When did civilian AR15s get popular?

[Hammer27]

Just wanted to say that this is a fascinating thread to read as a younger dude. Even with all the grumblings of bans and such I feel fortunate to be around in a golden age for AR's.

[Heavy Metal]

Production of handguns rose 32 percent to four million in 2012, as compared to 2011, including a 36 percent increase in pistols and an 18 percent increase in revolvers. Production of the AR-15, the most popular rifle in America, more than doubled in 2012, to over 825,000, not counting the large numbers made by Remington, Bushmaster and Sturm, Ruger. Total rifle production rose 38 percent, to three million, while shotguns rose 18 percent to 900,000.

So it seems we can safely assume there are more than a million AR's being sold per year currently. I bet the total for 2013 was close to two million.

[kaltesherz]

So it seems we can safely assume there are more than a million AR's being sold per year currently. I bet the total for 2013 was close to two million.

Lately, and for awhile, there's been a huge sales slump as the panic is over and many who horded have since tried to dump them back in the market.

[Heavy Metal]

Even so, demand appears to have plateaued at a higher level than it was pre-panic.

[pedropcola]

I have always been mostly a pistol guy. I was on deployment when Clinton pushed the awd through. As soon as I got back I bought my first AR. A Colt HBAR with the goofy screwed in pivot pin and sear block. Still have that one but not my favorite. Telling Americans that can't have their 2A rights is the best sales tool ever.

[GNXII]

I think the wave of popularity hit in the 90s and I got swept up into it in 92/93. I remember a bunch of guys trying to find ARs right after the 94 AWB. They were not your Typical AR fans but No one knew what was on the horizon so they bought whatever came down the pike, some good most pretty crappy as they were slapped together pretty quickly. During the ban,folks were paying premiums for "Preban" anything but ARs were extremely popular and have been since then. It just a good design that allows anyone to customize it easily.

[coltm4223]

I bought an H-BAR when I seperated from the USAF in 1989, LGS only had one and paid $800 OTD in Connecticut if you can believe that. Then when I got hired by my current agency in 1991 they issued me a Colt Carbine, full auto, fixed carry handle, fixed stock, 14.5" M203 Barrel and a first generation three point tac sling from The Wilderness (man we thought we were the shit). We were the first recruit class to be issued the tac sling. It was a sweet shooter all the way to 500 yards. Since 1989 I've always had at least one AR type rifle in my safe (now 2), really want to build a replica of my first agency issue minus the full auto.

[biggfoot44]

Being only a perodic visitor here , I guess whenever I came by and hit "new posts" , this thread wasn't on top. I haven't read thru all 17 pages , but on the other hand I Was There , and was a gun guy the whole time.

In the '60s and '70s they were unpopular with civillians. Not enough powerful enough for deer , not accurate enough to shoot varmits. Cost twice as much , for half the accuraccy as a *real rifle* . Even in Colt's magazine ads aimed at the public in the era , the best selling point they had was to be able to shoot a fox raiding the chicken coop.

Among my friends who were in Mil during that era , who were shooters in real life at best indifferent , and a whole lot of extreme hatred.. They despised that Matel plastic POS poodle shooter , and could they pretty please just have their M14's back. Their main use was when on Reserve/ NG manuevors to accidently bring their SP-1 into the field and lock the A1 in the trunks , so that it would be spotless to turn back in.

The sea change came in the Mid '80s . The A2 changes were not only heavily covered in the gun press , but in mainstream press like Popular Science and Popular Mechanics ( for our younger members , those were very popular magazines dealing with all things technology related in addition to home diy projects).

Longer stocks and round handgaurds to fit better. Heavier bbls for better accuraccy and better balance. Fully adjustable sights like real rifles . Huh , might not totally suck as a (still underpowered ) rifle. Not huge popularity , but semi-popular , and seen as having some degree of legitimany as a shooting rifle , instead of just a GI Joe dressup accesory

[ I'm not trying to rile up people , I'm just reporting what the attitudes were back in the day. ]

And while in 20/20 hindsight I should have aquired stacks of SP-1s for what now seems dirt cheap, I would occasionally shooter other people's , but felt no desire to buy one . Until 1994. Try to tell me I can't have one ! We'll see about that ! And the cyclical AR Boom was on full speed.

[J2X]

I am much like biggfoot44, periodic visitor who hasn't read all 17 pages…..but I can add a little from my experience.

At the first gun show I attended (first one I ever even heard about) I saw my first AR15. That was 1973 in Lafayette, LA. It was the only AR at the show, in new condition and I paid around $225 for that SP1. Most friends who saw it thought is was a toy or a machinegun. Some thought the flash hider was a silencer. I was sighting it in on the family property near a lake when the local game warden stopped by and made the remark 'That looks illegal to me'.

ARs had a bad reputation with some early Viet Nam vets and a lot of civilians remembered the highly publicized problems that led to the A1 modifications. Most people were more comfortable with a larger bullet from a gun made from wood and steel.

Cost and availability of ammo and accessories was another factor. I had to mail order mags and such from a catalog.
M1 carbines could be had for around a hundred bucks and surplus mags/ammo were cheap and easy to find.

I do not remember guys having duplicates of anything. Even those who were really into guns did not have multiples of the same model. I think the internet has enabled the codependent tendency to own a safe full of rifles with minor variations, as well as making them so easy to acquire. (I am not throwing stones here, just an observation)

Being only a perodic visitor here , I guess whenever I came by and hit "new posts" , this thread wasn't on top. I haven't read thru all 17 pages , but on the other hand I Was There , and was a gun guy the whole time.

In the '60s and '70s they were unpopular with civillians. Not enough powerful enough for deer , not accurate enough to shoot varmits. Cost twice as much , for half the accuraccy as a *real rifle* . Even in Colt's magazine ads aimed at the public in the era , the best selling point they had was to be able to shoot a fox raiding the chicken coop.

Among my friends who were in Mil during that era , who were shooters in real life at best indifferent , and a whole lot of extreme hatred.. They despised that Matel plastic POS poodle shooter , and could they pretty please just have their M14's back. Their main use was when on Reserve/ NG manuevors to accidently bring their SP-1 into the field and lock the A1 in the trunks , so that it would be spotless to turn back in.

The sea change came in the Mid '80s . The A2 changes were not only heavily covered in the gun press , but in mainstream press like Popular Science and Popular Mechanics ( for our younger members , those were very popular magazines dealing with all things technology related in addition to home diy projects).

Longer stocks and round handgaurds to fit better. Heavier bbls for better accuraccy and better balance. Fully adjustable sights like real rifles . Huh , might not totally suck as a (still underpowered ) rifle. Not huge popularity , but semi-popular , and seen as having some degree of legitimany as a shooting rifle , instead of just a GI Joe dressup accesory

[ I'm not trying to rile up people , I'm just reporting what the attitudes were back in the day. ]

And while in 20/20 hindsight I should have aquired stacks of SP-1s for what now seems dirt cheap, I would occasionally shooter other people's , but felt no desire to buy one . Until 1994. Try to tell me I can't have one ! We'll see about that ! And the cyclical AR Boom was on full speed.

[vicdoc]

I got my first AR, an SP1 in 1979, later slowly accumulated other ARs. I think the demand for ARs grew slowly till the 90s or so, and the Clinton ban really created a pent up demand by the mid 2000s. They have become mainstream. The huge demand for M16s comes from this acceptance. TV and Movies also contributes to the desire to have a modern firearm.