Recent firearms industry production numbers point to modern semi-auto sporting rifles, such as AR-15s and AK variants, as being extremely popular with consumers.
The figures, updated via the recent ATF Annual Firearms Manufacturing and Exportation Report – which includes data on guns made and imported in 2022 – combined with past reports by federal regulators, show some 30,711,000 such rifles entering the market since 1990 and 2022.
The data, compiled by the National Shooting Sports Foundation, the trade organization for the American firearms industry, details the rise in demand and production of "black rifles" over 32 years.
In 1990, with such guns tightly regulated by the federal "assault weapon" ban, just 74,000 were produced or imported – and those had to be made compliant via featureless stocks and 10-round magazines. By 1994, when the ban had expired, those figures had climbed to 274,000. They approached 500,000 in 2007 and hit 1 million in 2009 – a span covering the campaign of President Obama for the White House and his first year in office. In 2013, it hit over 2 million. In 2021, 3.7 million.
The figures:
Detachable magazine semi-auto rifles have been a go-to for Americans for generations.
Remember that these figures don't include privately made firearms crafted from 80-percent lowers or receiver flats, or guns that entered the marketplace before 1990. While black rifles were not as common as they are today, Colt produced SP-1 sporter-style ARs going back to the mid-1960s, the Ruger Mini-14 entered the market in 1973, and the Springfield Armory M1A in 1974. Plus you have more than 250,000 M-1 Carbines that were sold as surplus through the Director of Civilian Marksmanship program during the 1960s along with warehouses of clones made specifically for consumers by companies like Universal (426,000 made), Iver Johnson (96,700 made), and Plainfield (112,000 made).
"This is indicative of the resilience of the U.S. firearm manufacturing sector and the U.S. firearm sales markets and the continuing demand signal for Americans who choose to exercise their Second Amendment rights," said NSSF President and CEO Joe Bartozzi. "The data continues to show that the modern sporting rifle is the most popular centerfire rifle sold in America today, with over 30.7 million in circulation and being used for lawful purposes every day. The continued popularity of handguns demonstrates a strong interest by Americans to protect themselves and their homes, and to participate in the recreational shooting sports."
Banner image: Ribbon cutting at the new Smith & Wesson facility in Maryville, Tennessee in October 2023. The company produced no less than 126,236 rifles in 2022 according to federal regulators, with its M&P-15 line being one of the more popular ARs on the market. (Photo: Chris Eger/Guns.com)
