The Prime 10 Most Prolific Weapons Ever Made, By The Numbers

The Small Arms Survey estimates that, as of 2018, there are over one billion weapons in circulation. A big majority – round 85% – relaxation within the arms of the civilians, leaving about 133 million to navy shops and 23 million for regulation enforcement businesses. That ten-digit determine grew by round 200 million in only a single decade, and the quantity in 2024 is more likely to be even greater. In spite of everything, greater than 7 million Individuals turned gun house owners throughout the Pandemic alone. However which of these billion weapons is the preferred or prolific weapons in circulation? Most of the firearms contributing to that placing determine are archaic: World Struggle and battle relics, lots of which have been manufactured many years in the past. Listed here are the highest ten most prolific weapons ever made, by the numbers. You may have any preemptive guesses to what are essentially the most prolific weapons in historical past?…

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#10 – Prolific Weapons – Heckler & Koch G3

• Quantity Produced: ~7.8 million
• First Manufactured: 1959
• Nation: Germany
• Caliber: 7.62×51 NATO

Sharing a contended title with the FN FAL because the “most profitable battle rifle ever made,” the Heckler & Koch-produced G3 has seen service with over 70 international locations’ militaries, with a minimum of 15 of these nations manufacturing the rifle beneath license. The G3 remained the official rifle of the German armed forces till it was changed by the G36 within the 90s. Some could declare the G3 is not deserving of this spot: They are saying different weapons, like Russia’s Makarov, Japan’s Arisakas, Israel’s Uzis, and America’s M1 Garand have been produced in better numbers. However the manufacturing estimates of these and different weapons which may match listed below are poorly recorded, with figures attributed to secondhand accounts or in any other case missing producers’ citations. The Germans, nonetheless, are fairly good at preserving numbers. Per a report from the Armament Analysis Companies (ARES) in 2015, Heckler & Koch affirmed manufacturing of the G3 exceeds 7.8 million models; that is usually rounded as much as 8 million. The G3 continues to be produced, too, making certain that – if it hadn’t already – it’s going to exceed manufacturing numbers of these contested weapons.

#9 – Prolific Weapons – Marlin Mannequin 60

• Quantity Produced: ~11 million
• First Manufactured: 1960
• Nation: U.S.
• Caliber: .22 LR

In case you’re an American who grew up within the Twentieth century, chances are high excessive your first expertise with a firearm concerned taking pictures at cans with some .22 LR fired from a Marlin Mannequin 60. Primarily based on the defunct Marin Mannequin 99, designed by Marlin engineer Ewald Nichol in 1959, the Mannequin 60 turned essentially the most profitable rimfire rifle ever bought to the American public, with roughly 11 million models bought – a figured collated by Walt Kuleck and Scott A. duff, writer and writer of of The Ruger 10/22 Full Proprietor’s and Meeting Information, respectively.

Its bull barrel contained a then-new “Micro Groove” expertise launched by Marlin a number of years earlier. This rifling used 16 shallower lands and grooves – versus the standard 5 deep grooves in competing barrels – to supply stabilization of the spherical whereas imparting much less deformation upon it, leading to better accuracy. Coupled with manufacturing unit faucets for bolt-on scopes, the Marlin 60 turned a best choice for varmint hunters. Though its manufacture ceased in 2020, the Mannequin 60’s manufacturing numbers nonetheless eclipse that of its fashionable substitute, the Ruger 10/22.

#8 – Prolific Weapons – Remington 870

• Quantity Produced: 11+ million
• First Manufactured: 1951
• Nation: U.S.
• Caliber: Varies

The Mannequin 870, produced by Remington and favored because the pump shotgun of selection by militaries and police departments globally, was made to switch the costly and handcrafted Remington Mannequin 31, designed by John Moses Browning in 1931. The Mannequin 31 was produced to compete with the Winchester Mannequin 1912 which was, on the time, the preferred shotgun bought on the civilian market. The M12 designation additionally served as a trench gun for the usArmy, Navy, and Marine Corps in World Wars I and II.

