Poll:Guns

[Meadbh]

Recently several posters have mentioned that they own and carry guns. I'm curious to see how common this is, so I thought I would post a poll. Please bear with me while I do that.

This is NOT a political discussion, just a factual survey.

 

[aja8888]

In Texas, near Houston. I don't carry a gun, but my two best friends keep one in their car and will carry it on their person if needed. It's pretty common in Texas to have a carry license.

 

[Car-Guy]

I always (100% of the time) have one in my vehicle anytime I go anywhere. Sometimes (~10%) I'll carry with me outside the vehicle depending on where I'm at. Always have several loaded in the house too. And yes, even though you didn't ask, I have a LTC. (often still called a CHL but in Texas it's now called a LTC, since in this state, you can carry open or concealed these days.)

 

[Car-Guy]

In Texas, near Houston. I don't carry a gun, but my two best friends keep one in their car and will carry it on their person if needed. It's pretty common in Texas to have a carry license.

I believe there were just over 369k issued at the end of last year in Texas.

EDIT: I just looked it up. It was 369,117 at year end 2016.

 

[aja8888]

I believe there were just over 369k issued at the end of last year in Texas.

Makes the phrase "don't mess with Texas" have more meaning.

 

[pb4uski]

I hunted a lot in my youth for both small and big game, and for just big game (whitetails) as an adult. However, I stopped hunting many years ago... getting up at the crack of dawn and sitting in the cold waiting for a buck to wander by lost its allure. The guys I hunted with typically did drives where we would position "sitters" and the end of a set of woods and "drivers" would walk towards them. I also shot trap as a youth.

My first gun was a .410 single shot shotgun with a cut down stock. I remember that when I first got it that I barely had the strength to pull the hammer back. I later got a .22 Remington semi-automatic. Dad and I were hunting a set of woods and at the time I had the .22 and a bear strolled by him while he was taking a poop and he decided that he didn't like the idea of his young son being in the same woods as a bear with only a .22 so before I knew it I owned a Marlin 30-30 side action that I have used for deer hunting ever since. I also have a 12-gauge shotgun that I used for trap.

Since I no longer hunt, all are in a locked gun cabinet in my Mom's garage since her property has more room than mine.

I recall as a youth that the gun cabinet was in my bedroom and included both my guns and my Dad's...a small arsenal including ammo... and I sometimes wondered what I would do if I ever heard an intruder in the house in the middle of the night... but luckily, I never had to find out.

I have never owned a handgun but one of my secretary's when I was working carried a .38 snub-nose revolver in her purse.

 

[REWahoo]

This is NOT a political discussion, just a factual survey.

It may not be now, but I predict it will become one and Porky will have the last word.

 

[MRG]

I own many firearms but only one gun.

I didn't think we talked about that kinda stuff here.[emoji4]

 

[redduck]

Porky will be shot on sight.

 

[Senator]

I checked large collection of firearms, but having about ~100 guns is not really that many. I still want more.

 

[Meadbh]

I checked large collection of firearms, but having about ~100 guns is not really that many. I still want more.

What do you do with 100 firearms? Take them out and admire them? Are some of them antiques?

For the record, I have never handled a gun. Some years ago, fearing robbery, I thought about acquiring one for personal protection. However, the training, licensing and storage requirements put me off. I would also worry about shooting myself in the foot, literally!

 

[GSMAN]

I always keep one in my truck. I also carry when I remember to put one in my pocket. I used to be an avid deer hunter but only hunt a couple of times a year now. We bird hunt every year down on the Mexican/US border since the 90s so that's mainly what I hunt now. I am from Texas so guns are no big deal. I remember having a gun rack in my truck and sometimes would go to school with a gun on the rack. This was back in the mid seventies at my high school. Again, no biggie in Texas!

 

[frayne]

Yes, gun owner and CCP holder as well. Belong to a range and practice a few times a year. Also was a 11B MOS in the Army a few years back and grew up hunting squirrel and rabbit back in the 50 &60s. To me weapons are nothing but a tool.

 

[ER Eddie]

Nah. Maybe if I get terminal cancer.

 

[MRG]

I remember having a gun rack in my truck and sometimes would go to school with a gun on the rack. This was back in the mid seventies at my high school. Again, no biggie in Texas!

I went to school in PA in the '70s. I had a shotgun in the back seat of my car last two years. Principal asked once about it and I asked if he wanted to chase birds or rabbit after school?

 

[exnavynuke]

I sometimes carry and I own more than one firearm.

 

[Senator]

What do you do with 100 firearms? Take them out and admire them? Are some of them antiques?

