2021 National Firearms Survey: Analysis of Magazine Ownership and Use

Abstract

This report extends analysis of the 2021 National Firearms Survey to examine magazine ownership and use in greater detail, reporting the distribution of magazine ownership and the types of magazines owned by state. The underlying survey data comes from the national survey of firearms ownership and use, which was conducted between February 17th and March 23rd, 2021 by the professional survey firm Centiment. This survey randomly polled a representative sample of approximately fifty-four thousand U.S. residents aged 18 and over, identifying over 16,000 gun owners who were asked detailed questions about their ownership and use of firearms. Previous reports described summary statistics of responses to the main survey questions. This report focuses on analyzing the ownership and use of magazines in greater depth across states and demographic groups. It finds that 31.9% of firearm owners (∼26 million individuals) have owned handgun magazines that hold 11-15 rounds, 21.6% (∼18 million) have owned handgun magazines that hold 16+ rounds, 14.5% (∼12 million) have owned handgun magazines that hold 21+ rounds, and 10.6% (∼9 Million), have owned hand-gun magazines that hold 31+ rounds. With regard to rifle magazines, 22.2% of firearm owners (∼18 million) have owned rifle magazines that hold 11-15 rounds, 24.8% (∼20 million) have owned rifle magazines that hold 16+ rounds, 20.2% (∼16 million) have owned rifle magazines that hold 21+ rounds, and 12.6% (∼10 Million), have owned rifle magazines that hold 31+ rounds. Ownership rates and numbers are further bro-ken down by state and demographic categories. Overall, approximately 48% of gun owners (39 million individuals) have owned magazines that hold more than 10 rounds, and 71% of such owners indicate that they have owned such magazines for defensive purposes (Home Defense or Defense Outside the Home).