"We find Americans' reluctance to do so baffling. "

   SOME Americans. You simply can't generalize that way. There are surveys that show that a large % of us favor reasonable restrictions on types of guns and ownership... but... **states make their own rules!!** This States Rights situation is what makes us so different from you and most of the rest of the world. In England, a law can be passed that automatically applies everywhere. We can only do that in certain situations.... and in a majority of states, the members of Congress owe their jobs to the efforts of lobbyists for the gun interests (as well as the drug companies...etc.)

"I can see that hunting is both cheaper and more fun than shopping, but essential?"
   It is very close to essential in some remote areas..like parts of Montana and especially in Alaska. Russia has similar areas. We are a huge country with extremely varied envirionments.