{"id":244595,"date":"2026-05-21T15:17:54","date_gmt":"2026-05-21T20:17:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/?p=244595"},"modified":"2026-05-21T15:26:50","modified_gmt":"2026-05-21T20:26:50","slug":"ny-times-where-did-ak-47s-go","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/ny-times-where-did-ak-47s-go\/","title":{"rendered":"NY Times: Where Did All the AK-47s Go?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-yoast-seo-estimated-reading-time yoast-reading-time__wrapper\"><span class=\"yoast-reading-time__icon\"><svg aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\" data-icon=\"clock\" width=\"20\" height=\"20\" fill=\"none\" stroke=\"currentColor\" style=\"display:inline-block;vertical-align:-0.1em\" role=\"img\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\"><path stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" stroke-width=\"2\" d=\"M12 8v4l3 3m6-3a9 9 0 11-18 0 9 9 0 0118 0z\"><\/path><\/svg><\/span><span class=\"yoast-reading-time__spacer\" style=\"display:inline-block;width:1em\"><\/span><span class=\"yoast-reading-time__descriptive-text\">Estimated reading time: <\/span><span class=\"yoast-reading-time__reading-time\">4<\/span><span class=\"yoast-reading-time__time-unit\"> minutes<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The <em>New York Times<\/em> may have accidentally wandered into one of the most awkward Second Amendment admissions imaginable this month: the AK-47 isn\u2019t some fringe battlefield relic.  It\u2019s basically Americana now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That realization came after the paper published a feature titled \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/05\/13\/us\/ak-47.html\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"clickTracking\" campaign=\"ny-times-where-did-ak-47s-go\" title=\"NY Times: Where Did All the AK-47s Go?\">Where Did All the AK-47s Go<\/a>?\u201d lamenting the shrinking availability of imported AK-pattern rifles and ammo in the U.S. market.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Where Did All the AK-47s Go? Lol Let&#39;s just say i have more than one. Notice how they admit these guns are &quot;ubiquitous&quot;? That means &quot;everywhere.&quot; That means, &quot;common.&quot; As in, protected under the 2A. Silly lamestream media, saying the quiet part loudly.<a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/Pbw9vVTEto\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"clickTracking\" campaign=\"ny-times-where-did-ak-47s-go\" title=\"NY Times: Where Did All the AK-47s Go?\">https:\/\/t.co\/Pbw9vVTEto<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Texas2AAttorney (@CJGRISHAM) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/CJGRISHAM\/status\/2057470245862768653?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"clickTracking\" campaign=\"ny-times-where-did-ak-47s-go\" title=\"NY Times: Where Did All the AK-47s Go?\">May 21, 2026<\/a><\/blockquote> <script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And gun world reactions were immediate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Some people treated the article like an obituary for the AK market. Others treated it like the <em>Times<\/em> accidentally wrote a love letter to one of the most iconic rifles on Earth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>NRA Institute for Legislative Action definitely landed in the second camp.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nraila.org\/articles\/20260518\/new-york-times-acknowledges-semi-auto-rifles-aren-t-just-common-but-ubiquitous\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"clickTracking\" campaign=\"ny-times-where-did-ak-47s-go\" title=\"NY Times: Where Did All the AK-47s Go?\">NRA-ILA <\/a>quickly pointed out the article repeatedly described AKs as \u201cubiquitous,\u201d \u201ceverywhere on the civilian market,\u201d and \u201cthe rifle of choice for many American gun enthusiasts.\u201d  Wording that sounds hilariously useful in future court cases involving so-called \u201cassault weapon\u201d bans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-see-also-safariland-incog-xs-review-fast-iwb-carry\">SEE ALSO: <a href=\"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/safariland-incog-xs-review-glock-19-iwb-holster\/\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"clickTracking\" campaign=\"ny-times-where-did-ak-47s-go\" title=\"NY Times: Where Did All the AK-47s Go?\">Safariland Incog XS Review: Fast IWB Carry<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Because under<em> District of Columbia v. Heller,<\/em> firearms \u201cin common use\u201d generally receive constitutional protection.  And if the<em> New York Times<\/em> itself is calling AKs common? Well\u2026 thanks for the courtroom exhibit, guys.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>NRA-ILA<\/em> basically responded with the legal equivalent of Leonardo DiCaprio pointing at the TV.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The organization noted the Times\u2019 descriptions line up pretty cleanly with how courts increasingly describe protected <a href=\"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/ready-whitetail-cz-557\/\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"clickTracking\" campaign=\"ny-times-where-did-ak-47s-go\" title=\"NY Times: Where Did All the AK-47s Go?\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"5754\">firearms after <em>Heller<\/em> and <em>New York State Rifle<\/em><\/a> &amp; Pistol Association v. Bruen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And, they\u2019re not wrong.  It\u2019s difficult to argue a firearm is some exotic outlier while simultaneously calling it \u201cubiquitous\u201d and \u201ceverywhere.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That\u2019s kind of like writing, \u201cNobody drives pickup trucks anymore,\u201d while standing in a Texas Buc-ee\u2019s parking lot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Is The AK 47 Vanishing In America??\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/udwg6tbg7-k?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Meanwhile, firearms trainer Gabe Suarez from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@suareztactics\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"clickTracking\" campaign=\"ny-times-where-did-ak-47s-go\" title=\"NY Times: Where Did All the AK-47s Go?