Captain Crunch

Statistics gathered over the past three years show that target shooting with rifle, handgun, and shotgun is more popular than many pastimes historically considered mainstays of warm-season recreation.

Participation in shooting sports tops tennis, softball, jet & water skiing, mountain biking, most team sports and virtually all of the seasonal technical sports like rock climbing and kayaking, according to the most recent numbers from American Sports Data (ASD), a consumer research firm for the sporting goods, fitness and health club industries.

Research from ASD shows more than 18 million Americans enjoy the shooting sports. Per capita, ASD shows Idaho as the most avid shooting State (18 of every 100 people participate), followed by Utah, Wyoming, Montana, and Arkansas.

In overall numbers, California is No. 1 with over 2.1 million shooters, including the most rifle, handgun and shotgun shooters of any State, followed by Texas, Pennsylvania, New York and Ohio.

The top 10 States for total number of target shooters are:

CA, 2,162,000

TX, 1,297,000

PA, 1,036,000

NY, 905,000

OH, 821,000

FL, 693,000

MI, 647,000

IL, 586,000

NC, 542,000

TN, 497,000

Source: Gun Tests Magazine, August 07.

__________________


"Just be nice...or I'LL SHOOT"!

Terry

rabywk

Am I the only one that finds the top 10 funny. CA & IL have very strict gun laws in place and are always looking to put more into effect, but they are number 1 & 8 on the top 10.

__________________
NRA Rifle Coach
NRA Pistol Instructor
NRA Personal Protection In the Home Instructor

--- Some of the friendliest people I have ever talked to are gun owners and shooters and according to the gun activists we are the mass murders and felons of the nation???

P95Carry

Seems depite the gross restrictions re carry and even gun types that there is a hardcore large number of enthusiastic shooters, even in IL and CA.

I thought too MD might have shown but - smaller state so maybe that depresses figures. Proportionately tho I'd say MD is also quite high for recreational shooting.

__________________
Chris - P95
NRA Certified Instructor & NRA Life Member.

"To own a gun and assume that you are armed
is like owning a piano and assuming that you are a musician!."

If a BG dies as the result of pointing a gun at me, then he has merely succumbed to an occupational hazard of being a thug

Chaddae52

Just shows once again that there are MANY MANY law-abiding shooters and gun owners that appreciate the sport and REAL purpose for firearms.

__________________
"Like a muddied spring or polluted well is a righteous man who gives way to the wicked." -Proverbs 25:26

"If the thief is found breaking in, and he is struck so that he dies, there shall be no guilt for his bloodshed..." -Exodus 22:2

Rob99VMI04

ny IS #4

__________________
"You may find me one day dead in a ditch somewhere. But by God, you'll find me in a pile of brass." - Trooper M. Padgett

"When seconds count.....Cops Respond in Minutes"

pogo2

I believe that CA is the most populous US state with over 30 million people, about 1 out of 10 people in the country. So I am not surprised that it is largest in shooters with 2.1 million.

I think that the majority of people in CA are probably non-shooters, however, and are able to pass laws discriminating against shooters and the types of guns they can own. Even so, the CA shooters seem to be a sizeable group.

Captain Crunch

Kinda makes you wonder why they don't have more political clout.

According to their web site, the California State Rifle & Pistol Association has 65,000 members.

65,000 out of 2.1 million shooters? Not a good ratio.

__________________


"Just be nice...or I'LL SHOOT"!

Terry

NYCMedic

NY is #4?????????? How many times did they count me? If there are so many of us why cant we get a single helpful law passed or stop any of the new anti-gun laws? Maybe it counted armed criminals also. We have a lot of those.

__________________
Bleeding-heart reporter: “Do you feel that violence begets violence?”
Jeff Cooper: “It is my earnest endeavor to see that it does. I would like very much to ensure - and in some cases I have - that any man who offers violence to his fellow citizen begets a whole lot more than he can enjoy."

FknRa

The reason is that the other 27.9 million are far left leaning idiots when it comes to constitutional rights.

I'm sorry they love constitutional rights as long as they are for a minority. Me being a 20something White Male Gunowner I'm basically screwed.

California is truly a prime example of the government working more for small special intrest groups than for the general public.

It goes back to the old "Lets make everyone Feel good and "Safe"" rather than deal with the real issues. It seems as though no-one is willing to put thier foot down and draw a line somewhere. Personal responsability is nonexistant, and everyone seems to be more worried about making someone cry.

/rant off

__________________
To those that paid for my freedom,
I WILL NEVER FORGET.

As with all statements I've made and All that I will make, please check your local laws to verify accuracy. (and if i'm wrong let me know as I like to be right in the future) After all I'm just some goofball posting on an internet forum.

Stetson

There's a large number of untapped voters out there that could become part of our special interest group.Sounds like we have not done a very good job organizing ? This will be a on going fight for generations!