After its debut in 1951, the Mannequin 870 rapidly turned a industrial success and bought greater than two million models by 1973, eclipsing all gross sales of the Mannequin 31. A decade later, the Mannequin 870 turned essentially the most bought shotgun in historical past, reaching 3 million models. The 870’s recognition once more surged in 1996 with the introduction of its Specific variant, an financial system mannequin that introduced complete gross sales as much as 7 million models. Simply over a decade later – on April 13, 2009 – Remington celebrated manufacturing of the ten millionth 870. With a minimum of twelve manufacturing unit variants obtainable – and dozens extra retailer-built configurations dotting retailer and digital cabinets – for purposes starting from competitors and self-defense to searching, regulation enforcement, maritime and navy use, the Remington 870 stays an inexpensive, totally dependable everyman’s gun that may fulfill nearly each taking pictures area of interest.

#7 – Prolific Weapons – Mossberg 500

• Quantity Produced: 12+ million
• First Manufactured: 1961
• Nation: U.S.
• Caliber: Varies

Trailing its direct competitor by a decade, the Mossberg 500 is to the Remington 870 what Coke is to Pepsi, or Ford to Chevy: A virtually equivalent peer in kind and performance, commanding as a lot recognition and proliferation as its counterpart – an announcement sure to sound reductive and which will definitely rustle the feathers of staunch followers of both camp. However it’s true. The Mossberg 500 is, just like the Mannequin 870, one of the crucial in style shotguns ever produced, with O.F. Mossberg & Son declaring over 12 million variants have rolled off its manufacturing unit flooring. Although lighter and cheaper than its competitor – the five hundred makes use of an aluminum receiver and a few extra plastic bits than the 870 – it’s virtually indecipherable from Remington’s gun at a look, and police and navy depend on the Mossberg as a lot because the Remington.

However not like its peer, the Mossberg was made initially for navy use solely. It wasn’t till 1987 – 26 years after its preliminary manufacture – that Mossberg bought the five hundred to the general public and as a substitute designed a more moderen variant, the M590, because the gun for uniformed use (although the five hundred continued navy service, too, because the M500). The 590A1 turned the standard-issue shotgun for america Army and noticed its first fight use within the 1991 Gulf Struggle.

#6 – Prolific Weapons – SKS

• Quantity Produced: ~15 million
• First Manufactured: 1945
• Nation: USSR
• Caliber: 7.62x39mm

With an estimation of 15 million models produced – per knowledge collated by Janes writer and firearm historian Ian Hogg – The Samozaryadny Karabin sistemy Simonova, or SKS, turned essentially the most broadly produced semiautomatic battle rifle, maybe ever. Designed between 1941 and 1944 and first manufactured in 1945, the SKS was the Soviets’ reply to the Germans’ G43 and the Individuals’ M1 rifles. Mechanically, the SKS was instantly inferior to these rifles and to its personal Soviet counterpart, the SVT-40. Whereas different semiautomatic battle rifles had removable magazines, the SKS relied on an integral field journal fed by stripped clips, limiting its reload velocity and capping capability at simply 10 rounds. Some variants of the SKS additionally lacked a detention spring on the firing pin. The pin was as a substitute permit to drift contained in the bolt – that means {that a} forceful drop may slam the pin into the primer on a loaded spherical, permitting for potential slam fires.

The SKS was additionally rendered out of date by its personal nation with the manufacturing of the AK-47 only a decade later. However despite its limitations (and its brief life within the limelight earlier than being overshadowed by the AK-47) its easy, low cost design made it a good weapon for licensed manufacturing in China and dozens of different international locations within the mid-Twentieth century. Between 1988 and 1993, thousands and thousands of Chinese language and Russian SKS rifles have been imported to the U.S. At publication, they’re nonetheless available on the secondhand marketplace for between $600 and $2500, relying on situation and rarity.

