67%

Two-thirds of gun owners say protection is a major reason they have a firearm. By comparison, about 4 in 10 ( 38 percent) cite hunting as a major reason, and 3 in 10 name sport shooting. Fewer point to a collection ( 13 percent) or to their job ( 8 percent) as central to why they keep a gun. Forty-four percent offer more than one major reason. Roughly 1 in 7 ( 15 percent) of adults who own or have owned a gun say they have fired or threatened to fire to defend themselves, their family or their possessions.