This Gun Has Been Purchased Over 150 Million Times

Guns and Hunting

Published: September 30, 2024 10:10 am

Massachusetts signed House Bill 4885 into law recently, and many law-abiding gun owners are unhappy about the legislation’s restrictions. The state already holds some of the country’s most stringent gun laws. Now, HB 4885 updates the assault weapon ban, strengthens the Red Flag law allowing guns to be taken from those considered a threat to themselves or others, adds serial numbers to firearms, changes which rifles and shotguns can be sold in th state, requires people to take new educational courses for gun licenses, and cracks down on “ghost guns,” or untraceable weapons. Gun owners are now purchasing guns in droves — sales increased by about 400% — to avoid any issues when the law goes into effect, starting October 2024. (These are the states where the government can legally take your guns by force.)

Out of the 25 major countries worldwide, Americans own by far the most amount of guns. The Small Arms Survey, the most comprehensive survey of gun ownership worldwide, rated the United States at 120.50 civilian guns per 100 people. The survey further breaks down firearm possession into citizens (393,000,000), military (4,540,000), and law enforcement (1,020,000) for the US. This means that private citizens own significantly more weapons than the military and police combined. But gun sales are climbing globally, especially in the face of increasing social and political conflict. Here, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed multiple sources and estimates of global gun sales to identify the world’s 50 most popular guns. Guns were ranked by estimated lifetime sales. The origin of each gun is the historical country of origin or where the weapon was first created. Different models of the same gun released in different years are included in the gun sales estimates.

Why Are We Talking About Guns?

Americans live in a country where there are more guns than people. So it’s clear that guns make up a significant part of American culture. Understanding the most popular guns worldwide provides context into the economic impact of the firearm industry, and where citizens are most likely to spend their money. Gun use is also becoming increasingly politicized thanks to widespread gun violence and military conflicts. So learning more about the gun sales and use, and how that translates to violence, could also help you to better participate in conversations about gun control in the political realm.

Here are the most popular 50 guns ever sold:

50. Winchester Model 1892

Approximate Units Sold: 2,000,000
Country of Origin: United States

49. Winchester Model 1912/1942

Approximate Units Sold: 2,000,000
Country of Origin: United States

48. Winchester Models 1900 through 1968

Approximate Units Sold: 2,000,000
Country of Origin: United States

47. Marlin Model 1891/1892/1897/1939

Approximate Units Sold: 2,200,000
Country of Origin: United States

46. M14

Approximate Units Sold: 2,380,000
Country of Origin: United States

45. Fusil Gras mle 1874

Approximate Units Sold: 2,500,000
Country of Origin: France

44. Remington Model 740/742/7400 Woodsmaster

Approximate Units Sold: 2,500,000
Country of Origin: United States

43. Gewehr 1888

Approximate Units Sold: 2,800,000
Country of Origin: Germany

42. Browning Auto-5

Approximate Units Sold: 3,000,000
Country of Origin: United States

41. Browning M2

Approximate Units Sold: 3,000,000
Country of Origin: United States

40. Luger Parabellum

Approximate Units Sold: 3,000,000
Country of Origin: Germany

39. Nagant M1895

Approximate Units Sold: 3,000,000
Country of Origin: Russia

38. QBZ-95

Approximate Units Sold: 3,000,000
Country of Origin: China

37. Ruger Standard

Approximate Units Sold: 3,000,000
Country of Origin: United States

36. Springfield M1903

Approximate Units Sold: 3,000,000
Country of Origin: United States

35. Berdan M1870

Approximate Units Sold: 3,200,000
Country of Origin: Russia

34. Beretta 92

Approximate Units Sold: 3,500,000
Country of Origin: Italy

33. Lebel Model 1886

Approximate Units Sold: 3,500,000
Country of Origin: France

32. Mannlicher M1895

Approximate Units Sold: 3,500,000
Country of Origin: Austria-Hungary

31. Remington Model 1100

Approximate Units Sold: 4,000,000
Country of Origin: United States

30. Ruger Single Six/Blackhawk/Vaquero

Approximate Units Sold: 4,000,000
Country of Origin: United States

29. ‘Brown Bess’ Land Pattern Musket

Approximate Units Sold: 4,300,000
Country of Origin: United Kingdom

28. Carcano Modello 1891

Approximate Units Sold: 4,500,000
Country of Origin: Italy

27. STEN Gun

Approximate Units Sold: 4,500,000
Country of Origin: United Kingdom

26. M1911 (and copies)

Approximate Units Sold: 5,000,000
Country of Origin: United States

25. Walther PP/PPK

Approximate Units Sold: 5,000,000
Country of Origin: Weimar Republic, Germany

24. Marlin Model 336

Approximate Units Sold: 6,000,000
Country of Origin: United States

23. PPSh-41

Approximate Units Sold: 6,000,000
Country of Origin: Soviet Union

22. Ruger 10/22

Ruger 10/22 (CC BY 2.0) by James Case

Approximate Units Sold: 6,000,000
Country of Origin: United States

21. Smith & Wesson Model 10

Approximate Units Sold: 6,000,000
Country of Origin: United States

20. Type 63

Approximate Units Sold: 6,000,000
Country of Origin: China

19. M1/M2/M3 Carbine

Approximate Units Sold: 6,500,000
Country of Origin: United States

18. FN FAL (and derivatives)

Approximate Units Sold: 7,000,000
Country of Origin: Belgium

17. Musket Model 1777

Approximate Units Sold: 7,000,000
Country of Origin: France

16. Winchester Model 1894

Approximate Units Sold: 7,500,000
Country of Origin: United States

15. Heckler & Koch G3

Approximate Units Sold: 8,000,000
Country of Origin: Germany

14. M1 Garand

Approximate Units Sold: 8,200,000
Country of Origin: United States

13. Arisaka Type 30/38/99

Approximate Units Sold: 10,000,000
Country of Origin: Japan

12. Glock

Approximate Units Sold: 10,000,000
Country of Origin: Austria

11. IMI Uzi

Approximate Units Sold: 10,000,000
Country of Origin: Israel

10. Makarov Pistol

Approximate Units Sold: 10,000,000
Country of Origin: Soviet Union

9. Marlin Model 60

Approximate Units Sold: 11,000,000
Country of Origin: United States

8. Remington 870

Remington Wingmaster 870 (CC BY-SA 2.0) by lledslinger

Approximate Units Sold: 11,000,000
Country of Origin: United States

7. Mossberg 500

Approximate Units Sold: 12,000,000
Country of Origin: United States

6. SKS

Approximate Units Sold: 15,000,000
Country of Origin: Soviet Union

5. Lee-Enfield

Approximate Units Sold: 17,000,000
Country of Origin: United Kingdom

4. M16/M4/AR-15 (and derivatives)

Approximate Units Sold: 20,000,000
Country of Origin: United States

3. Mosin-Nagant

Mosin-Nagant M1938 (CC BY-SA 2.0) by Mitch Barrie

Approximate Units Sold: 37,000,000
Country of Origin: Russia

2. Mauser Gewehr 98 (and similar)

Approximate Units Sold: 102,000,000
Country of Origin: Germany

1. Kalashnikov AK-47 (and derivatives)

Approximate Units Sold: 150,000,000
Country of Origin: Soviet Union

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Read more: Guns and Hunting, ammunition, China, firearms, Japan, most popular guns ever, popular guns, Russia, United States, weapons

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