Firearm Sales Charted by Region — Southeastern and Mountain States Lead Rifle Purchases
The National Sporting Goods Association (NSGA) has issued an interesting report charting gun sales by region. Southerners like handguns, and those in the Great Lakes states purchase the most shotguns by far. In 2008, southern Atlantic states led per capita in handgun purchases and also accounted for 31.4 % of all handguns bought in the United States. East north central states led per capita in shotgun purchases and accounted for 33.4 % of shotguns sold.
The Mountain states led per capita in rifle purchases and accounted for 10.7 percent of rifles sold. But the South Atlantic states’ residents buy the most rifles overall — 22% of the nationwide total. It is interesting that the Pacific states (California, Oregon, Washington) encompass 14.7% of the U.S. population, but that region accounts for only 10% of rifles and shotguns sold. On the other hand, Pacific states’ residents buy 14.2% of all handguns, the second highest figure among regions. Maybe all those crazy gun control laws in California haven’t made things any safer, and people feel the need to arm themselves.
