Americans own almost 18 million AR-15s and other modern rifles

AR-15s and other similar rifles may remain a key target of anti-gun politicians and activists, but new firearms industry production numbers indicate that they're still incredibly popular among American gun owners.

The National Shooting Sports Foundation — the trade association for the firearms industry — put out a numbers report on Wednesday indicating that 17.74 million modern sporting rifles are currently privately owned in the United States. Furthermore, the report found that a 54 percent majority of all rifles produced in 2017 were modern sporting rifles.

The NSSF's website explains that the term "modern sporting rifle" refers to "today's very popular semiautomatic rifle designs, including the AR-15 and its offspring" which have been legally sold for civilian use since the 1960s.

"These figures show the industry that America has a strong desire to continue to purchase firearms for lawful purposes," NSSF president Joe Bartozzi said in a statement released alongside the numbers. "The Modern Sporting Rifle continues to be the most popular centerfire rifle sold in America today and is clearly a commonly-owned firearm with more than 17 million in legal private ownership today."