# A poll about gun ownership : US and non-US posters **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 9, 2023, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-poll-about-gun-ownership-us-and-non-us-posters/983807 "2023-05-09T15:39:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2023, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-poll-about-gun-ownership-us-and-non-us-posters/983807/83 "2023-05-10T16:42:02Z")
I’m from the US and I’ve never handled a gun. I’d say I’ve never been near one but that’s not true, as I have been in many a basement of a hunter and I have a friend who is a CCW teacher and always armed. ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2023, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-poll-about-gun-ownership-us-and-non-us-posters/983807/84 "2023-05-10T16:46:14Z")
> [@Pardel-Lux](#): > > 50K of bullets? That sounds to me like you own more than your own weight in ammo, am I right? May I ask how much that would be in dollars? > ETA: Non US poster, never owned a gun or ammo myself. A gun-owning friend of mine once pointed out that the average gun owner in the U.S. likely has “thousands of rounds of ammunition” in their possession. So when the TV news breathlessly reports when some crime suspect was found to have a hyperbolic “thousands of rounds of ammo!” at their home, it should not really raise too many eyebrows. “Hundreds of guns”, OTOH, starts to get out of enthusiast territory and into fetish territory. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2023, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-poll-about-gun-ownership-us-and-non-us-posters/983807/85 "2023-05-10T16:49:55Z")
> [@snowthx](#): > > So when the TV news breathlessly reports when some crime suspect was found to have a hyperbolic “thousands of rounds of ammo!” at their home, it should not really raise too many eyebrows. My Department Chair and I used to joke that having thousands of rounds of ammo just meant there was a sale at Turner’s Sporting Goods. Especially when the common packaging for .22 cal is the 500 round brick. ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2023, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-poll-about-gun-ownership-us-and-non-us-posters/983807/86 "2023-05-10T17:00:02Z")
I happen to know that 1,000 seconds are about a quarter of an hour, so shooting one bullet a second (not counting the time to reload, which I guess takes longer) would mean shooting for almost 14 hours straight, right? That sounds interesting to me. Well actually it sounds like an awful lot of work, so I guess the bullets are not really for shooting, but for having, like in collecting. I may be wrong about the weight of bullets. And I really have no idea about the price. Just curious. ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2023, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-poll-about-gun-ownership-us-and-non-us-posters/983807/87 "2023-05-10T17:46:27Z")
Wow, a whopping 46% of the voters who live in the U.S. own at least 1 and perhaps more than 5 firearms, but only 3% of the non U.S. voters own at least 1 and perhaps more than 5 firearms. If that doesn’t show the disparity between the United States and the rest of the civilized world, I don’t know what does! 😳 ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2023, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-poll-about-gun-ownership-us-and-non-us-posters/983807/88 "2023-05-10T18:29:42Z")
Not from the US. I’ve hunted with friends, and have always been around guns (some of a decidedly paramilitary variety). I would probably own a target-plinking pistol, if that was easy to do with our licencing laws, but it’s not. I quite like archery and airguns, so it seems like something else I’d enjoy. But have absolutely zero inclination for defensive weaponry, being an absolute pacifist. ---
**Author:** ![Surfing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5fc32e/32.png) [@Surfing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Surfing)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2023, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-poll-about-gun-ownership-us-and-non-us-posters/983807/89 "2023-05-10T21:31:44Z")
From the US and own a handful of guns. I was born in the south and my dad gave me my first gun (410 shotgun) when I was 11. Of course my dad kept it locked up but it “belonged” to me. Getting it was a big rite of passage and included long talks with dad about safety, maturity, and responsibility as well as hours spent shooting together. Other than learning how to use and maintain it I never actually shot it a lot but it was a big part of growing up. Most of my friends had the same experience. I’ve known a lot of gun owners and all were responsible. I moved to Colorado and both my wife and teenage girls shoot. It’s been cool having a lot of the same talks with my kids and spending some quality time together shooting up on our land in the mountains. We only shoot a couple of times a year but it’s fun family time and there’s quite a bit of rivalry to see who’s the best shot (it’s me but the girls are catching up 🙂 ). My family down south are rural rednecks but take gun safety and responsibility seriously. They tend to use their guns more for practical things. Both of my teenage nieces are excellent shots and stock the family freezer with duck, quail, pheasant, and deer every year. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2023, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-poll-about-gun-ownership-us-and-non-us-posters/983807/90 "2023-05-10T21:33:00Z")
> [@Pardel-Lux](#): > > I may be wrong about the weight of bullets. And I really have no idea about the price. Just curious. Last month I went shooting with a friend. 100 .38 caliber bullets intended for target shooting were, if I recall, $70 which would be considered inexpensive compared to other types. We were taking our time (he was coaching me on my technique) but they were gone in 45 minutes. Weight will vary with caliber and other details but they are heavy due to being made of metal like brass and lead. In regards to the post you replied to with 50k bullets: yes, that many bullets would definitely weigh more than a person. ---
