[DoughtyOne]

To be honest, I don’t know how many members they have. It has been my thought that if we actually knew, we might be surprised how few it is, considering our population is now 320 million or so.

This Washington Post article addresses it. I would warn folks not to take anything the Post says as gospel, but it’s probably a good jumping off point when discussing numbers.

I’m not seeking to discredit the NRA with these numbers. I think 4.5 million is a large number of people. Their dues spent right could make a big impact.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/fact-checker/post/does-the-nra-really-have-more-than-45-million-members/2013/02/07/06047c10-7164-11e2-ac36-3d8d9dcaa2e2_blog.html

[Plummz]

Well, the NRA hosts a lot of firearm-training courses. So people who take concealed-carry or gun-safety classes might be counted as members even for a few years after they’ve completed the certificate.

[Plummz]

They could also be counting people on their legislative-action email lists who have never given money or haven’t for years.

[matthew fuller]

"Their dues spent right could make a big impact."

Hey, it seems to me that they spend 80 or 90 % of their dues on postage to me to send money, and renew early...I've really been thinking that I could maybe do more good with GOA or JPFO (I'm not really Jewish) than NRA. Anyone else feel the same way?