Most gun owners are not hunters

A

atblis

New member
I've read this, that most gun owners are actually not hunters.

Does anybody know a reputable source that shows these numbers?
 
I imagine that most gun-owners are not hunters. Is there any particular reason why it matters? It doesn't say in the 2nd Amendment that we have the right to bear arms but only for the purpose of harvesting food.
 
cje1980:
It doesn't say in the 2nd Amendment that we have the right to bear arms but only for the purpose of harvesting food.
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Seems alot of the hunters (like Zumbo) think it does.
 
I believe it. I used to be a hunter back when I was in my early teens. I only small gamed hunted with a single bolt action .22 that I still have. Instead of hunting a week every year we go fishing, which I prefer more anyway. Most all of my friends who own guns don't hunt or have even ever been hunting.
 
"Does anybody know a reputable source that shows these numbers?"

I doubt that you will find one. I think that shooters are generally mistrustful of people doing surveys who ask about their guns.

Tim
 
It's estimated there are 80 million or so gun owners. Hunting license sales from the states put hunters at about 14-16 million, and that number is declining due to the more urban orientation of the younger generations.
 
True

There probably aren't any.

Yes, I know the 2nd ammendment doesn't address hunting. As much as it bothers me to say this, I think the constitution got flushed quite a while ago.
 
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A number of people who no longer hunt, due to age, location, or time constraints, still consider themselves hunters. There are also gun owners who have only hunting type arms, practice to hunt, but never have. They also consider themselves hunters.

That's akin to asking everyone who owns a handgun if they shoot it every year. There's probably a larger number of gun owners who bought one, shot it a few times, stuck it in a drawer years ago, and haven't fired it since, than there is the people like on this forum. Does that mean that they aren't truly "handgunners"?

Heck, you can say the same thing about people who own "black rifles".

Trying to assign people catagories, and then to assign them traits according to those catagories, is a VPC/Brady Bunch tactic.

Seems alot of the hunters (like Zumbo) think it does.
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How about a little proof of that statement? I read most of the hunting magazines during the month, and haven't seen that particular comment, or even that train of thought. Maybe I've missed it, so show me.

To be quite frank, it sounds like somebody cleaned up a rant from the arfers, and found that little pearl in the back-flush.:)
 
The biggest cause of decline for the hunting numbers is divorce. That's a problem we need to fix in order to get much of the problems our country is having under control. I think a lot of people are missing much of what would be good for them because they don't hunt.
 
I've seen numbers such as those stevelyn posted above several times and took that as affirmative evidence that most gunowners don't hunt. I haven't hunted myself in over a decade and a half. Returning to school and not having access to places to hunt were a big part of it. My primary interest in the gun community is personal/home defense. I'll wager this is the most common reason for gun ownership these days, though many may claim that recreational activities such as hunting, target shooting, or competition are their primary reasons.

I do have access to some pretty good deer territory these days though, so maybe I'll get back to it this year. I'll just have to get a new bowstring and some arrows and start practicing again, and start shopping around for a deer rifle. Of course I could just borrow my father's Savage 99 (.300 Savage), since he acquired a new Browning BAR last year. I've always liked that rifle.
 
I'm a major big time gun owner but I don't hunt. I just like guns and shoot them when the weather is nice. I think I have guns that have never been fired, at least by me.

I guess the question I get asked most is "why do you need a gun or guns?" My simple answer is "I don't need them, I want them".

I don't carry for self defense, I don't keep a loaded gun in the house, it would take me 30 minutes to find ammo to load a gun.

I have my own 200 yard range on my property and I just shoot for fun.
 
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