3 in 10 gun owners have used a gun in Self Defense....

[Rockrivr1]

According to Ammoland. Interesting reading though I personally think the statistic is high.

‘Nearly One-Third of Gun Owners Have Used Gun in Self-Defense,’ Says Report

They state:

A whopping 31.1 percent of gun owners—estimated to be about 25.3 million American adults—have used a gun in self-defense, according to the 2021 National Firearms Survey, by Prof. William English, PhD., at Georgetown University.

Ammoland obtained a copy of the 23-page report and it contains some eye-popping data. For example:

• There are approximately 1.67 million defensive gun uses annually.
• In most cases (81.9%) the gun is not fired.
• Handguns are the most commonly-used firearm in defensive incidents. Shotguns follow at 21 percent and rifles at 13.1 percent.
• Slightly more than 9 percent of gun owners carry a handgun openly or concealed “always or almost always.” Another 6.9 percent carry a handgun “often.”
• The majority (74.8%) of defensive gun uses take place outside the home, and many (51.2%) involve more than one assailant.

 

[kalash]

25mil gun owners is a laughably low estimate. I just read somewhere that last year along there were 17mil first time gun buyers.

 

[ridleyman]

Absurd. I'm sure many folks have to use their gun to defend themselves and their families, and most never fire a shot. But can't be; do the math.

 

[free]

25mil gun owners is a laughably low estimate. I just read somewhere that last year along there were 17mil first time gun buyers.

I read it as the 31% equals 25 million gun owners, not the total of all gun owners (100%) = about 72 million.

Anyways, I thought the estimate of 31% of gun owners using their gun in self defense, no matter the total number of gun owners, hard to believe. Unless they count dry firing (that’s a joke son).

 

[AHM]

Interesting reading though I personally think the statistic is high.

Your trouble is that you're overestimating
the number of assailants who would be missed.

 

[Broc]

Damn. 1.6M defensive uses per year. That is 4,383 per day, or 87.67 per State per day.

 

[PaulR]

Well, I mean hey,....there is Chicago....and Detroit.

 

[rosco61]

And we are importing more dirt bags daily on our borders. That Idiot Biden and his Chinese Masters Liberal border policies.

 

[76Too]

Well, I mean hey,....there is Chicago....and Detroit.

Took the words right outa my mouth!

 

[AHM]

Damn. 1.6M defensive uses per year. That is 4,383 per day, or 87.67 per State per day.

Brush-Back Pitch Nation.

 

[CATI]

Can not be real.

but this stat is interesting
Slightly more than 9 percent of gun owners carry a handgun openly or concealed “always or almost always.” Another 6.9 percent carry a handgun “often.”
9% carry most of the time.

In MA 1 in 10 people are licensed
In MA someone carrying is probably like 1 in 100

 

[drgrant]

Meh, I think the real data on this is tough to collect. Would be interesting to see their sample size distribution vs the state of residence of the respondent.

In other words, states with more big dump cities might be over-represented in the sample set.

 

[kalash]

Back in 94-ish a study estimated as many as 2.3mil defensive be gun uses every year.

 

[Kicker96FS]

Self defense or is preventing a crime included?
On two occasions I walked into work at 4am and some crackhead was giving the shipper a hard time while standing at the cash register. So as I walked in I hiked up my shirt to expose my beautiful scandium frame 1911 in all it's glory and both times the cockroach scurried away.
It's either that or my belly scared them away, not sure.

 

[enbloc]

Could be the same guy over and over again...

 

[drgrant]

Back in 94-ish a study estimated as many as 2.3mil defensive be gun uses every year.

One problem with overall stats at the "cop" level is the phenomenon of "incidents that are actually unknown". For example some guy might try to mug someone, and then they get scared off by the vicitms gun. Victim is like "f*** this shit, im not drawing attention to myself" and instead of calling the cops into his life, just gets the hell out of dodge. That shit probably happens all the time. If nobody gets shot or hurt etc the odds of reporting go way down.

 

[AHM]

... some guy might try to mug someone, and then they get scared off by the vicitms gun. Victim is like "f*** this shit, im not drawing attention to myself" and instead of calling the cops into his life, just gets the hell out of dodge. ...

Great minds run in the same channel; earlier today pondering this thread,
I was thinking of the exquisite tension between "in a he-said/she-said situation,
the first one to call the cops gets the initial benefit of the doubt"(*),
and "don't invite The Man into your life".

(*) Although cops have exquisite BS detectors,
since people do nothing but lie to them all day long.

Which advice to follow varies by jurisdiction across the country,
and must vary over time...

That shit probably happens all the time. If nobody gets shot or hurt etc the odds of reporting go way down.

If only you knew what was really going on, you could assess the society of a jurisdiction
from the stats on the suspected reporting rate of brandishing brush-backs.
It tells you how sketchy the neighborhood is,
and how much the community trusts The Man.


Dig it: either NESers are incredibly prudent,
or there's not as many of those BB-B's as OP's article claims.
Otherwise, there'd be way more kewl war stories on NES.

Unless there's a "Scumbag Noped Away From My CCW" megathread
that I've been missing out on.

 

[In God We Trust]

I felt the need to pull mine out when approached on a dark road by some drunks carrying bats. That was as far as it went. No, I didn’t report it. Sorry, Maura.

