Who owns the guns in the US?

As I get to know more men in their twenties to forties I realized that many of them own guns. Not only do they own guns but they have had their guns either on their person or in the car at some point in time while I was out in public with them. Comparatively, I cannot name a single female I know who has a gun license let alone carries a gun. Upon looking up gun ownership in the US, I found an article from Pew Research Center that states that males make up 62% of gun owners in the US. It also went a little further and pointed out the differences in the way men and women approached gun ownership. It seems as though the majority of women own guns strictly for protection whereas most men also cited recreation as a reason why they might own a gun. Most men tend to have their guns loaded and readily available in their home while less than half of the female gun owners indicate that they have their guns loaded and available at home. Men are also more likely to get their first gun at a significantly younger age than women. This research indicates that men are more involved gun owners when it comes to going to the shooting range, carrying their weapons, and watching television about guns. For most male gun owners this seems to be almost like a lifestyle as opposed to a method of protection. 

Pew Research Center: How male and female gun owners in the U.S. compare