**Author:** ![Dallas\_Jones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dallas_jones/32/3277_2.png) [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2023, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-poll-about-gun-ownership-us-and-non-us-posters/983807/91 "2023-05-10T22:27:32Z")
A one thousand round case of 7.62x39mm weighes 42 pounds. That is what you put in a AK-47 or my bolt action hunting rifle. It used to be available in an actual can, big, flat can that you open like a can of tuna. [1000 Rounds of Bulk 7.62x39mm Ammo by Tula - 122gr HP (bulkammo.com)](https://www.bulkammo.com/bulk-7-62x39mm-ammo-762x39122grhpul076212tula-1000#:~:text=Each%20of%20these%201000%20round,easily%20because%20of%20their%20design.) ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2023, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-poll-about-gun-ownership-us-and-non-us-posters/983807/92 "2023-05-11T00:13:04Z")
I own 4. Had to turn in the one I used at work when I retired. Two I bought when I was stationed in Germany because I thought they were cool and I thought I wouldn’t be able to find them in the US. I haven’t fired either in decades. Two I bring to the range and fire now and then. I CC either of them when I’m so inclined. Which I’m not most of the time. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2023, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-poll-about-gun-ownership-us-and-non-us-posters/983807/93 "2023-05-11T00:31:34Z")
Other than what I own I have also fired many different weapons while in the Army from .38 pistols up to the 120mm main gun on a tank. > [@Tride](#): > > 9 mm pistol–when I thought my life was in danger from a redneck I was trying to send to jail (failed). Failed to send to jail or failed to kill you? ---
**Author:** ![Tride](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tride/32/13907_2.png) [@Tride](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tride)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2023, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-poll-about-gun-ownership-us-and-non-us-posters/983807/94 "2023-05-11T00:44:45Z")
Both. Busted him on defrauding a condo project out of $300k, but the police and the GC failed to follow through. I still don’t know why. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2023, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-poll-about-gun-ownership-us-and-non-us-posters/983807/95 "2023-05-11T01:49:24Z")
USAmerican. Shot air guns in youth, as a young adult Your Tax Dollars paid for me to learn to operate and maintain an M16 and slay plastic pop-up silhouettes at various distances. Since then very ocassionally upon invitation I’d accompany someone to a range and try whatever was at hand. Far more of my adult life, I have NOT owned than owned, though currently I do own one handgun (kept at one of my residences). ---
**Author:** ![ekedolphin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ekedolphin/32/10003_2.png) [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2023, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-poll-about-gun-ownership-us-and-non-us-posters/983807/96 "2023-05-12T06:28:45Z")
American cishet white liberal male reporting in. I hate guns and want nothing to do with them. I’m probably not legally allowed to own one, in any event, since I’ve been involuntarily institutionalized on multiple occasions. There is one gun in the house owned by my landlord, but I don’t know where it is, and don’t want to know. ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2023, 6:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-poll-about-gun-ownership-us-and-non-us-posters/983807/97 "2023-05-12T06:38:16Z")
> [@ekedolphin](#): > > I hate guns and want nothing to do with them. I’m probably not legally allowed to own one, in any event, since I’ve been involuntarily institutionalized on multiple occasions. Nonsense. Welcome to America. Hell, you could probably get your congressman to give you one. ---
**Author:** ![ekedolphin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ekedolphin/32/10003_2.png) [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2023, 7:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-poll-about-gun-ownership-us-and-non-us-posters/983807/98 "2023-05-12T07:09:00Z")
Possibly. But I have apparently committed acts of minor violence while in the throes of a nervous breakdown. And that was while deliberately trying not to hurt anyone. Keep guns the hell away from me. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2023, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-poll-about-gun-ownership-us-and-non-us-posters/983807/99 "2023-05-12T20:31:15Z")
> [@Jack\_Batty](#): > > Nonsense. Welcome to America. Hell, you could probably get your congressman to give you one. Not legally. Federal Law says you can not buy a firearm is you have ever been involuntarily committed to a mental institution. > **[ATF Form 4473 - Firearms Transaction Record Revisions | Bureau of Alcohol,...](https://www.atf.gov/firearms/atf-form-4473-firearms-transaction-record-revisions)** > > View the Updated ATF Form 4473 - Firearms Transaction Record (August 2023 Revisions) Notice Regarding Previous Changes to the ATF Form 4473 Due to new statutory requirements set forth in both the NICS Denial Notification Act and the Bipartisan Safer... ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2023, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-poll-about-gun-ownership-us-and-non-us-posters/983807/100 "2023-05-14T00:38:03Z")
I have never and will never own or touch a gun. I wish I was not an exception to the rule. ---
**Author:** ![Projammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/projammer/32/559_2.png) [@Projammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Projammer)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2023, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-poll-about-gun-ownership-us-and-non-us-posters/983807/101 "2023-05-14T17:03:53Z")
I’m a collector, so a double digit quantity of firearms. A majority of which I have never fired and some of which have never been fired since they left the factory. Some are from various wars so I don’t doubt that they have body counts on them, but none with tally marks. My daughter and I used to go to the range twice a month but got out of the habit when ammo prices got stupid. I guess I should see if she wants to start again now that things have settled down. ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2023, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-poll-about-gun-ownership-us-and-non-us-posters/983807/102 "2023-05-15T14:24:47Z")
I actually own one, despite living in Japan! Well, I technically own one, because my aunt gave me my cousin’s rifle after he died, but since possessing one in Japan is highly illegal, it’s back in the States. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-poll-about-gun-ownership-us-and-non-us-posters/983807.md?page=4)