, I think. But most of us are not the movers in our quest, we are that second highly vocal level ... the choir if you will.

I'm happy to see so many members here these days talk about bringing non- (even anti-) gunnies to the range and discuss ways to narrow the gap of interest between us and them with minimum confrontation.

To the OP's question: I think demographically, we are a fairly good cross-section of America. Especially if you took a poll of say, the five largest gun boards on the 'net. If you eliminate specific shooting interests, we are just like any other group ... except for the low representation of the female portion of the population. That said, our ladies are a cut above the average soccer mom and are better ambassadors for our point of view than most of us.

 

[Uncle Buck]

Thanks guys for your replies.

The original question was sort of a reflection (for me) about who makes up any sort of group and how a certain group was/is portrayed in the media. You could change Gun-owners to any almost any other group of people and I think you would have a very broad view of the United states.

Even in the answers.
440 people have looked at this thread and 21 took time to post in it. The ones that did post seemed to be proud of who they are. No one paint brush could color everyone, but yet the media tries to do that most of the time.

Each and every reply was spot on. Some threw it out their for everyone to see, others answered the question with a question. (Is that the Harmony of the choir? )

I enjoyed reading the responses and hope to read even more.

 

[Mr2005]

Check the book below. It's my coffee table book. It portrays gun overs with an overview of who they are, what they do, why they own guns and shows what guns they have.

<Link to what's not a book removed>

 

[Yung.gunr]

Me in a nutshell (Help! I'm in a nutshell! How did I get into this nutshell? Look at the size of this bloody great big nutshell! What sort of shell has a nut like this? This is crazy!)

Just turned the big 3 oh and not feeling my username anymore (wish I could change it easily). Now the cul de sacs on top of my head are getting bigger, hair is escaping my nostrils and my eyebrows are getting THICK and BUSHY. K, I will stop complaining about aging now since some of you are truly old, hahaha.
Third kid born in June, been married almost five years. Hienz 57 variety white (can't spell the PC term for it). Still working on degree, had some speedbumps along the way. Unable to join the military or LE in my younger days. Now working in finance for a major University. Make enough to support family and owned home while still providing enough financial stress to accelerate the thinning of my hair. Definitely not enough to buy what I want or as much ammo to put through what I do have. Thankfully my beautiful (she's actually smoking hot) wife is getting into shooting and working on how to carry her new LC9.

Politically, I hate politics. I get to angry with the stupidity of our "elected" officials. Then I start swearing and the wife doesn't like that, argument ensues. We don't discuss politics much in my house other then in four letter words. I guess you could say I am a Libertarian. If you have ever watched Parks and Recreation (sitcom) I relate to the boss Ron Swanson. His character is my hero.

 

[gaseousclay]

good question. i'd say gun owners encompass all strata of American society, including all income levels, education levels and political affiliations.

I guess my wife and I would fall into the middle class income bracket. We're both college graduates but I would consider ourselves working class individuals. We're not destitute but we're not rich either. We can afford the things we need/want but don't spend our money recklessly and we don't squander our money on many impulse purchases. Politically we're Lefties but I'd say I have a sprinkling of Libertarian on some issues (anti-war/non-interventionist) and conservative on others (fiscal). But I also believe in issues of individual freedom such as gay marriage and a woman's right to choose. A lot of our Liberal friends are pro-gun and are gun owners themselves, but we also have a few friends that are indifferent on the issue.

I came from a non-gun family but my wife's step-dad is a long time hunter and gun owner. I only recently became interested in firearms (2 yrs ago) after reading several of my father in-law's hunting magazines. I then went out and bought quite a few books on hunting and then I became fascinated with guns and hunting culture. I was previously indifferent to guns and was admittedly anti-gun at times, but now i'm a staunch 2A advocate and own a whopping 2 rifles .

me in a nutshell:
40 yrs old, work as a buyer for a small retailer
1/2 Japanese, 1/2 Caucasian (yes, I find the term 'Jap' offensive. it's a racial slur like any other)
dad and brother both served in the US Air Force 20 yrs each
spent half of my life living on US military bases in Japan
married 3 yrs
my wife is 31 yo, works as a fundraiser for a non-profit and is about 2 months pregnant.
vote Democrat
attended a private university with a BA in East Asian Studies (useless, I know). still paying my student loans
do not support the NRA
Pro 2A, pro choice, pro gay marriage, pro freedom. if you don't like the government sticking their noses in your business with regard to 2A then the government (or church for that matter) sure as hell has no business telling anyone what kind of choices they make in life or who they can marry

 

[Jo6pak]

39yr old, single, white male
libertarian
pagan
motorcyclist
associate degree education
blue-collar tradesman
part-time student
hunter, shooter.

feels like a dating profile

 

[BlueTrain]

While this thread has been interesting to say the least, I'm not sure we know anything more about gun owners than we did (or were assuming) already. And again, it's a small sample. Nevertheless, it might tell you something about the difficulty with gun issues. We are a diverse lot and even from other threads, you can easily conclude that we have a lot of different opinions.

Here are some other impressions I have of other gun owners.

Some I have met have no particular interest in guns. They're the hunters. They have one or two rifles and they use them during hunting season. They're not gun nuts. Well, I guess you could say they do have a particular interest in guns in that they have a limited and very specific interest in guns. They're the ones who read Outdoor Life.

Of course, I left out a lot when I made my first post. No one's going to know everything about me. But there's a prize if anyone can guess who I really am.

