Old Bill Dibble
New member
The question bothers me. It reminds me of a "study" done several years ago that showed that guns were not very common in colonial and frontier America. The media loved it and reported the findings with glee. I still run across people from time to time who cite that study when advocating for gun control.
If it you makes you feel any better this is not a study showing that gun ownership was rare or anything like that.
I'd say even if the movies got it completely wrong gun ownership was much more common and widespread during the frontier era on the frontier than it is today throughout the US. I do think that long gun ownership was more the norm with nearly everyone who could afford one owning at least one. I imagine pistol ownership and carry rates being many times higher than it is today but nowhere near universal.
The perception problem I have is that I don't think that "everyone" was armed at all times as is often portrayed in the movies.
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