When did civilian AR15s get popular?

[Clint]

I think There was a big jump in interest in 2008

[Texas42]

Interesting read.

I never got into guns till 2006, and I hadn't even thought of AR's till 2008.

[AKDoug]

I owned my first AR in 1989 won in a poker game, the same year I bought a pair of HK91's for $400 a piece. Fast forward to 1995. The AWB raised the prices on all of these firearms in the Alaska market to about 5 times their initial purchase price. I was sitting on $6000.00 of firearms that I barely used, just got married, had a kid on the way, and needed to build a house. Liquidating these rifles (for cash) resulted in paying for the foundation of my current house.

In my neighborhood the HK's were all the rage in the late 80's. We live in an area the is frequented by bears and a semi-auto .308 was considered a good personal protection firearm by many. In fact, I packed mine for 5 years for that specific purpose while working in the woods. The AR15 was considered a pop-gun in a time when few folks worried about SHTF or home defense uses. I liked my Colt well enough at the time, but really didn't have the connection with it that I had with my HK. Also, at that time you could buy NATO surplus 7.62 ammo for the same price as 5.56. The AR was also considered inferior when it came to reliability. We didn't have the internet at that time to learn more about it, and that really is a big reason I didn't learn much about the AR-15 system until recently.

I agree with Iraqgunz, even in Alaska the semi-auto rifle market was stagnant from 1995-2005. I went through most of my handgun training and CCW training in this time.

Right after the sunset of the AWB in 2004 we saw a wave of cheap AK's and SKS's hit the Alaska market. I never could wrap my head around these rifles, so I stayed in my handgun/hunting rifle world.

In 2011, I joined the "craze" after taking a Redback One pistol class. There was a lot of carbine talk during the down times and it really brought back my interest in semi-auto rifles. I spent several months learning all I could through the internet (mostly here) and personal contacts that knew the rifles (brother-in-law is active duty Army). I chose a decent M-4 type rifle (DDM4 V7) and am learning more about it every day.

[Barry in IN]

I bought my first AR in 1984 (for $412.90). I had to order it because nobody stocked them back then except a couple of really big stores. They just didnt sell, and the typical shop couldn't tie up that much in a gun that wouldn't move. The few wanting a rifle like that wanted HK91s because that is what Mel Tappan said to get (they were $515). eir

That is how it stayed for a while. There were a couple of ARs around, but not many.
For an example: I went to a big gun show in late 85 or early 86 and spent all my money early. At the last table was a guy selling used 20-rd AR mags. The price was 50 cents each or 3/$1.00. Seriously. I dug through my change and came up with enough to buy four. He was thrilled. That was the only item he had, and he said I was his biggest sale of the day. Can you imagine 3/$1 AR mags moving slow? They did.

In late 1987, I bought an M1A. It wasn't unheard of, but not a real common purchase. It was one of the few I had seen new in the rack for sale, again because of lack of demand. Aside from Highpower snooters, there weren't many around.

In 1989, after the Stockton CA shooting, the first ban talk started.
Sales jumped...for a while.
People I knew who had completely ignored them were buying. I had a pair of Eagle Arms lowers that I bought when Mark Westrom set up a table at the Indy 1500 show, and soon after that I couldn't find parts in stock to complete them. Quality Parts (pre-Bushmaster) had a toll-free number for legislative updates.

I may remember it wrong, but it seemed like although there was a new ban rumor almost daily, when the ban talk ended, it ended kinda quick. Sales dropped off too.

They weren't quite as unpopular as before, maybe because every gun magazine (who ignored them for 25 years) had been running cover stories on how great they were. It was right in here when we really started seeing goodies for them. There were accessories before, but now there were things for every need and not just for Dr John Rourke wannabees. I was active in Highpower then, and this was when they started taking hold there, largely from the availabilty of better barrels, free float handguards, and other things. I remember around 1990, the Highoower league I shot in was still giving a special award to the high AR shooter, just to encourage people to use them (I recall just two who did). I took a couple years off from HP after 1991, and when I came back, half the line was ARs and growing.

So the seed was planted. When the 1994 "Crime Bill" passed, it was the final kick in the butt. People had been more aware and accustomed to them after the 1889 scare, accessories were available, they were getting attention from even the old fudds by winning in Highpower, so the1994 law really made people see how much they "needed" one. While all you need to do to sell anything is tell people they can't have it, the AR sold itself after people really started buying them and trying them out.

So yeah, the 89 and 94 ban scares are what made the AR in my view.

[Renegade]

Things went crazy as soon as the AWB expired.

[RogerinTPA]

I presume that back in the 1960's citizens were buying AR15s for personal use. I doubt they were as popular then as they are now though?

How much did they cost compared to bolt action rifles of the time?

Agreed. My Dad, was in SF during that time period, as an "advisor" and carried one of the first M-16/AR-15s in VN, sporting camos courtesy of Sears and Roebuck department store. He bought one, and several other VN Vets and Civies on the block, bought them after they went shooting with him. During the 70's, ARs, AKs, and FALS were all the rage, and was mostly fueled by SOF magazine (I read as a kid) or all the other Merc movies, the Wild Geese, Dark of the Sun, Dogs of War, with exploits of Mercs in VN, Rhodesia, and other places in Africa or in Central America. In the 80s around military bases, you could rarely find a military person who didn't own an AR-15, Mini-14 (ala the A-Team TV series) or a SPAS-12 shotty.

Regardless of the era, civilians will always want what the military is currently using and/or, the next great hotness in firearms.

[m03]

Things went crazy as soon as the AWB expired.

This, combined with the upcoming election at the time. There seemed to be a huge jump in interest between late 2003 and late 2004.

[BUBBAGUNS]

I bought my first Colt in 1990. I lived in a small town in Arkansas, The shop owner had to order it. I think the cost was $830. Their were not a lot of AR in the Ozarks back then (at least no one talked a bout them). Now, I think everybody and thier brother has at least one.

[eo500]

The AWB was the catalyst for the popularity explosion in AR rifles. Nothing makes people want something like having someone else tell them that they can't have it.

[Robb Jensen]

I assembled my first AR in 1987. It was with a Essential Arms cast lower and many parts from "Quality Parts" which later became 'Bushmaster'. I used a blackened 1x9 SS 20" HBAR which I believe was made by Olympic.

I passed up buying a Galil and HK 93 to assemble my own AR.
I really noticed ARs getting really popular after the Assault Weapons ban expired in 2004. With 3gun being shown on TV and everything they've gotten even more popular than ever.