#5 – Prolific Weapons – Lee-Enfield

• Quantity Produced: ~17 million
• First Manufactured: 1895
• Nation: Britain
• Caliber: .303 British

One of many first repeating rifles to make use of smokeless powder, the Lee-Enfield was Britain’s response to the Germans’ then-new Gewehr 88, a bolt-action rifle that additionally relied on smokeless powder and smaller 8mm rounds to acquire greater velocity and accuracy. A direct descendant of the Lee-Metford rifle, the Lee-Enfield’s new cartridge and removable, 10-round field journal supplied British troops with vital benefits over opposing forces, lots of which nonetheless relied on rifles fed by built-in magazines with decrease capacities. The Lee-Enfield’s excessive capability and reliability made it able to offering a few of the quickest charges of fireplace doable with a bolt motion. Although citations are questionable, anecdotes from World Struggle One embody experiences from German troopers who declare they thought they’d encountered machine gunfire, once they had merely been fired upon by teams of British marksmen utilizing Lee-Enfield rifles. The Lee-Enfield remained in service with the British navy till the Nineteen Nineties, when the sniper variant (the L42A1) was retired. However the rifle stays in service with some militaries and regulation enforcement organizations right this moment – together with the Bangladesh Police – making it one of many longest-serving rifles in existence.

#4 – Prolific Weapons – AR-15/M4/M16 (and GLOCK)

• Quantity Produced: ~20 million
• First Manufactured: 1959 (AR-15), 1982 (GLOCK)
• Nation: U.S. (AR-15), Austria (GLOCK)
• Caliber: Varies (each)

The AR-15

Two of the preferred fashionable firearms ever made share the following spot on this listing. With over 20 million models bought, the AR-15 and GLOCK – and their countless variants – tie for the 4th most generally produced gun(s) in historical past. Initially developed by Eugene Stoner for ArmaLite in 1956, the AR-15 would first function an automated rifle issued to U.S service members within the Vietnam Struggle. ArmaLite bought the design to Colt in 1959; shortly after, the rifle would obtain the M16 designation and be fielded by troops in 1963. Colt later launched the semiautomatic variant of the M16 for civilian buy, retaining the AR-15 namesake.

when Colt’s patent on the design expired within the Nineteen Seventies, different producers started producing AR-15 rifles. The rifle loved widespread adoption and favorable evaluate for its light-weight profile, simplicity, and good accuracy with little recoil due to its small, quick 5.56 NATO and .223 Remington masses. However the AR-15 would solely turn out to be a rifle with an almost occult following after it was thrust into the political theater. When the Assault Weapon Ban of 1994 expired in 2004, gross sales of the AR-15 exploded – as did the political commentary surrounding its legality and civilian possession.

The GLOCK

Designed by Gaston Glock in Austria, the GLOCK handgun is, right this moment, the preferred handgun manufactured and stable. The GLOCK was designed for the Austrian forces, incomes its first contracts for navy and police service in 1982 after changing into the favourite in subject testing. The GLOCK beat competing designs from 5 producers: H&Okay’s P7M and P9S; Sig’s P220 and P226; Beretta’s 92SB-F; an FN prototype primarily based on the Browning Hello-Energy; and the Steyr GB. Notably, Gaston Glock had no expertise as a weapon designer. He was solely an professional on artificial polymers, however endeavored to make use of the fabric to provide a light-weight different to the metal and aluminum frames all handguns then relied upon. Glock assembled a workforce of firearm specialists to compile essentially the most fascinating traits of a fight pistol to develop his first handgun. Friedrich Dechant, former Head of the Austrian Armaments and Defence Expertise Company, remarked on observing the GLOCK’s clear superiority over competing pistols. In the present day, GLOCK produces over 50 pistols of various sizes and calibers, and it stays in service with 1000’s of police and navy organizations globally.

#3 – Prolific Weapons – Mosin-Nagant Rifle

• Quantity Produced: ~37 million
• First Manufactured: 1891
• Nation: Russia
• Caliber: 7.62x54R

Holding the title because the longest-serving navy rifle in existence, the Mosin-Nagant is among the most recognizable bolt actions ever made. For collectors, the Mosin is normally the primary “previous warfare” gun to buy. Only a decade in the past, one may attend any public gun present and discover the ever-present crates of Mosin rifles crammed with M91/30s and M44s for lower than $100 a chunk. The Mosin-Nagant was designed to switch the Soviet empire’s ageing inventory of single-shot rifles, which contributed to heavy losses by the hands of the Ottoman Empire, whose troops have been outfitted with Winchester repeating rifles. In response, the Russian Ministry of Protection procured and examined the Lebel Mannequin 1886, a French bolt motion rifle, to spur growth of what was formally known as the 3-line rifle, M1891; the “3-line” refers back to the Soviet rifle’s .30 caliber spherical. The Mosin additionally launched the 7.62x54R cartridge, a spherical that turned one of the crucial prolific machine gun cartridges ever fielded.

