Recreational Use of Firearms in the US in 1994
From StatWiki
[edit] Recreational Use of Firearms—Percentage of Gun Owners Who Hunt, Do Other Sport Shooting, Do Neither
Total gun owners in 1994: 44 million
"The most common motivation for owning firearms was recreation. As shown in exhibit 3, about 35 percent of gun owners (15 million people, 8 percent of the adult public) hunted in 1994, and about an equal percentage engaged in sport shooting other than hunting. Given the substantial overlap between the two groups, about half (23 million) of the Nation's 44 million gun owners participated in a gun sport during 1994. Of those who owned only handguns in 1994, 40 percent used them recreationally, almost entirely for sport shooting other than hunting.
"Another reason cited for firearm ownership was self-protection. Overall, 46 percent of gun owners possessed firearms (usually handguns) primarily for protection against crime (41 percent for males; 67 percent for females). Almost three-quarters of those who owned only handguns kept them primarily for self-protection. Of course, some people seek the protection of a gun because they may be disproportionately likely to lead risky lives or associate with violent people.6 Those who had been arrested for nontraffic offenses were more likely to own firearms (37 percent compared to 25 percent in the general population)."
- Hunting Only: 18%
- Both Hunting and Other Sport Shooting: 17%
- Sport Shooting Only (Other than Hunting): 17%
- Neither: 48%
The average number of days hunters said they spent hunting in 1994 was 16.4 days.
The average number of days sport shooters said they spent sport shooting in 1994 was 18.6 days.
[edit] See Also
Gun Ownership in the US in 1994 - Prevalence
[edit] Source
National Institute of Justice, Guns in America: National Survey on Private Ownership and Use of Firearms, May 1997
