Friday, December 25, 2009

Gun Purchases by Region

FatWhiteMan sent me the link to this fascinating article about gun purchases. But his accompanying remark to me was the best part of it.

Here is a neat chart I found. I am sure you can pervert it to your own agenda, especially the handgun part of the Southeast :)

Rather than provide a lengthy analysis of the handgun purchases in the Southeast and how they obviously feed the iron pipeline, I actually find the shotgun folks up north more interesting. And it was not lost on me that FatWhiteMan himself resides within the confines of shotgun heaven. My question is, why. Why do folks in Ohio and its neighboring Great Lakes States buy so many shotguns? Is there a psychological explanation?

It's definitely a fun chart which I accept from FatWhiteMan as an early Christmas present and offer to you in the same spirit.

Merry Christmas everybody.



    Deer hunting. In Ohio, you cannot use a rifle to hunt deer. You can use shotgun, certain handguns, muzzle loaders and bows.

  2. Looks as if Fat Man begs me to link the Old Confederate States to handguns.

    Did i make the right connection?

    BTW, what is that RED section in the MS valley?

  3. That map doesn't surprise me at all.

    PS: Merry Christmas to you, Mike!!! :)

  4. Sevesteen gets it:

    Shotguns in those states are the predominant hunting arm, which drives sales. Rifles dominate in the western states for similar reasons. The shooting sports are probably going to reflect what people use in the hunting cultures.

  5. Sevesteen and Sebastion are dead on as to the Midwest shotgun connection with hunting. Also the Trap shooting superbowl used to be in Ohio but has moved to Illinois.

    I am kind of out of place though according to this map as I am not that big if a shotgun officianado though I am an NRA Certified Shotgun instructor as well as a Shotshell Reloading Instructor. I don't even hunt deer with a shotgun any more, preferring instead a muzzle loader even during gun season.

    Although I carry a handgun almost daily, my first love is rifles. Maybe I should move out west.

    Muddie, I believe the red area was pretty balanced on preference, not leaning more one way than another.

    Merry Christmas everyone!

  6. I forgot about shotguns being used for hunting. And now that I'm thinking about it, how does it work for deer. Isn't it hard to get close enough? Is the killing distance with a shotgun shorter than that of a bow? Why would hunters prefer a shotgun to a rifle for deer hunting?

  7. MikeB,

    It is not a matter of preference but of law. Most hunters would prefer a rifle to a shotgun but are restricted to the shotgun in some states. Yes, you do need to get closer with a shotgun but technology has helped. Slug barrels have sights like those found on a rifle. Rifled slugs stabilize the projectile like a rifle bullet extending the shotgun's effective range to 100 yards. Some slug guns have scope mounts and rifled barrels that are used with high end saboted slugs that provide a more accurate round, combined with increased muzzle velocity and extended range to 200 yards.

    This is another example of why gun bans based upon a gun's features do not work. Put a restriction on a gun and we will find a way to comply with the law and still get what we need out of it.

  8. FWM said, "Most hunters would prefer a rifle to a shotgun but are restricted to the shotgun in some states."

    Why is that? Is it to give little Bambi a sporting chance?

  9. Mud, That red area is called "East South Central, comprised of AL, MS. TN and KY.

    According to the more detailed chart they don't stand out in any of the categories.

  10. Mikeb30200:

    I used to rent a room from a guy who owned seven shotguns and rifles. He had a muzzleloader and two slug guns. He said the slugguns were his pick because he knew they worked. He said he'd schlepped the muzzleloader a number of times and never even seen a deer when he was carrying it.

    Up here in central NY folks get permits for bow and slug, both, and get tags for private (leases) as well as public hunting. At least that's my understanding.

    I've asked lots of hunters and tried numerous web searches but have never been able to find anything definitive on the ballistics of slugs v rifle bullets in terms of impact energy. Slugs are HUGE, though, so I suspect they are plenty deadly enough within their effective range.

  11. At very close ranges, a standard 2 3/4 12 gauge slug is in between the power in ft-lbs of a .308 Nato and a .30-06. At longer ranges the rifles retain far more energy than the slug--The slug at 50 yards has about the same energy as the .30-06 at 300.

    Typical Ohio hunting conditions are within the range of a shotgun. Many hunters use a tree stand, and wait for the deer to be relatively close. I believe the justification against rifles is that other weapons won't travel as far, and a missed shot will be dangerous to others for a shorter distance.

    I live not far from where the trap shooting nationals used to be--Right next to Cox International Airport. In fact, it was an Airport expansion that took the land they were using and caused them to move. It was kind of interesting to see all the shooters against a backdrop of commercial airliners.