 

[Mr2005]

Father of 2
Married
Work in finance
38
Ocassional hunter
Daily cc
Have guns for protection and because I enjoy target Shooting/ plinking
Fiscal conservative
Recovering republican

 

[hillbillyshooter]

28
White Male
Not married
No children
Nurse
3 undregraduate Degrees (1 psych, 2 nursing)
Continuing my education
Nationalist/Conservative
Not sure when hunting was mentioned in the 2A
CC/Hunt/Shoot
Several handguns, long guns, and the dreaded military-style "assault" rifles
and West (by God) Virginia

 

[Webleymkv]

Something worth menitioning is that, by the very nature of this forum, the vast majority of people who post here are not only gun owners, but gun enthusiasts. What must be remembered, however, is that there are a great number of gun owners who are not enthusiasts. A good example of this type of gun owner is my grandfather. My grandfather is an old farmer and his interest in guns ends with either their utility around his farm or their value as a family heirloom. While he can appreciate a nice gun, he's not interested enough in them to post about them on an internet forum (even if he owned or used a computer).

Another prominent type of gun owner who is not necessarily a firearm enthusiast would be an avid hunter. I have several family member, friends, and other acquantences that enjoy hunting immensely and own firearms for that purpose, but have no interest in firearms beyond their utility for hunting.

The final and increasingly growing group of gun owners who aren't necessarily firearm enthusiasts are those who own firearms solely for self-defense. This is probably the fastest growing segment of gun owners and many see the usefulness of a firearm for home defense and/or concealed carry, but once they find the gun that fits that need, they have little interest in firearms beyond that purpose.

Now, this being said, someone who fits into one the these afforementioned groups can certainly develop a further interest in firearms and become an enthusiast. I suspect that many of us here were only interested in guns for a utilitarian purpose, but over time became more interested in them.

 

[NavyIT85]

26 Male (My wife also owns)
Caucasian
Married, 3 kids
Active Duty IT in the Navy (wife works for GEICO)
I own three 12ga Shotguns, two .22 rimfire rifles, and one .45 ACP handgun.
I am working on getting CC permit in New York State while I am on recruiter duty for 3 years. I Hunt whenever I can, will be carrying for protection, I am getting in to reloading, and spend as much time as I can at the range.

I am also writing a blog @ http://firearmsafety4kids.blogspot.com/ to help people teach their kids about guns!

 

[Smitty500Mag]

Amazing how many people that are gun owners even on this forum that don't know the difference between an AK-47 that's fully automatic and the one sold to the general public that's SIMI automatic that's no more of an ASSAULT WEAPON than a semiautomatic hunting rifle. Just because it's black doesn't make it fully automatic. They keep going on about more gun laws and have no idea that the fully automatic guns were restricted from sale to the public without a special license way back in about 1934. They actually think you can go to any gun store or gun show and buy a machine gun without a background check or anything. Simply amazing that the law makers have no clue about the gun laws in this country!

 

[BPowderkeg]

I am 64, married 46 years.
Retired Air Force Veteran.
Collage Grad

ha ha ha ha !! spelling must not be a requirement to graduate from COLLEGE.., i just found this to be very funny.

carry on sir

 

[SIGSHR]

Yes, nobody NEEDS an AK-47. You do NOT use it for deer hunting.
And you don't use a 22LR or a 300 H&H Magnum or a 460 Weatherby for deer hunting either.
And women don't NEED fancy jewelry or designer clothes, and men don't NEED fancy trucks, boats, etc.
And it is not the role of the government-or the rest of us-to determine what other people need or don't need, and how they spend THEIR money.
Yours Truly:
62
Army veteran, retired Reserve officer
Business executive
Strictly a paper puncher
Collector
Pretty much a social conservative, also a fiscal one.
NRA Benefactor member

 

[Water-Man]

BlueTrain,

I know who you are. You're the person I called the Eternal Optimist several posts ago.

Is there a prize?

W-M

 

[Ben Towe]

Genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist... Just kidding, I just always wanted to say that.

Male
27
Single, no children (I love women who love to do me wrong)
Farmer/Truck driver
Conservative on most issues
I love politics, I find them very interesting.
White, Scottish/English descent
Always lived in the South, but have traveled to 45 states and Canada, lived in the Florida Keys a little while cleaning up after Katrina.
I would have to count to give an accurate number of firearms I own, many are heirlooms passed down from my father and grandfather. My interests are varied, from 1911s to single action revolvers, ARs, long range bolt actions, and more. I have an interest in Class 3 weapons but financial constraints will not allow me to venture into that arena at present.

 

[BlueTrain]

Okay, Mr. Smitty, what is the difference between a fully automatic AK-47 and a semi-automatic AK-47? Huh?




Sorry, time's up.

And to Mr. Water-man, I don't remember being called an Eternal Optimist, but I often get called names, generally not that nice.

The prize is whatever is in the next box of Cracker Jacks I buy.

Here's some more personal information about me, gun-wise. I did not buy a firearm until after I was in the army. I grew up in a house with no guns, yet I have a few photos of my father with him holding or wearing a gun. There were no pickup trucks with gun racks in my neighborhood. In fact, only one person, my uncle across the street, who had a pickup on the street. But another neighbor was a gunsmith. He lived across the street from a couple who were local country & western entertainers by the name of Rex and Eleanor Parker. Surely you know who I am now.

The first three firearms I owned, though I don't remember which came first, were a Luger, a C-96 Mauser and a Browning Hi-Power, all older than I was. I don't know if I've owned more autos than revolvers but that's where I started.

 

[Glenn E. Meyer]

http://www.gao.gov/assets/600/592552.pdf

Report on the CCW crowd.