 

[one-eyed Jack]

Self defense or is preventing a crime included?
On two occasions I walked into work at 4am and some crackhead was giving the shipper a hard time while standing at the cash register. So as I walked in I hiked up my shirt to expose my beautiful scandium frame 1911 in all it's glory and both times the cockroach scurried away.
It's either that or my belly scared them away, not sure.

Maybe your fly was open. LOL. Jack.

 

[jkelly1229]

I read it as the 31% equals 25 million gun owners, not the total of all gun owners (100%) = about 72 million.

Anyways, I thought the estimate of 31% of gun owners using their gun in self defense, no matter the total number of gun owners, hard to believe. Unless they count dry firing (that’s a joke son).

I mean on a loose definition of defense sure

There was a gentleman who must have thought he lived in my apt in worcester. I walked out of my room with a glock 29 and my boxers

Now he would've left with or without the gun when i hit the light and cleared my throat. Damn boy jumped a country mile.

However i technically used it in self defense because i tapped on the window

 

[MaverickNH]

2021 National Firearms Survey

This report summarizes the findings of a national survey of firearms ownership and use conducted between February 17th and March 23rd, 2021 by the professional

poseidon01.ssrn.com

Here’s the original paper referenced. So, of that 31.1% of gun owners who had a DGU, 18.1% fired shot(s), or 5.6%. Over 1 in 20 gun owners fired shots in self defense. That seems high…The other 81.9% fired no shots but “used” a firearm in self-defense. “

“…at least 1.67 million defensive uses of firearms per year in which firearms owners have defended themselves or their property through the discharge, display, or mention of a firearm (excluding military service, police work, or work as a security guard).”

Do a lot of people say “I have a gun” without displaying it? “Don’t make me go get my gun from the safe, find the ammo and load it”…

*********************

Defensive Use of Firearms

31.1% of gun owners, or approximately 25.3 million adult Americans, have used a gun in self-defense.

In most cases (81.9%) the gun is not fired.

There are approximately 1.67 million defensive uses of firearms per year.

The majority of defensive gun uses take place outside of the home (74.8%), and many (51.2%) involve more than one assailant.

Handguns are the firearm most commonly used in defensive incidents (65.9%), followed by shotguns (21.0%) and rifles (13.1%).

In sum, firearms ownership is widespread, and firearms owners are diverse.

Defensive use of firearms was assessed through a series of questions that asked for in- creasingly detailed information from those who indicated that they had used a firearm in self-defense. First, all gun owners were asked, “Have you ever defended yourself or your property with a firearm, even if it was not fired or displayed? Please do not include military service, police work, or work as a security guard.”

About a third (31.1%) answered in the affirmative, and they were then asked how many times they defended themselves with a firearm (from “once” to “five or more times”).

As Figure 2 shows, a majority of gun owners who have used a firearm to defend themselves have done so on more than one occasion.

Given that 31.1% of firearms owners have used a firearm in self-defense, this implies that approximately 25.3 million adult Americans have defended themselves with a firearm

 

[45Badger]

Someone should set up a three question NES poll-

1) How long have you been carrying a handgun for lawful purposes

2) How long have you owned guns as an adult

3) How many times have you used a gun in self defense (military and LEO experiences/events do not count)

Use as defined by grabbing and aiming. Use does not require pulling the trigger. Sweeping your cover garment to expose weapon does not count as a use.

Easy enough to chart.

For me- 23 years, 33 years, zero.

Prudent living is the driver of the last. I no longer engage in the sweet spot of violent crime — 15 to 30 year old males with some combination of women, booze, drugs, after midnight.

I suspect that vast majority of folks here have similar experience.

 

[Mesatchornug]

This is putting the national total gun ownership at 81.4M people or about 1/4 of Americans.

Last I heard, we're about 1/2...something's funny here.

 

[NH_Realtor]

Someone should set up a three question NES poll-

1) How long have you been carrying a handgun for lawful purposes

2) How long have you owned guns as an adult

3) How many times have you used a gun in self defense (military and LEO experiences/events do not count)

Use as defined by grabbing and aiming. Use does not require pulling the trigger. Sweeping your cover garment to expose weapon does not count as a use.

Easy enough to chart.

For me- 23 years, 33 years, zero.

Prudent living is the driver of the last. I no longer engage in the sweet spot of violent crime — 15 to 30 year old males with some combination of women, booze, drugs, after midnight.

I suspect that vast majority of folks here have similar experience.

we need a VAERS system for defensive gun use

 

[FalArAk]

I threw my gun at a spider that scared me once, does that count ?

 

[greencobra]

Well, I mean hey,....there is Chicago....and Detroit.

they talking legal gun owners?

over the years i've met probably multiple thousands of gun owners and a few hundred i personally know. only 1 that i know of, cause he told me, used a gun in self defense. by used i mean fired a round.

 

[MisterHappy]

I threw my gun at a spider that scared me once, does that count ?

Depends on the spider.

If it was a big-azz spider, yes. If not, what's that comment about using your purse, again?

 

[Marty McFly]

Can we start a poll?

 

[kalash]

This is putting the national total gun ownership at 81.4M people or about 1/4 of Americans.

Last I heard, we're about 1/2...something's funny here.

I wouldn't count children for total population's sake and focus on adults instead, so 80m being half might not be too far off.