This Company Can’t Produce .22 Caliber Handguns Fast Enough

Think not a lot of people own guns? Think again. Over the past few decades, gun ownership across the United States has extensively grown. According to research from the Pew Research Center, a nonpartisan American think tank, over 30% of people now own a gun — and nearly half of Americans live in a home where a gun is present. This upward trend in gun ownership also reflects the many reasons why people own a gun: for personal protection, for work, as part of a collection, and for hunting or sport shooting. The .22 caliber handgun suits the needs of many gun owners. It is a versatile caliber that can be used for hunting, plinking, and pest control. (Here are the top-selling guns of all time, ranked.)

The .22 caliber cartridge is also popular because of its inexpensiveness and little to no recoil. So, unsurprisingly, record-breaking handgun sales in recent years have been driven in part by .22 caliber pistols and revolvers. According to the ATF, more than 1.2 million .22 caliber handguns were manufactured domestically in 2022, accounting for nearly 18% of all U.S. handgun production. But people are most likely to purchase their handguns from manufacturers they trust. So which handgun manufacturers are making the most popular .22 caliber handguns? 24/7 Wall St. identified the top 21 companies using data from the ATF. We reviewed manufacturing figures for thousands of federally licensed gunmakers and ranked them on .22 caliber handgun production volume in 2022.

Why We’re Covering This

Firearm sales in the U.S. hit historic highs during and after the pandemic. Both directly and indirectly, the U.S. arms and ammunition industry generated over $90 billion in economic output in 2023, and employed over 384,000 Americans, according to the industry advocacy group National Shooting Sports Foundation. Demand for specific firearms, like .22 caliber pistols, has been a boon for gunmakers in recent years.

These are the 21 most popular .22 caliber handgun manufacturers across the U.S.: 

21. Henry Repeating Arms Company

• .22 cal. handguns manufactured domestically in 2022: 2,176 (99.8% pistols, 0.2% revolvers)
• Popular .22 handgun model(s): Mare’s Leg
• Henry RAC .22 handgun manufacturing location(s): New Jersey and Wisconsin
• Henry RAC total domestic firearm production in 2022: 365,867 (0.6% .22 handguns)

20. Bond Arms, Inc

• .22 cal. handguns manufactured domestically in 2022: 2,630 (100% pistols, 0% revolvers)
• Popular .22 handgun model(s): Honey B, Stubby, Stinger, BP22
• Bond Arms .22 handgun manufacturing location(s): Texas
• Bond Arms total domestic firearm production in 2022: 52,104 (5.0% .22 handguns)

19. Great Lakes Firearms and Ammunition

• .22 cal. handguns manufactured domestically in 2022: 4,050 (100% pistols, 0% revolvers)
• Popular .22 handgun model(s): GLFA .223 Wylde
• Great Lakes Firearms .22 handgun manufacturing location(s): Michigan
• Great Lakes Firearms total domestic firearm production in 2022: 21,198 (19.1% .22 handguns)

18. IWI US, Inc

• .22 cal. handguns manufactured domestically in 2022: 4,369 (100% pistols, 0% revolvers)
• Popular .22 handgun model(s): Galil ACE
• IWI .22 handgun manufacturing location(s): Pennsylvania
• IWI total domestic firearm production in 2022: 49,122 (8.9% .22 handguns)

17. Volquartsen Firearms

• .22 cal. handguns manufactured domestically in 2022: 4,897 (100% pistols, 0% revolvers)
• Popular .22 handgun model(s): Black Mamba, Scorpion, Mamba-TF
• Volquartsen .22 handgun manufacturing location(s): Iowa
• Volquartsen total domestic firearm production in 2022: 9,021 (54.3% .22 handguns)

16. Standard Manufacturing

• .22 cal. handguns manufactured domestically in 2022: 7,827 (0.6% pistols, 99.4% revolvers)
• Popular .22 handgun model(s): SG22, Jackhammer, Switch Gun, S333 Thunderstruck
• Standard Manufacturing .22 handgun manufacturing location(s): Connecticut
• Standard Manufacturing total domestic firearm production in 2022: 14,585 (53.7% .22 handguns)

15. Trailblazer Firearms

• .22 cal. handguns manufactured domestically in 2022: 8,135 (100% pistols, 0% revolvers)
• Popular .22 handgun model(s): LifeCard
• Trailblazer .22 handgun manufacturing location(s): North Carolina
• Trailblazer total domestic firearm production in 2022: 8,753 (92.9% .22 handguns)

14. North American Arms

• .22 cal. handguns manufactured domestically in 2022: 10,765 (0% pistols, 100% revolvers)
• Popular .22 handgun model(s): NAR BBS, NAR HG, NAR 22MC
• North American Arms .22 handgun manufacturing location(s): Utah
• North American Arms total domestic firearm production in 2022: 10,770 (100.0% .22 handguns)

