NEWTOWN, CT — NSSF®, the firearm industry trade association, updated the industry estimate of Modern Sporting Rifles (MSRs) in circulation in the United States to 24,446,000 since 1990.
That is an increase of over 4.5 million rifles since the last estimate was released in 2020.
The estimate is derived from NSSF research, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Annual Firearms Manufacturing and Exportation Report (AFMER) and U.S. International Trade Commission (U.S. ITC) data, in cooperation with manufacturers, importers and exporters of MSRs, or AR-15 and AK-style rifles.
This most recent estimate includes production figures current through 2020, when the industry estimates over 2,798,000 of these rifles were produced or imported.