As usual, claims that ownership, hunting, manufacturing between such and such dates tend to be exaggerated and/or the dates specifically chosen to make an argument. This is clearly shown in the classic case of the VPC claiming that the numbers of firearm owners have been declining. Obviously this is not even close to being the truth.
The same can be said about firearm manufacturing which is supposedly in decline. Particular dates are always chosen and terminology used to show the desired results. So I decided to take a look at the data from the BATFE which is available for the years 1998-2000.
Looking at the total numbers, it does show a drop of a little under 53,000 firearms manufactured during that period. Looking at the individual types produced during the years shows a different story however:
So Handguns and Rifles vary with a slight trend upwards, revolvers remain very stable, while shotguns decreased significantly but have stabilized over the last few years.
Looking back another decade using data from Shooting Industry Magazine reports continues to show a varied history. From 1987-2006 one could say that US firearm manufacturing increased by nearly 90,000 firearms but that would still bely the wide swings in manufacturing over the last 20 years from a peak of 5.16M in 1994 to a ebb of 2.9M in 2001. That trend shows a slight drop in handgun(combined w/ revolvers) and shotgun manufacturing but a significant increase in rifles. The sales figures over the last two years seem to imply that we're still on an upward slope for manufacturing.
And these are just US numbers w/o taking into account the +/- 250K exports or +/- 1.25M imports every year.
4 comments:
Interesting. According to the chart, you can probably infer that the increase in 2001 may be attributable to 9/11. But I wonder what the reason was for the sharp decline (except revolvers) for the couple years prior to 2001?
I would say that the decline prior to 2001 was due to the demonization of shooting sports and the general "going to ground" of the gun culture during the Clinton years and the AWB. It was not PC to be known as owning guns. Waco, Ruby Ridge and the whole "Militia scare" of the times had a lot of gunnies playing their cards close to their vests. Sept 11th and a real or perceived threat to heartland USA made it publicly acceptable to be known to own guns.
I can see shotguns declining, as the technology is relatively stagnant, the lead issues, the harassment of dove hunters, added taxes in the form of duck stamps...
How many new shotgunners are there each year?
Now the technology in semi hand guns and in rifles is bringing out something new almost monthly - that is generating additional purchases from gun owners,
The mythical average gun owner/hunter probably has a couple or three shotguns, a revolver or two and a reason to have a few different rifles and pistols, with a real practical reason to own each. I own bolt, single shot, semi, lever and pump rifles, and have a authentic, active use for each. I also have serious and fun semi pistols. My Black powder hobby is not even charted here I imagine.
Then you get to the two T-C Frames and a different caliber/barrel length each day of the month. But they are just counted as two pistols, even though I also shoot them as carbines.
A real untold story is where are all the used firearms? They don't end up in landfills or junkyards like Microwaves or Automobiles. Firearms are durable goods, and except for the very few that are used in crime, are almost never destroyed and taken out of service.
Now I would like to see a comparison the new sales numbers per household to the new car sales per household over the same time period. Or the numbers can be adjusted for population growth during that time frame.
how about the dot com bubble and all the "economy's great" crap because all the fraud and multiple sets of books flying under Clinton's radar?
Is there a long term chart like this that we could compare to bust boom times?
"A real untold story is where are all the used firearms?"
Very true. Personally, I like getting used ones, preferably from private owners so that there is no record of the transaction.
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