Since some people own multiple guns, the actual number of households with a firearm is lower than the total number of known guns. Is there any good estimate on how many of those might be “active” guns- that is, not dad’s old gun up in the attic somewhere or that old piece in the workbench drawer in the garage, or a disassembled gun in a locked case, but guns that are readily available to the occupants?
No, there is a lot about guns that is not tracked by the government.
Related to this point, I am also curious whether gun statistics differentiate between modern guns (defined by the law as being newer than 1899) versus ‘all guns’. I myself have six guns in my collection. All are unusual working guns, but three are from 1883, 1860, and 1845 respectively, the latter two not using a traditional cartridge type bullet as you would expect, but fully capable of shooting a musket ball/minie ball. Each of these three could be purchased in a store by a child as an ‘antique’ for cash with no records kept, no different than buying an old lamp, so I question whether they ‘count’.
There are reproduction black powder parts kits available as well; my boyfriend built himself a .50 cal rifle like this. He can load it fairly quickly but I honestly don’t remember how and even if I did, it would take a while. Still, it’s pretty intimidating looking and I could probably hit a burglar over the head with it!
It is also legal to build your own gun. Google garage guns. These aren’t even kits, and can be made to shoot regular cartridges in semi-auto.
That was a principle we use to have in prison. What we really watched for were attempts to smuggle in bullets. Because if a prisoner had bullets, it would be relatively easy to build a gun.
The State of Washington covers the registration requirements for antique firearms in RCW 9.41.090.(7). They make the following specific statements - these are direct quotes from the RCW.
“The Washington state form FIR 652-001 (Pistol Transfer Application) is to be completed in triplicate for each handgun transfer, except for antique firearms.” (Emphasis is as shown in the RCW)
“You will not be required to fill out the pistol transfer form when selling an antique firearm.”
“‘Antique firearm’ means a firearm or replica of a firearm not designed or redesigned for using rim fire or conventional center fire with fixed ammunition and manufactured in or before 1898, including any matchlock, flintlock, percussion cap, or similar type of ignition system and also any firearm using fixed ammunition manufactured in or before 1898, for which ammunition is no longer manufactured in the United States and is not readily available in the ordinary channels of commercial trade.”
That sounds pretty definite.
I would look at something like how many burglaries include a firearm vs how many total burglaries there are and then extend that to all households. A few of those stolen could be dismantled and in a locked case but most are going to be “readily available to the occupants”.
I have a number of guns but more than half of them are quite old, and/or unusual in some way, and, while I do shoot them occasionally, aren’t what you might consider ‘active’ guns.
And, I hasten to add, only one of them is ‘readily available’ to me at any time.
The rest of them live in a safe.