The war on free speech rages on. Recently, popular arms manufacturer Smith & Wesson had its Facebook account banned. Meta, as a company, tends to prevent the spread of any posts or sales of guns on its platform. Smith & Wesson’s account was flagged after the promotion of gun sales. In the time since, Smith & Wesson representatives have spoken out to thank Elon Musk, the owner and CEO of X (formerly known as Twitter), for supporting free speech and Second Amendment rights. Conversations about gun control, and how much information we should allow be shared around guns, is somewhat controversial in America. But if you look at the numbers, it’s clear that many people in America are proponents of guns. In fact, an estimated 30-40% of people live in a home with at least one gun present. No matter your personal views on guns, these weapons are a critical and often ingrained part of American culture.
But that’s not all: guns are also popular, for self-defense, hunting, collecting, and other reasons, in many countries around the world. And frankly, people tend to purchase the same firearms from the same manufacturers — especially if they’ve have a good experience with that particular gun in the past. When it comes to the most popular guns worldwide, they tend to share several features: versatility, ease of use, accuracy, and material quality. So 24/7 Wall St. set out to discover what the most popular guns in the world are and why. To do so, we reviewed various sources, such as GunBroker.com, Small Arms Survey, and more to get estimates of global gun sales. 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 You Need to Know About Gun Popularity
It’s no secret that gun control — or gun use — is a highly contested topic, both in the United States and abroad. With rising levels of gun violence in the U.S., many people urge regulatory agencies and the government to limit gun sales — or at least put more measures into place to avoid them ending up in hands that they shouldn’t. Yet others argue that gun ownership, thanks to the Second Amendment, is our given right. Understanding more about guns can help you better participate in conversations around this topic.
Regardless of your belief on gun control, guns are part of the fabric of the United States. In fact, our country actually has more guns than people. But while there are smaller arms manufacturers, many people choose to stay with the tried-and-true firearms that have become popular for a reason.
These are the most popular guns ever made and 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
- 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
- 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
- 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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