The data for the estimated number of guns in America was gathered from two sources. From 1945 to 1987, the data was taken from Point Blank: Guns and Violence in America by Gary Kleck, Table 2.1. For the later years, Kleck’s methodology was applied to figures obtained from the ATF. The number shown is the cumulative addition of domestic manufacture plus imports minus exports, not including guns shipped to the U.S. military or foreign military sales. The figures are rounded to the nearest million. And the estimated number of guns in America is . . .
Three-hundred-and-forty-seven million. That’s the 2012 figure. It represents roughly one gun for every man, woman and child in America (not counting so-called undocumented Americans). Diving a little deeper . . .
A Minority of Americans Own Guns, But Just How Many Is Unclear
Guns In America, By The Numbers
Three Percent Of the Population Own Half Of the Civilian Guns In the US