\">Suarez Tactical <\/a>had a completely different reaction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>His take wasn\u2019t really about constitutional law at all. It was more like a seasoned gun guy shrugging and saying: \u201cYeah, the AK market changed. That\u2019s life.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Suarez explained that the golden era of cheap AK kits is long gone. Back in the early 2000s, shooters could build quality <a href=\"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/army-invents-short-range-projectile-that-self-destructs-in-flight\/\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"clickTracking\" campaign=\"ny-times-where-did-ak-47s-go\" title=\"NY Times: Where Did All the AK-47s Go?\" data-wpil-monitor-id=\"5755\">rifles cheaply using imported demilled kits and affordable ammo<\/a>. But import restrictions and manufacturing realities eventually changed the economics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Today, Suarez argues, a quality AK often costs about the same as a quality AR.  And that changes the equation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s no way that I can make a quality AK\u2026 and make any money on it,\u201d Suarez said while discussing why he eventually stepped away from the AK business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But his hottest take had less to do with rifles themselves and more to do with modern American culture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Suarez argued that in 2026, anybody responding to a violent incident with a rifle \u2014 AK or AR \u2014 risks immediately being mistaken for the bad guy unless they\u2019re clearly identifiable <a href=\"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/the-mil-leo-only-guns-from-your-favorite-companies\/\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"clickTracking\" campaign=\"ny-times-where-did-ak-47s-go\" title=\"NY Times: Where Did All the AK-47s Go?\" data-wpil-monitor-id=\"5752\">law enforcement<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That\u2019s a conversation a lot of gun owners probably don\u2019t love having, but it\u2019s one Suarez hammered repeatedly throughout his commentary.  His conclusion?  Train with pistols more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cYour main focus should be the art of the pistol and becoming dangerously good with a pistol,\u201d Suarez said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-see-also-m-amp-p-shield-x-review-better-than-the-shield-plus\">SEE ALSO: <a href=\"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/mp-shield-x-review\/\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"clickTracking\" campaign=\"ny-times-where-did-ak-47s-go\" title=\"NY Times: Where Did All the AK-47s Go?\">M&amp;P Shield X Review: Better Than the Shield Plus?<\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>That doesn\u2019t mean he hates AKs. Far from it.  At one point, Suarez casually mentioned owning 30 AK rifles. Which sounds less like a collection and more like the start of a small Eastern European militia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Still, both reactions ended up circling back to the same funny reality:  The AK-47 is no longer viewed in America purely as some foreign insurgent rifle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s become deeply embedded in <a href=\"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/federal-agents-search-former-reality-show-american-guns-gun-store\/\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"clickTracking\" campaign=\"ny-times-where-did-ak-47s-go\" title=\"NY Times: Where Did All the AK-47s Go?\" data-wpil-monitor-id=\"5756\">American gun<\/a> culture itself.  And the irony here is impossible to ignore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For years, anti-gun activists and media outlets tried portraying <a href=\"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/ak-47-hog-blaster\/\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"clickTracking\" campaign=\"ny-times-where-did-ak-47s-go\" title=\"NY Times: Where Did All the AK-47s Go?\" data-wpil-monitor-id=\"5753\">rifles like the AK and AR as uniquely dangerous weapons<\/a> outside the mainstream.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Now even legacy media outlets keep accidentally describing them exactly the way gun rights advocates have for decades: common, popular, culturally embedded, and owned by huge numbers of ordinary Americans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At this point, the rifles are practically arguing the court cases themselves.  That said, do you see a noticeable decline in the popularity of the AK?  Do you own any?  <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-left\" style=\"font-size:24px\"><strong><em>*** <a href=\"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"clickTracking\" campaign=\"ny-times-where-did-ak-47s-go\" title=\"NY Times: Where Did All the AK-47s Go?\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Buy and Sell on GunsAmerica!<\/a> ***<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>That realization came after the paper published a feature titled \u201cWhere Did All the AK-47s Go?\u201d lamenting the shrinking availability of imported AK-pattern rifles and ammo in the U.S. market.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":158,"featured_media":244597,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_specdata_upc":"","_specdata_placement":"manual","footnotes":""},"categories":[4024],"tags":[132,607,122],"featured":[],"hunt365":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-244595","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-news","8":"tag-buzz","9":"tag-news","10":"tag-r2kba"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.6 (Yoast SEO v27.6) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>NY Times: Where Did All the AK-47s Go?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Gun rights advocates are reacting after the New York Times described AK-47 rifles as \u201cubiquitous\u201d and common in American gun culture.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, 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