The National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), a trade association for the firearms industry, has released a 2010 market research study about AR rifle buyers, revealing a treasure trove of information about the fastest growing segment of the gun business. The study was conducted by Sports Marketing Surveys, a company specializing in recreation and sports.

The survey is noteworthy for its size—11,400 respondents of which 7,300 came from verified modern sporting rifle (MSR) owners. An internet-based methodology was used in which banner ads and links were placed on many of the popular consumer oriented websites. An incentive was used to facilitate the process. The large response allowed the survey to cross-reference a number of different areas.

• 60 percent of MSR owners already possessed multiple MSRs.
• Of those owning multiple MSRs (three or more), a third of the respondents made their initial purchase prior to the federal ban in 1994
• 12 percent bought their first MSR in 2010
• 37 percent of MSR owners have a military background
• 99 percent already owned a gun before buying an MSR
• The average price paid was $1,083
• 40 percent of all MSR purchases were made in a gun shop (as opposed to a gun show or from a private individual)

One of the more interesting findings was that 30 percent of all MSR owners made their first purchase in 2009 or 2010, which makes complete sense when you remember the incredible gun-buying panic in the wake of The Big O’s election.

An equally interesting fact—and one that surprised me—is that only three-fourths of the MSRs most recently purchased were chambered in 5.56 mm. The .308 was the next highest chambering with 10 percent, while .22 LR was purchased four percent of the time and 6.8 was three percent of new purchases.

Now we come to one of my favorite parts of the survey—why the respondents bought their MSRs. The survey showed that only 6 percent of the respondents bought an MSR for varmint shooting with another 4 percent having bought one for big game hunting. Other reasons for owning an MSR include home defense, competition and target shooting.

Who are the survey takers? Not surprisingly 99 percent of them are males and 60 percent of them earn between $45,000 and $110,000 annually. They’re smart too. Eighty-eight percent have at least some college while 14 percent have a post-graduate degree.

Three-fourths are married and 42 percent have children in the home. The split of those with a military or law enforcement background to those without is close—44 percent have such a background while 56 percent do not.

Next time the Insider will burrow further into this comprehensive NSSF survey to look at market share of the different MSR makers and what types of accessories they bought. The results will surprise you.