Tag Archives: Modern Sporting Rifle

30 million + ‘Black Rifles’ in Circulation

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Back in 1986, the Colt AR-15A2 HBAR was where its at…

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. 

That’s per year, btw.

Figures don’t even count…

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 AR lowers or AK/G3 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.

“If you’re a hunter, camper, or collector, you’ll want the AR-15 Sporter,” reads the circa-1963 ad copy. By 1969, something like 15,000 SP1s had been made.

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). 

These things were sold by the hundreds of thousands in the 1960s-80s

Go ahead, spitball how many guns are in circulation

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Of course, this is a moving target and in most cases would be considered something of a wild ass guess in most cases, but the NSSF, working with industry and regulatory data for the past couple of decades, came up with some interesting figures when it comes to the number of guns in private circulation in the U.S.

The big numbers: 434 million firearms, 20 million “modern sporting rifles” such as AR-15s, and 150 million magazines which are considered in eight or nine states to be “high capacity.”

Oof.

More in my column at Guns.com.

So yeah, 16 million ARs/AKs were made in the U.S. since 1990

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Curious about some actual figures on how many semi-auto (Title I) AR-15 and AK-47 style platforms there were in the country, I contacted the National Shooting Sports Foundation, the trade organization for the gun industry. This is what they sent me as a production estimate after combing through the ATF’s AMFER data compared to manufacturers:

Yup, just over 16 million ARs and AKs from 1990-2016.

As far as the number in circulation, while some have surely been scrapped, worn out, broken or otherwise retired, guns manufactured or imported before 1989 are not listed in the 16 million figure. Likewise, guns assembled from so-called “80 percent” lowers or kits by home builders are not tracked by the industry. Keep in mind that before 1989 an estimated one million SKS rifles (some of which were M-models with detachable mags) and about half as many Chicom AK clones came in the country. Further, I do not believe the figure includes Mini-14s and Mini-30s, which Ruger have cranked out in seven-figure quantities since the 1970s.

In short, I think the 16 million mark may be a low-ball.

The debate over just how common ARs are has been a matter of legal contention at the federal level for several years. More in my column at Guns.com.

Savage comes correct to the AR world

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stack-savage-msrSavage Arms last week dropped the goods on their new Modern Sporting Rifle entries which will include Patrol, Recon, Hunter, and Long Range models with some interesting twists on the AR-15 and AR-10.

All of the guns feature what Savage is calling “5R” right-hand twist rifling which uses slightly slanted lands that are more polygonal– which they contend are easier to clean and less prone to fouling. The barrels across the line are 4140 steel and will be protected by a Melonite QPQ (quench, polish, quench) nitrocarburizing process for non-reflective corrosion resistance. Savage is promising to have zero-tolerance headspace controls.

In addition, Savage has tweaked the mid-length gas systems used on the series (they are all direct gas impingement) to help cut out the overgassing sometimes seen when, for instance, 16-inch commercial barrels are using systems for 14-inch carbines. All have a flattop Picatinny rail for optics. Receivers are all 7075-T6.

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The rest in my column at Guns.com

Savage has their entry into the world of ARs on tap for next month

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Savage Arms dropped a short teaser video late last Thursday with footage of what looks to be the historic company’s new entry into the crowded AR-15 field.

Entering the market on the heels of Springfield Armory’s Saint series, Savage joins the ranks of traditional rifle makers such as Mossberg, Ruger and Remington in producing a modern sporting rifle, continuing to entrench the AR as “America’s Rifle.”

Instead of the standard AR-style charging handle, the gun shows a side-mounted folding charging handle, which could point to radically different internals, possibly even a delayed blowback action of some sort as seen on Savage’s popular and very well-liked  A17 line.

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Now don’t get me wrong, there are lots of non reciprocating side charging AR uppers out there, with uppers made by Eisenach Arms, Gibbz, BCA, X-products and Stoner– but this is Savage, one of the OG makers who stocks big box stores across the country. And this is an all-up gun, not just an upper.

The Savage MSR is set to premier in January 2017, meaning it will likely be shown off at the upcoming SHOT Show in Las Vegas. I will keep you informed.

Clocking in with the AR: Not your grandpa’s hunting rifle

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When Eugene Stoner designed his famous AR-15 in the 1950s, the bolt-action rifle was an aging king on the throne of both military and sporting rifles. While the new 5.56mm rifle soon ascended to the top of the service rifle food chain, bolt-guns remained the go-to for hunters. Now, over sixty years later, a pretender to that throne is increasingly taking to the woods in the hands of sportsmen from coast to coast– the hunting AR.

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Why this evolution?

Throughout modern history, hunting rifles have often just been surplus military guns pressed into this new duty. As guns were withdrawn from service with the army, sports shooters (who in many cases had experience with these rifles from prior involuntary military service) picked them on the cheap for the purpose of putting food on the table. For instance, some of the most common hunting rifles in the late 1800s were Civil War-era Springfield muskets and Spencer carbines, which had been sold in surplus stores for as little as $2. Introduced for military service some fifty years before, they were the modern sporting rifle of the time.

Read the rest in my column at University of Guns