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Firearms Numbers in the United States 1945 – 2012
The data for these numbers has been 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. The methodology used by Kleck was used for the figures obtained from the ATF, and was the cumulative addition of domestic manufacture plus imports minus exports. This does not count guns shipped to the U.S. military. The figures are rounded to the nearest million.
Kleck attributes the 1945 – 1968 numbers to Newton and Zimring, which includes the calculation of the 1945 number of modern guns added to the stock from 1899 to 1945. Firearms manufactured before 1899 are not included. The starting figure in 1945 is 47 million; at the end of 2012, it is 347 million, an increase of 300 million in 67 years, a six fold increase in the stock.
The numbers do not account for reduction of the gun stock due to wear and tear, loss, destruction or illegal exportation; or increases of the stock from illegal importation, individual or illegal manufacture, or acquisition from military sources.
The U.S. population increased from 133 million to 313 million in 2012, a 135% increase in population, or over a 200% increase in the number of guns per capita. Guns per capita rose from .35 in 1945, to 1.1 guns per capita in 2012.
For some perspective, Motor vehicle ownership in the United States has followed a similar trend, with an increase from .22 per capita in 1945 to .809 per capita in 2011, a 269% increase.
For those who wish to put data into a program to create your own charts and graphs, here are the numbers:
From Point Blank, by Kleck:
1945 47
1946 48
1947 51
1948 53
1949 55
1950 58
1951 60
1952 62
1953 64
1954 66
1955 67
1956 69
1957 71
1958 73
1959 75
1960 78
1961 80
1962 81
1963 84
1964 86
1965 89
1966 93
1967 97
1968 102
1969 107
1970 112
1971 117
1972 122
1973 128
1974 135
1975 140
1976 146
1977 151
1978 156
1979 162
1980 168
1981 173
1982 178
1983 182
1984 186
1985 191
1986 194
1987 198
1988 – 2012 ATF reports
1988 203
1989 209
1990 213
1991 217
1992 223
1993 231
1994 238
1995 243
1996 247
1997 252
1998 256
1999 261
2000 265
2001 270
2002 274
2003 279
2004 284
2005 289
2006 295
2007 301
2008 308
2009 316
2010 325
2011 334
2012 347
©2015 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice is included.
Link to Gun Watch
Source: http://gunwatch.blogspot.com/2015/06/firearms-numbers-in-united-states-1945.html