Though early Mosin rifles have been finicky and suffered poor high quality management, the M1891/30 – the “91/30” generally obtainable on the market on civilian marketplaces right this moment – modernized the unique design to enhance feeding and disassembly. Since its widespread use by the Soviets in World Wars I and II, the Mosin-Nagant and its variants have traveled the globe, been utilized in extra conflicts than another bolt-action rifle – together with current conflicts within the Center East – and seen adoption by greater than 40 international locations.

#2 – Prolific Weapons – Mauser 98

• Quantity Produced: ~100 million
• First Manufactured: 1898
• Nation: Germany
• Caliber: M/88, 7.92x57mm

Regardless of its comparatively brief lifespan – the rifle and its variants have been solely produced in giant numbers between 1895 and 1945 – the Mauser Gewehr 98 (together with rifles just like the Karabiner 98k) stays the second most produced firearm in existence, with estimates inserting complete manufacturing north of 100 million weapons. After preliminary supply in 1898, the Mauser 98 noticed instant motion throughout the Boxer Rebel within the arms of German troops at Peking. By World Struggle I, Germany had already produced almost 2.3 million rifles; it will make an extra 7 million earlier than the warfare ended. Initially chambered in M/88 – an extended defunct, early smokeless cartridge – the Mauser 98 adopted the now notorious 7.92x57mm in 1903, generally known as 8mm Mauser.

The Mauser 98 additionally launched the managed feed methodology of biking: the bottom of the shell casing is gripped by the bolt’s extractor claw earlier than it’s stripped from the journal and chambered; prior bolt motion rifles relied on an easier and fewer dependable “push feed” system, which relied on easy inertia and blunt contact to drive rounds into the chamber by way of the bolt face. The managed feed system is relied upon to at the present time by all fashionable firearms that use typical bolts and bolt carriers, and is regarded by many as one of the crucial essential developments in fashionable rifle design. Though manufacture of the unique 98 rifle ceased with Germany’s demise on the finish of World Struggle II, the rifle’s recognition spurred Mauser Jagdwaffen GmbH to renew manufacturing of 98 actions and rifles for civilian use in 1999. Fashionable iterations of the Mauser M98 are thought-about top-shelf safari weapons, with large sport fashions chambered in .30-06, .375, and .416 demanding $13,000 USD or extra at retail.

#1 – Prolific Weapons – AK-47

• Quantity Produced: ~150 million
• First Manufactured: 1948
• Nation: USSR
• Caliber: 7.62x39mm

The Avtomat Kalashnikova wants no introduction. You’re most likely not even stunned it’s primary. It’s, in any case, the single-most recognizable firearm ever made and, arguably, a creation that has outlined humanity and influenced fashionable life as a lot as the auto, airplane, and the web. Conservative estimates place historic manufacturing figures of the AK-47 at a “measly” 75 million. However with licensed manufacturing and cloning of essentially the most well-known rifle spanning dozens of nations for many years, the determine is probably going nearer to 150 million.

If present manufacturing of contemporary variants just like the Yugoslavian M70, American PSAK-47, Romanian WASR-10, and the Kalashnikov-licensed KR-103 (alongside different countless makes) are thought-about as a part of the tally, the variety of AK-47s roaming the planet is more likely to climb in perpetuity. Even when the AK-47 have been to vanish from all civilian markets, it will stay essentially the most prolific firearm ever, because it continues to be the usual infantry rifle for 106 nations’ militaries. Talking of AKs – Palmetto’s PSAK-47s ditch the archaic 7.62×39 in favor of decidedly superior cartridges, like 6.5 Grendel and 300 Blackout. Verify ’em out right here.

Travis Olander

Travis is a retired Joint Fires NCO, firearm collector, and long-range shooter with a penchant for previous militaria. He critiques weapons, knives, tactical package, and tenting and climbing gear.