When did civilian AR15s get popular?

[HeliPilot]

Hope and change 2008...

[halfmoonclip]

I had a Mini 14 prior to the AWB; traded it away because I really didn't want to mess with a 'banned' item. I had the folding stock version, and saw that same rifle for sale at several gunshows after it left my hands; the price got higher over time. Ruger magazines, then as now, are just a pain in the ass because they are overpriced; the aftermarket mags (which were less than reliable) were one of the reasons I got rid of the gun.
During the ban, I got the itch for a black rifle, but the guns themselves and the magazines were silly expensive. I snagged a Ruger 9mm carbine; the Ruger 15 round mags were amazingly available during the ban and I had a bunch. After the ban sunsetted, I grabbed an HBar Colt that was just too damned heavy; it eventually morphed into an M16A1 clone that I still have.
Not that the honorables wouldn't try it, but the AR has become so common that banning it would be a challenge.
Moon

[Parkit]

I got my first AR in 1990, a Colt AR15 Sporter Target Model, paying $697.45 for it. I had been eye-balling a Galil ARM when Bush 1's import ban took effect following the Stockton, CA schoolyard shooting, and the day before the ban the price on the Galil was $850. The next day it was $1200. AR prices started going through the roof, hitting $1200+ locallly, and I backed off even looking for a rifle. In December of 1990 I hit one of the LGS's and he had the AR's lined up on the wall, I saw that the prices were back down into sane territory, and I bought one. I still have it, won't get rid of it, and shoot it just occasionally. I've come to detest the carry handle of the A2, which IMHO severely limits optics choices. I currently have an Aimpoint PRO on a "gooseneck" or cantilever mount, but I'm not happy with the setup and continue looking for something that will let me wring out what I can from 62grain ammo from the 20" 1/7" twist barrel.

My second AR was a big mistake, a DPMS model A-15 that I picked up for about the same price I'd paid 21 years earlier for the Colt. I stuck an Aimpoint T-1 and 3x magnifier on it, did all the "requisite" Magpul furniture, VTAC sling and various backup folding sights. And of course, AFTER doing some research, learned that what I did was put lipstick on a pig. I've never had problems with the DPMS, but I've only put maybe 300 rounds through it. I'm planning on getting another COLT, maybe as early as today but certainly VERY soon, probably a 6920 that will allow me to strip the Magpul stuff off the DPMS for reuse. I'll price the DPMS to move quickly just to mitigate the cost of my own mistake.

[Maddmax]

WOW. Time flies. I was issued an M-14 in Basic Training Jan of 70. It weighed a ton, kicked like a mule but you hit what you aimed at. Then midway through Basic we were issued and re-trained on the new latest greatest M-16's "made by Mattel their swell jam-o-matic plastic biggest piece of shit to hit the planet" along with all the horror stories coming home from returning VN Vets. Had to keep those early models super clean and NEVER EVER leave a round in the chamber over night (they weren't chome lined at that time yet). Cost savings/cuts from Kennedy's "Wiz Kids" created a ton of bugs from Stoners orginal design. If you got into a hand to hand fight and busted the stock,you had a useless stick. I seen many a GI toss a jammed 16,pick up an AK and get back in the fight. I opted for an M-60 or an M-79 granade launcher back then (Combat Engineer). IF you could get your hands on an M-14 you stuck to it like glue (the damn thing was heavy,but NEVER failed to fire no matter what). The early M-16 wasn't very popular around here in the early 70's and the few people that did have them weren't prior military. If they were prior Military,it was more of a nostalgic thing to have (prices were low IF you could get one) and NOT a weapon of choice for grab and go if SHTF. I liked and still have my old Mini-14 (181 series),an HK-91 and an old reliable 7.62 M-14 along with a couple long proven 1911's. NOT that "you can't teach an old dog new tricks",I have come around over the years as the M-16/M-4 weapon system has vastly improved. I have added quite a few to my collection over the years and have also built a few too. The nice thing is the variety. You can buy what ever flavor you choose,have one made with the parts the way you want or just build your own from the ground up. That and add just about anything to it under the sun.

In short. AR's (MSR's),got popular the day new manufactures came into the picture and they started adding more options for barrels,triggers,making more add-ons and everything is (for the most part) interchangeable. Price also helped "the little guy", when you can buy a basic MSR and build up.

That and when they threatened our 2nd Ammendment Constitutional Right to KEEP AND BARE ARMS.

[jonbondave]

My dad bought a Colt Sporter II in the mid 80's. And so did all his friends at the time. I spent a ton of time shooting that rifle. It got stolen during the ban. When I came of age the ban was on, but I was able to get my hands on relatively cheap AK's. A buddy of mine and I got a pair of milled MAK-90'sand shot the snot out of them. I shot a whole lot from mini-14's growing up as well. I think my interest in the AR platform got re ignited when the ban expired and more and more after market gear started hitting the scene. I bought a stag model 2 and shot it for a while, it didn't have any issues to speak of but that initial purchase lead me to research the weapon more thoroughly... fast forward to 1 9mm colt, 1 6920 and two BCM rifles. I still keep an Arsenal AK around as well. But, I'll never be an "AK guy" again...

[SgtRock]

I think they became more popular when the release of the flat tops... more modifiable.. more aggressive looking.... and much improved over older designs. When I was in Basic we had the M16's... later in my career.. I was issued a M4 w/ 203 Grenade launcher.. and I've always liked the look of the M4/AR platforms better..

[Dienekes]

Saw my first M16 when they (and I) were new in the USAF Air Police in '65. (49 years ago!!!) We still had M2 carbines stateside, but in SEA it was the black rifle. Didn't like either much at the time. Later as an LEO I wound up dealing with some real weird folks. I first borrowed a seized AR and then got myself an SP-1 CAR in 1983. I liked it for the handiness--and intimidation factor--but in those days you used it the way it came and that was it. I got into high power with Garands and the M14. Sold off the CAR as I was planning to retire to flyover country. After the AWB expired I decided that I really did want an AR again. This time around I can have really good triggers and optics. I need them...

[Outlander Systems]

Bought my first "AR" type rifle around 2000.

It was a Bushmaster XM17 Bullpup. I have hated Bullpups ever since, but considering what a sad state of affairs carbines were during the 10 year Dark Age, it wasn't all that bad.

I remember trying to convince my dad, when I was about 7, in the mid-eighties, to buy a Colt at a LGS. I can even remember it was right around $400.

[brandyspaw]

I bought my first AR-15 back in 1977 and at least in my neck of the woods they fairly popular. What was occuring then was the first wave of the survivalism movement and AR-15's and HK-91's both seemed to start to become popular.
Not as popular as into the eighties and certainly not as popular as the last 10 years or so when it became "America's Rifle". But at least in in my area of Colorado they were quite common.

[July4th]

As a kid in the 80s I only saw them at gun shows. As a teen in the mid to late 90s I started to see them occasionally. I started shooting them in 2002 when a lot of my friends came back from their first deployments. IMO OEF and OIF made them extremely popular with people my age.

Bought my first in '08 after the election, two S&Ws. Bought my third in early 2013, a 6920. I don't believe America will ever lose it's love for the AR, much like the Garand, M1 Carbine, and '03.