No antiques. I like to have a few "just in case something goes down".

I have a few around the house, in case of a home invasion. I try to never be more than a few feet away from a loaded firearm. I live in one of the safest communities around. No kids here, and my house is not kid friendly.

I have a few carry guns, and if I upgrade the gun just sit on the shelf in the safe. A few shotguns and rifles too (~50).

Often, when I went on a big game trip, I would buy a new gun for it, much the same way a woman might buy a new dress to go to a wedding. I am going to Glacier NP in September, and I will be carrying a firearm there too.

A gun makes a person feel safe, when they know how to use it. When seconds count, the cops are only minutes away.

 

[NW-Bound]

Porky will be shot on sight.

Don't know how to vote. I have a few firearms, purchased back when I was still interested in target shooting. I do not normally carry one with me. I do not hunt.

1) 357 Magnum (revolver)
2) A shotgun
3) A small 22 rifle for plinking
4) An, ahem, assault rifle.

 

[samclem]

FWIW, the available answers probably don't a do a good job of characterizing a lot of the actual circumstances of gun ownership, because several factors are lumped together.
Concealed carry vs not
Hunting vs not
Number of firearms owned
Whether all guns are stored only in the home.
How the weapons are secured (locked up in a safe, kept out but with a trigger lock, in a rapid-access gun cabinet/drawer, etc)

I picked the answer that I thought was closest, but it wasn't a good fit.

FWIW, there is a firearm in approximately 31% of US households, and there are approx 310 million firearms in the US. In households that have guns, the average (mean) number is about 4, but I don't know the median number. My >guess< is that it is not a Gaussian distribution--there are a lot of 1, 2, 3, and 4 gun households, and then a long tail to the right.

 

[Fedup]

I did go to target shooting once with a friend at work, does that count? My dad used to bring firearms at home, set in clear sight. Surprisingly, I never touched it. I would be the one curious enough to do it.

 

[Ally]

I can't do the poll on my phone, but I live in TX and own a gun. My husband has several, mostly inherited. I took the CHL course and have carried my gun, but not often.

Recently, my husband was out of town and someone attempted to get in our front door at 1:30 am, setting off our alarm. I was so glad I had my gun. The police came, because I wasn't sure why the alarm had gone off. They found marks on the door like they were trying to get in. I told them I had a gun and three dogs in the house and they said "Good!" We've been having some home invasions in our city, unfortunately. We are thinking we should get cameras. A nearby man
had someone ring his doorbell at 1:30 am recently, and when he looked on his phone, he could see it was a young man holding a gun.

 

[Mdlerth]

I have held a CW permit for many years, but I seldom carry. Having lots of curious children running around the house meant keeping everything locked up. Maybe when the last ones move out I'll think differently.

 

[Meadbh]

FWIW, the available answers probably don't a do a good job of characterizing a lot of the actual circumstances of gun ownership, because several factors are lumped together.
Concealed carry vs not
Hunting vs not
Number of firearms owned
Whether all guns are stored only in the home.
How the weapons are secured (locked up in a safe, kept out but with a trigger lock, in a rapid-access gun cabinet/drawer, etc)

I picked the answer that I thought was closest, but it wasn't a good fit.

FWIW, there is a firearm in approximately 31% of US households, and there are approx 310 million firearms in the US.

Unfortunately it's impossible to cover every possible scenario in one multiple choice question. Nevertheless, the results so far are interesting. Thank you for participating.

 

[MRG]

What do you do with 100 firearms? Take them out and admire them? Are some of them antiques?

For the record, I have never handled a gun. Some years ago, fearing robbery, I thought about acquiring one for personal protection. However, the training, licensing and storage requirements put me off. I would also worry about shooting myself in the foot, literally!

We only own 25?

They're different for different use. We own more pistols than other anything. I owned(sold one) two almost identical government 1911 in .45 ACP. One was a nice Kimber target pistol, the other a Wilson Combat. While the controls were nearly the same and they used the same ammunition they were not the same! Two different firearms for different propose.

They felt different and while both were very tolerant of different bullet types and loads they liked different ammunition.

The Wilson will eat absolutely anything, probably rock if you tried. The Kimber was finicky with some round nose stuff. Alas the Kimber was traded for a Colt 1911 in 10MM. That's a entirely different experience!

 

[Meadbh]

Don't know how to vote. I have a few firearms, purchased back when I was still interested in target shooting. I do not normally carry one with me. I do not hunt.

1) 357 Magnum (revolver)
2) A shotgun
3) A small 22 rifle for plinking
4) An, ahem, assault rifle.

I think the fifth option fits best. Thanks for participating.