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If gun-control advocates still want to argue that firearm ownership is a fringe activity in America, a new national survey just made that position much harder to defend.
The newly released 2026 National Firearms Survey estimates that 32.7% of American adults personally own firearms. That works out to roughly 88 million people who collectively own an estimated 461 million guns.
That total reportedly includes about 208 million handguns, 154 million rifles, and 99 million shotguns.
According to reporting from the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, the survey was conducted by Georgetown University professor William English. It is the second wave of his National Firearms Survey, following his initial research published in 2021.
The updated numbers surrounding AR-15s and other modern semiautomatic rifles could be particularly important.
The survey found that 25% of American gun owners currently own an AR-15-type rifle. While 12.9% own another similarly styled semiautomatic rifle. Altogether, 30% of gun owners, or approximately 26.4 million adults, own at least one firearm in either category.
The researchers estimate Americans currently own roughly 40 million AR-15-type rifles. And another 20 million similarly styled rifles.
Those are not niche numbers.
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They could also carry serious weight as courts continue considering whether bans on AR-15s and similar firearms violate the Second Amendment. Under the Supreme Court’s “common use” language, tens of millions of rifles owned by millions of law-abiding citizens present an obvious problem for states trying to characterize them as unusual weapons.
“This new survey comes at a very important moment,” CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb said, pointing to a major Supreme Court case involving bans on AR-15-type rifles and pistols.
The survey also examined the number of Americans who carry handguns for personal protection. It found that 70% of gun owners carry a handgun for self-defense under at least some circumstances. An estimated 33.6 million gun owners hold a permit and carry in public at least occasionally.
Researchers also estimated approximately 2.2 million defensive gun uses each year. That’s a HUGE number!
That figure will probably generate plenty of debate. Defensive gun-use estimates have varied widely over the years. Partly because many incidents do not involve a shot being fired or a police report. The new estimate is based on respondents reporting their own experiences, rather than a centralized collection of law-enforcement records.
Still, the broader ownership figures are difficult to wave away. The average gun owner reportedly owns about 5.2 firearms, while more than half own magazines capable of holding over 10 rounds.
Gottlieb said the findings provide hard data that lawmakers, the media, and gun-control organizations should not ignore.
Whatever side of the debate someone falls on, 88 million gun owners and 461 million firearms tell a pretty clear story. Gun ownership is not an obscure American pastime, and AR-15s are not rare curiosities sitting in the back corners of a few gun safes.
They are owned by millions of ordinary Americans, and there are tens of millions of them in circulation.
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is a seasoned outdoorsman, lifelong hunter, and the kind of guy who’d rather track whitetails than scroll social media. As an editor for GunsAmerica, he’s got a sharp eye for spotting both solid gear and bad gun laws. Whether he’s deep in the woods or deep in editorial deadlines, Larry brings a no-nonsense, tell-it-like-it-is approach to firearms, hunting, and the great American tradition of self-reliance. If there’s a hot debate on gun rights or the latest in hunting tech, you can bet Larry’s got an opinion—and it’s probably backed up with both facts and field experience.
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