By Mark S. McDonald, TTHA Field Reporter
SAN ANTONIO – Even as shooting sports and hunting remain popular in Texas, recent figures show total gun ownership is trending gradually downwards while the Lone Star State grows ever more urban.
Just under 40 percent of Texas households – about four out of 10 — owns a firearm, according to a new report of national gun ownership. Texas slipped to No. 18 among states with the highest gun ownership.
The tracks of total human population and gun ownership started veering apart two generations. As population grew, gun ownership shrank, Texas Trophy Hunters Association leaders point out.
Texas’ burgeoning population has risen to 28.3 million (2017 estimate), with urban centers of Houston, Dallas-Fort Worth, El Paso, Austin and San Antonio all ranking among the top 20 in the nation. Translation: People have spilled into native wildlife habitat — fewer Texans are linked to their rural roots.
As youth grow up in cities, they are less likely to learn hunting techniques or firearm safety and skills, says Dave Keith of TTHA. By extension, he adds, city-bound youngsters are less likely to own shotguns and rifles as adults.
Texas, according to the Quality Deer Management Association, continues to lead all states with an estimated 738,000 licensed hunters, many with a taste for venison. Annually, Texas hunters take and consume a national-high 700,000 deer, Texas Parks and Wildlife studies show.
Total gun ownership figures were compiled by the Southern California think tank called Rand Corporation. Rand describes itself as a nonprofit institution that (edited for this post) “studies policy and decision-making through research and analysis. Rand focuses health, education, national security, international affairs, law and business, the environment, and more.”
Jointly funded by the federal government and private donations, the Rand study makes no distinction between firearms purchased for shooting sports, hunting or home protection.
McDonald is the former outdoor editor of dailies in El Paso, Abilene, Dallas and San Antonio. He is past president of the Texas Outdoor Writers Association.
