The 10 Most Popular Rifles in the US

Americans love their guns. At least a vast majority of them do. This is easily illustrated by a survey taken by the Small Arms Survey that reports U.S. civilians own an estimated 393 million firearms, both legal and illegal which is more than all firearms combined from 24 countries. It is a country that reports the highest rates of civilian gun ownership worldwide.

This doesn’t necessarily mean that all Americans own firearms, but 44% of its citizens live in a home where there is a weapon present. In recent years, the consumer market for firearms in the United States has changed dramatically. One of the most notable trends of the last decade has been the surge in demand for assault-style rifles, or modern sporting rifles (MSRs) — civilian firearms built on the platform of military rifles, like the AR-15 or AK-47.

More than 18.1 million MSRs were sold in the U.S. between 2011 and 2020, according to the National Shooting Sports Foundation. This amount is nearly three times the sales volume reported over the 21 years from 1990 to 2010. The stark shift in consumer preferences reflects some broader changes in American gun culture. MSRs are often marketed as tactical or home defense weapons, and according to a Gallup survey, the share of American gun owners who had a firearm for protection against crime spiked from 65% in 2000 to 88% in 2021.

24/7 Wall St. identified the most popular rifles in the U.S. by using a report from Gun Genius, which analyzed sales data from the online firearm marketplace GunBroker.com. Rifles are ranked on sales volume in the 2023 calendar year, though exact sales figures were not provided. Supplemental data on domestic manufacturing locations and production volume in 2021 are from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.

Of the 10 rifles listed here, five are bolt-action and four are lever-action. Unlike MSRs and other semi-automatic weapons, these rifles have a repeating action that must be manually operated before each shot. Both lever- and bolt-action designs date back much further than semi-automatics and have long been popular with hunters and recreational shooters. (Here is a look at the 30 most powerful long-range precision rifles.)

The only semi-automatic rifle to rank on this list is the Ruger 10/22, which is decidedly not an MSR. Chambered for low-cost .22 LR ammunition, the 10/22 is a small rifle that is popular among those becoming familiar with shooting sports. Ruger has sold over six million 10/22 rifles since the gun was introduced in 1964. (Here is a look at America’s favorite rifle companies.)

It should be noted that this list was compiled using online gun sales only. Unlike most items purchased online, firearms are typically not shipped directly to your door. The process generally requires buyers to have their gun shipped to a Federally Licensed Firearm Dealer – usually a local gun store – which will run a background check before transferring the gun to the customer. While the estimated base price of many of these firearms can be as low as a few hundred dollars, higher-end variations can sell for many times that amount.

These are the most popular rifles in the U.S.