Gun control activists demanded better data. What they got surprised the heck out of them

A revised, expanded version of the most comprehensive survey ever conducted on American gun ownership has been released, and its findings appear to further challenge the core arguments advanced by gun control advocates.

The 2026 National Firearms Survey, led by Georgetown University Professor William English, is a follow-up to his groundbreaking 2021 study. The original survey drew sharp criticism from gun control activists, who raised methodological objections and disputed its conclusions. In response, English redesigned the survey to address those concerns, then re-administered it to more than 24,000 adults nationwide.

The result, English says, is that the new data not only failed to vindicate his critics but actually strengthened the original findings.

"When you ask the questions in the way that critics suggested, the numbers don't shrink. They grow," English said. "The more carefully you try to measure defensive gun use and ownership of commonly owned firearms, the more clearly these patterns emerge."

Among the survey's most notable findings:

Defensive gun uses may have been undercounted. The 2021 survey estimated that American adults use firearms to defend themselves, their property, or others approximately 1.67 million times per year, outside of military, law enforcement, and security contexts. The 2026 estimate is higher, at roughly 2.2 million defensive uses annually. Part of the increase is attributed to a new category of self-defense: protection against animal attacks, which accounted for more than 8% of reported incidents in the 2026 survey.

AR-15-style rifles remain widely owned. The 2021 survey estimated that about 24.6 million American adults had ever owned an AR-15 or similarly styled rifle. Critics argued that the question's wording was overly broad and included former owners and rifles that wouldn't meet the technical definition of an "assault weapon." The 2026 survey tightened the language, asking specifically about current ownership of an AR-15 or a semiautomatic rifle with a pistol grip, a feature common to virtually all definitions of "assault weapons." Even with the narrower criteria, an estimated 26.4 million American adults currently own such a firearm.

High-capacity magazine ownership is widespread and growing. Five years ago, the survey estimated that about 48% of gun owners had ever owned a magazine capable of holding more than 10 rounds. The 2026 data shows that 50.5% of gun owners — roughly 44.5 million people — currently own such a magazine. Gun owners are now slightly more likely to own one than not.

Public carry is surging. Seventy percent of gun owners now report that there are at least some circumstances in which they carry a handgun for self-defense, up from 56% in 2021. An estimated 33.6 million Americans are now "public carriers" — people who carry a concealed firearm outside the home at least sometimes — a 60% increase over five years. English attributes the shift to a confluence of factors, including a wave of permitless carry laws enacted since July 2021 in 12 states with a combined population exceeding 117 million, and the U.S. Supreme Court's 2022 decision in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen, which struck down certain state restrictions on carrying firearms outside the home.

"The landscape has changed substantially," English said. "More people in more places have access to legal public carry, and more of them are choosing to exercise that right."

Female gun ownership continues to rise. Gun control advocates had suggested that the 2021 survey's surprisingly high estimates of female gun ownership were an artifact of women reporting their spouses' firearms as their own. The 2026 survey explicitly instructed respondents to count only firearms they personally own, excluding those belonging to a partner. Even with that change, the estimated proportion of gun owners who are women increased by 3.5% compared to 2021.

Demographic diversity among gun owners is increasing. The 2026 data shows that gun ownership is growing among demographic groups that have historically owned firearms at lower rates, a trend English describes as a meaningful cultural shift.

The 2021 survey was conducted between February 17 and March 23 of that year. The 2026 survey was carried out earlier this year using a similar but redesigned methodology and a comparable sample size. The full report, titled "2026 National Firearms Survey," has been posted to the Social Science Research Network.

English acknowledges that the survey's findings are unlikely to settle the broader policy debate over firearms in the United States. But he says the new data should make it harder for either side to ignore the empirical reality of American gun ownership.

"The point of doing this kind of research is to make sure we're having a conversation grounded in facts, not assumptions," he said. "Whatever conclusions people draw, they should be drawing them from the best data we can produce."