For readers interested in survivalist statistics, U.S. firearms manufacturing provides a measurable view of how production changed across major categories from 2013 through 2023. The ATF’s Firearms Commerce in the United States: Annual Statistical Update 2024 reports annual production of pistols, revolvers, rifles, shotguns, miscellaneous firearms, and total firearms manufactured by U.S. manufacturers.
Contents
- The overall manufacturing record
- Pistols and revolvers
- Rifles
- Shotguns
- Miscellaneous firearms
- Year-by-year comparison
The overall manufacturing record
The reported annual totals show a production series that moved up and down rather than following a steady line. Total U.S. firearms manufacturing was 10,844,792 units in 2013, 9,050,626 in 2014, and 9,358,661 in 2015. The 2016 total was 11,497,441 units, followed by 8,327,792 in 2017 and 9,052,628 in 2018.
The lower point in the supplied period was 7,011,945 units in 2019. Production then reached 11,064,078 units in 2020 and 13,806,940 in 2021. The total was 13,395,031 in 2022 before falling to 9,772,259 units in 2023. These are annual U.S. manufacturing figures, not a count of households, preparedness groups, firearm owners, or emergency supplies.
The same source reports five categories for every year in the series. That consistent structure makes it possible to see whether a year’s movement was concentrated in one category or appeared across several categories. The figures describe manufacturing output; they do not measure demand, ownership, stockpiling, training, or readiness.
They are therefore a useful scale indicator, but only a limited preparedness indicator.
Pistols and revolvers
Pistols were the largest reported category in most years. U.S. manufacturers produced 4,441,726 pistols in 2013. Production was 3,633,454 in 2014 and 3,557,199 in 2015, then rose to 4,720,075 in 2016. The figure declined to 3,691,010 in 2017 and increased to 3,881,158 in 2018.
Pistol production was 3,046,013 units in 2019. It rose to 5,509,183 in 2020 and 6,751,919 in 2021. Production then measured 6,150,667 in 2022 and 3,939,517 in 2023. The 2021 figure is the highest annual pistol-production figure in this dataset.
Revolver production followed a different scale. The annual figures were 725,282 in 2013, 744,047 in 2014, and 885,259 in 2015. Production reached 856,291 in 2016, then measured 720,917 in 2017 and 664,835 in 2018. The 2019 figure was 580,601 revolvers.
U.S. manufacturers produced 993,078 revolvers in 2020 and 1,159,918 in 2021. The figure was 830,786 in 2022 and 805,054 in 2023. Thus, the supplied records show revolver production below 1 million units in most listed years, with the 2021 figure standing above the other annual revolver figures.
Rifles
Rifle production was 3,979,570 units in 2013, followed by 3,379,549 in 2014 and 3,691,799 in 2015. The category reached 4,239,335 units in 2016. It then dropped to 2,504,092 in 2017 before rising to 2,880,536 in 2018.
The reported rifle total for 2019 was 1,957,667 units. Production measured 2,760,392 in 2020, 3,934,374 in 2021, and 3,577,951 in 2022. In 2023, U.S. manufacturers produced 3,119,376 rifles.
The rifle figures show a wide range across the period. The 2016 figure was 4,239,335, while the 2019 figure was 1,957,667. The source does not provide a reason for the yearly changes, so these statistics should be used to describe production levels rather than to assign causes to those movements.
Shotguns
Shotgun production was 1,203,072 units in 2013. The annual figure was 935,411 in 2014, 777,273 in 2015, and 848,617 in 2016. It measured 653,139 in 2017 and 536,126 in 2018.
The 2019 total was 480,735 shotguns. Production was 476,682 in 2020, 675,426 in 2021, 662,350 in 2022, and 602,782 in 2023. The lowest annual shotgun figure in the supplied records was 476,682 in 2020, while the highest was 1,203,072 in 2013.
For preparedness readers, the category is useful as a separate reference point because it does not move in lockstep with the largest categories in every year. The figures still represent factory production in the United States, not the number of shotguns available to civilians or the equipment held by a particular preparedness community.
Miscellaneous firearms
The miscellaneous-firearms category was 495,142 units in 2013. It measured 358,165 in 2014 and 447,131 in 2015. Production rose to 833,123 in 2016 and was 758,634 in 2017.
The source reports 1,089,973 miscellaneous firearms in 2018 and 946,929 in 2019. The category reached 1,324,743 units in 2020 and 1,283,282 in 2021. It measured 2,171,255 in 2022, followed by 1,305,530 in 2023.
The 2022 figure is the highest miscellaneous-firearms figure listed here. Because the supplied source label does not break this category into more detailed subtypes, the category should be treated as a single reported group. It should not be used to infer what kinds of firearms made up the annual total.
Year-by-year comparison
The table below keeps the ATF-reported categories together so that each year can be read as one manufacturing profile. All figures are units manufactured by U.S. manufacturers in the stated year.
| Year | Pistols | Revolvers | Rifles | Shotguns | Miscellaneous | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 4,441,726 | 725,282 | 3,979,570 | 1,203,072 | 495,142 | 10,844,792 |
| 2014 | 3,633,454 | 744,047 | 3,379,549 | 935,411 | 358,165 | 9,050,626 |
| 2015 | 3,557,199 | 885,259 | 3,691,799 | 777,273 | 447,131 | 9,358,661 |
| 2016 | 4,720,075 | 856,291 | 4,239,335 | 848,617 | 833,123 | 11,497,441 |
| 2017 | 3,691,010 | 720,917 | 2,504,092 | 653,139 | 758,634 | 8,327,792 |
| 2018 | 3,881,158 | 664,835 | 2,880,536 | 536,126 | 1,089,973 | 9,052,628 |
| 2019 | 3,046,013 | 580,601 | 1,957,667 | 480,735 | 946,929 | 7,011,945 |
| 2020 | 5,509,183 | 993,078 | 2,760,392 | 476,682 | 1,324,743 | 11,064,078 |
| 2021 | 6,751,919 | 1,159,918 | 3,934,374 | 675,426 | 1,283,282 | 13,806,940 |
| 2022 | 6,150,667 | 830,786 | 3,577,951 | 662,350 | 2,171,255 | 13,395,031 |
| 2023 | 3,939,517 | 805,054 | 3,119,376 | 602,782 | 1,305,530 | 9,772,259 |
The peak total in the series was 13,806,940 units in 2021. The next-highest total was 13,395,031 in 2022. The lowest was 7,011,945 in 2019. Looking at the categories alongside the totals also shows that the largest total years included high pistol production: 6,751,919 pistols in 2021 and 6,150,667 in 2022.
The 2023 profile was lower than the two preceding annual totals, but it still included 3,939,517 pistols, 3,119,376 rifles, 1,305,530 miscellaneous firearms, 805,054 revolvers, and 602,782 shotguns. Those values provide a current endpoint for this historical series while retaining the measurement year needed for interpretation.
For a practical preparedness discussion, these statistics are best used as background on manufacturing scale and category mix. They cannot establish how many people identify as survivalists, how much equipment a household should store, or which firearm is appropriate for a particular person. Those questions require different evidence, including applicable laws, safe-storage guidance, training information, and individual circumstances.
Source for all figures: ATF, Firearms Commerce in the United States: Annual Statistical Update 2024. The statistics above are reported for the corresponding calendar years and describe U.S. manufacturing output.