First where did you get the information that it is the best selling "type" of rifle in the US? What constitutes a "type" of rifle? I would think a semi-auto, rimfire makes for a "type" of rifle and that "type" far outpaces an AR in sales my friend. For example the biggest selling rifles in this country are made by Ruger, Remington, and Marlin. Remington makes some rimfires and some semi-auto rimfires but Ruger and Marlin both make a huge number of semi-auto rimfires. Ruger does sell other rifles and Marlin sells some but Marlin is a rimfire company as we all would guess. And of the top 25 US arms makers only two specialize in AR type weapons. Those companies would be DPMS and Bushmaster. Both have total sales in the 40,000-50,000 range. Marlin sold over 250,000 rifles in the same time period and Ruger sold 237,000 or so. It would take a whole lot of small companies to make up that kind of ground to make the AR the equal of semi-auto rimfires in terms of sales. You can find this information on
this web page.
That's not to say that AR sales aren't booming or that they aren't fine firearms. Both of those things are true. I'll go ahead and answer your questions even though I don't really agree with the premise.
I think the AR is a hot seller because it is a great design with a whole lot of after market parts and most are interchangeable with other AR parts. That makes for a robust platform and a popular one too. The guns are generally accurate and fairly reliable (if you get a good model) and they are just plain fun to shoot and they are an effective weapon for many situations. But I don't think most people buy them to be used as defense weapons because most people live in cities where firing a weapon like that is subject to kill people a long distance away from where you intended to shoot. But some, especially those who live on farms, have a definite use for a weapon of that type for SD.
I do not own an AR although I don't have any particular reason not to. I just already had another platform in place when the AR became more affordable. I have an SKS setup and ready to rock to do the same job the AR is designed to do. No it won't shoot as far accurately but I have other weapons for long range use. I'm good for 300 yards with what I have so that should be plenty for a battle carbine which is what both are. Of course the original AR is a true assault weapon but I don't have a Class III license and I don't have a desire to get one. I couldn't afford to own or shoot a full auto weapon anyway.
I can afford to own an SKS and the ammo it takes to feed it. I don't feel a need to go any further in detailing what exactly I do own. Let's keep the anti's and the government guessing. I have to tell you that when I see a question like this I wonder if big brother is taking a survey to be honest. Why should I give that kind of information to anyone? I will say there are many people who own much more ammo than I do.
call him out for what? what are you going to prove? what's wrong with having a conversation without everyone crying "prove it" all the time?
Wow I didn't see this before I posted. I didn't know we were under a gag order before posting. What's wrong with asking a simple question about where the information came from and showing that it probably isn't true? Are we afraid of the truth?
The AR, when you total sales from 100+ brands, has got to be one of the top sellers. I'm not going to bother dredging up any figures but how can so many brands stay in business unless they're moving product? ArmaLite, BCM, BM, Colt, CMMG, Daniel Defense, DTI, DPMS, LMT, LaRue, Noveske, PSA, Ruger, S&W, Stag, ... well you get the picture!
Actually I "don't" get the picture. There is a list of the top selling arms companies in the US and there are only 2 AR specialists in the top 25 and they are near the bottom. It would take a whole lot of them to catch up to the plethora of rimfire sellers in the US which have numbers that dwarf AR sales in the same list. The link is above for the site. It's from the "US Firearms Industry Today" magazine. Sorry but when a company like DPMS or Bushmaster sales less than 50,000 rifles total I have a hard time believing they will match the totals of companies like Ruger and Marlin which sell 230,000 - 250,000 each most of which will be rimfires. Rimfires have always been the top selling "type" of rifle in the US. I don't see any evidence that has changed. Yes there have been a lot of AR's sold. But not that many. It just isn't going to happen that way. They cost way more than the rimfires. That's the biggest reason right there not to mention they cost far, far more to shoot. I can shoot $75 worth of ammo an hour with my .223 easy and it's a single shot, bolt action. Try doing that with a .22 using bulk ammo, which is what most gun buyers buy. That's always been true.
if you don't like the op's choice of words, move on. whether or not the ar is the undeniable best selling rifle or not, really plays no part in the conversation.