I think from a civilian point of view, the AK has always been kind of an " exotic ". Its always been what the enemy had instead of the same ol' - same ol' stuff that we had. Also , back in the 80s and 90s you could get a AK parts kit and build one pretty easily and cheap. They are still cheap. You can get a Romanian for $400. But now the market is absolutely flooded with the AR rifles. There are dozens of AR manufacturers out there and an endless amount of accessories for them. Its not so easy to put a quality optic on an AK and if you do the rifle doesnt shoot well anyway. The AR is a far superior platform for anything ranging from hunting to competition shooting to actual combat. The only thing that I like about the AK is that it has a larger round than the AR but that too isn't always ideal, especially if you have to carry 400 rounds on you .