How many guns are in the United States of America? (I think their estimate is a little LOW)

wiki.answers.com ^ | 6/10/2010 | wiki.answers.com

[barmag25]

The FBI estimates that there are over 200 million privately-owned firearms in the US. If you add those owned by the military, law enforcement agencies and museums, there is probably about 1 gun per person in the country.

If you want to get a rough idea of how many guns there are out there just look at how many people you see out there then multiply by a factor of estimated ownership. The last best guess was about 350,000,000 Total. That would be 1 weapon for every man woman and child. The average gun enthusiast owns several firearms which includes pistols, shotguns, and rifles of all makes and models. It is often estimated that about 1 in 4 people own any firearms and on average firearms owners own 4 guns each.

[cripplecreek]

Last time I did any kind of searching I found an estimate of around 8 million in Michigan alone and I suspected that was a low estimate.

There are a lot of long guns floating around that have nevere required any kind of registration.

[LukeL]

I know someone who easily owns 100s of guns, so I think 350 million is a very low ball number.

[outofstyle]

I agree, I read that 2/3 of households in DE have at least one gun and 1/3 of households have five or greater. I can’t verify that however.

[kbennkc]

I suggest resisting any effort to bring accuracy to these calculations .

If someone can tell you right off how many guns they have , they don't have enough .

[mnehring]

That number should just about cover the Texas Freepers.

[PapaBear3625]

If you know how many guns you have, you don’t have enough.

[henry_reardon]

a guy I know had over 30 before he lost them all in a tragic boating accident.

[Noumenon]

Didn’t ask anyone in my neighborhood, did they?

[cripplecreek]

I live in a tiny rural village and have no problem believing that there are more guns than people here. I grew up around guns and pretty much everyone I know grew up with guns. Even the couple of homosexuals I went to school with know how to handle a weapon.

[Dick Bachert]

I also think 350 million is low.

Back in the early 80s, I attended a speech by the late Arkady Shevchenko, then the highest-ranking Soviet official to defect to the West. He had been their top guy at the UN.

He spoke, interestingly, at KENNESAW COLLEGE — and we all know what Kennesaw is famous for! I’m proud to have played a small role in helping Mayor Darvin Purdy get that legislation through the Kennesaw City Council.

Shevchenko’s talk dealt with the clear intent of the leadership of the old Soviet Union to somehow take America. He mentioned their ICBMs and the nuclear blackmail threat they posed.

Then he broke from his prepared remarks and offered the audience this wisdom:

“The leaders of my country are as AFRAID OF YOUR 200 MILLION PRIVATE FIREARMS as they are of your ICBMs. NEVER GIVE UP YOUR GUNS.”

Frankly — and, while he had to be careful as he was under FBI protection at the time, Shevchenko alluded to this in his remarks — I’m as concerned about some domestic tyrant (say, a Hillary, Nancy Pelosi, Barack HUSSEIN Obama or Chuck Schumer) as I am about some foreign enemy.

And it is THAT threat about which the Founding Fathers were concerned that prompted them to leave us the Second Amendment.

The BIG question is: WILL WE KEEP IT?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j73SsNFgBO4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cg9q9sxJFnA
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[50cal Smokepole]

banglist keyword added to thread.
Yeah, seems way low.
The real problem for some of us is availability of ammo.

[fish hawk]

My best friend just got back from Red China and he told me about a conversation he had with a bar tender in his hotel. He asked him if he would like to come to America. The guy said, no, no, no, everyone have gun there! So my friend explained that it was a good thing as Americans go hunting and target shooting and also for self protection. The guy was in awe of that. Then my friend told him that if he comes here he too can own a gun. He could hardly believe him. By the way, he talked to several people about the Tienanmen Square shootings of years ago (spelling?) and no one had even heard about it. He brought it up on his computer to show someone on “Google” and all the sudden his computer went blank. Big brother is ahead of us over there.

[Drumbo]

“200 million privately-owned firearms in the US...”

Therefore, Ted Nugent owns one tenth of one percent of all firearms in the US. He’s got a warehouse full.
Wiki-answers and the FBI = sources you can trust.

[Arthur McGowan]

I have long thought that our foreign policy should consist largely of dropping crates of small arms and ammunition all over the world, especially Communist countries.

[rockrr]

I would think that we risk altering the magnetic poles given all the iron that has fallen overboard recently...;-)

[TheBattman]

Yes, I believe that number is quite low. IN fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if there were 200 million firearms in private hands in Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Mississippi. Add the rest of the nation in and the number just keeps on climbing.

[50cal Smokepole]

[bobby.223]

LOL!!!!! good one!

[cripplecreek]

Back during the Clinton maladministration there was a CBS expose on those dangerous 50 caliber rifles. They estimated at least 1 per county in Michigan (That’s 83) and I know for a fact that that’s a low number.