The purposes of the present study were to explore the reasons behind gun ownership and to gather evidence concerning popular stereotypes of gun-owners. Male gun-owners (n = 37) and a matched sample of nongun-owners (n = 23) reported demographic information, reasons for gun ownership, knowledge about guns, and experience with firearms. Ss also completed several personality inventories. Results indicated that gun-owners differed greatly from nongun-owners in their knowledge and interest in firearms. It appeared that early socialization to guns was a primary factor in firearm ownership. While gun-owners stated that recreation and defense were the primary reasons for owning guns, they also had personalities which were characterized by lower sociability and higher need for power than the nongun-owners. The gun-owners on the average did not exhibit atypical personality characteristics when compared with the nongun-owners or with national norms on the California Psychological Inventory. However, the small sample and the high educational level of gun-owners in this study indicate caution when generalizing these findings.