13. Outdoor Colors

• .22 cal. handguns manufactured domestically in 2022: 10,811 (100% pistols, 0% revolvers)
• Popular .22 handgun model(s): N/A
• Outdoor Colors .22 handgun manufacturing location(s): North Carolina
• Outdoor Colors total domestic firearm production in 2022: 51,527 (21.0% .22 handguns)

12. Radical Firearms

• .22 cal. handguns manufactured domestically in 2022: 11,359 (100% pistols, 0% revolvers)
• Popular .22 handgun model(s): 5.56mm AR Pistol
• Radical .22 handgun manufacturing location(s): Texas
• Radical total domestic firearm production in 2022: 121,600 (9.3% .22 handguns)

11. Beretta USA

• .22 cal. handguns manufactured domestically in 2022: 13,260 (100% pistols, 0% revolvers)
• Popular .22 handgun model(s): M9, 21A Bobcat, 92FSR
• Beretta .22 handgun manufacturing location(s): Tennessee
• Beretta total domestic firearm production in 2022: 180,447 (7.3% .22 handguns)

10. Phoenix Arms

• .22 cal. handguns manufactured domestically in 2022: 16,214 (100% pistols, 0% revolvers)
• Popular .22 handgun model(s): HP22A
• Phoenix .22 handgun manufacturing location(s): California
• Phoenix total domestic firearm production in 2022: 17,300 (93.7% .22 handguns)

9. Diamondback Firearms LLC

• .22 cal. handguns manufactured domestically in 2022: 18,776 (33.6% pistols, 66.4% revolvers)
• Popular .22 handgun model(s): Sidekick
• Diamondback .22 handgun manufacturing location(s): Florida
• Diamondback total domestic firearm production in 2022: 123,025 (15.3% .22 handguns)

8. Browning Arms

• .22 cal. handguns manufactured domestically in 2022: 39,131 (100% pistols, 0% revolvers)
• Popular .22 handgun model(s): Buck Mark, 1911-22
• Browning .22 handgun manufacturing location(s): Utah
• Browning total domestic firearm production in 2022: 47,996 (81.5% .22 handguns)

7. Smith & Wesson

• .22 cal. handguns manufactured domestically in 2022: 67,780 (75.4% pistols, 24.6% revolvers)
• Popular .22 handgun model(s): Model 63, Model 48, M&P 22, SW22 Victory
• Smith & Wesson .22 handgun manufacturing location(s): Massachusetts and Missouri
• Smith & Wesson total domestic firearm production in 2022: 973,994 (7.0% .22 handguns)

6. Glock

• .22 cal. handguns manufactured domestically in 2022: 74,158 (100% pistols, 0% revolvers)
• Popular .22 handgun model(s): G44
• Glock .22 handgun manufacturing location(s): Georgia
• Glock total domestic firearm production in 2022: 465,117 (15.9% .22 handguns)

5. Kel Tec CNC Industries

• .22 cal. handguns manufactured domestically in 2022: 83,367 (100% pistols, 0% revolvers)
• Popular .22 handgun model(s): P17, CP33, PLR22
• Kel Tec .22 handgun manufacturing location(s): Florida
• Kel Tec total domestic firearm production in 2022: 196,118 (42.5% .22 handguns)

4. Taurus International Manufacturing, Inc

• .22 cal. handguns manufactured domestically in 2022: 114,325 (100% pistols, 0% revolvers)
• Popular .22 handgun model(s): TX 22, 942
• Taurus .22 handgun manufacturing location(s): Georgia
• Taurus total domestic firearm production in 2022: 287,650 (39.7% .22 handguns)

3. Sig Sauer

• .22 cal. handguns manufactured domestically in 2022: 155,876 (100% pistols, 0% revolvers)
• Popular .22 handgun model(s): P322
• Sig Sauer .22 handgun manufacturing location(s): Arkansas and New Hampshire
• Sig Sauer total domestic firearm production in 2022: 2,346,752 (6.6% .22 handguns)

2. Heritage Manufacturing

• .22 cal. handguns manufactured domestically in 2022: 286,870 (0% pistols, 100% revolvers)
• Popular .22 handgun model(s): Barkeep, Rough Rider
• Heritage .22 handgun manufacturing location(s): Georgia
• Heritage total domestic firearm production in 2022: 308,040 (93.1% .22 handguns)

1. Sturm, Ruger & Company

• .22 cal. handguns manufactured domestically in 2022: 289,528 (64.9% pistols, 35.1% revolvers)
• Popular .22 handgun model(s): LCP II, SR22, Mark IV, GP100
• Ruger .22 handgun manufacturing location(s): Arizona, Connecticut, North Carolina, and New Hampshire
• Ruger total domestic firearm production in 2022: 1,565,743 (18.5% .22 handguns)

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