What are the most common types of guns used in left-wing and right-wing violent incidents in the U.S.?

1. What the major studies say about weapons used

Large analyses cited in recent reporting focus on incidents and fatalities rather than a systematic weapons breakdown by ideology. The CSIS analysis emphasized increases in left-wing plots and attacks in early 2025 but does not present a detailed, comparative list of firearm types used by left- versus right-wing actors in those incidents; it documents targets and motives more than weapon models ^[1]. FactCheck.org summarizes the CSIS finding that left-wing incidents outnumbered right-wing incidents in a narrow 2025 window but highlights that overall political violence “spans the ideological spectrum” and notes right-wing attacks historically caused more fatalities ^[2]. The Conversation and other academic summaries emphasize that right-wing extremist violence has been both more frequent and deadlier over recent years, again without a precise taxonomy of gun types by ideology ^[3].

2. Common firearm categories mentioned in coverage

Reporting and advocacy pieces refer broadly to “guns,” “military-style rifles,” and “black rifles” when discussing politically motivated shootings, but these descriptors appear in human-interest and opinion stories (The Intercept, DNYUZ) rather than as rigorously coded categories in the CSIS, FactCheck, or university research cited here ^[4][5][1]. Giffords’ policy review situates guns as central to rising political violence and public tolerance for violence, but it discusses firearms’ role at a policy level rather than enumerating the most-used makes and models by ideology ^[6].

3. What researchers and analysts emphasize instead

Scholars and watchdogs stress incident counts, targets, motives, and lethality rather than armament specifics. CSIS and university researchers compare counts of plots/attacks across decades and note shifts in who is targeted (e.g., officials, facilities) and in motive (partisan vs. anti‑government), which are central to threat assessments ^[1][3]. FactCheck.org and NPR advise caution in interpreting short-term shifts—small absolute changes can look large percentage-wise—and they stress the historical asymmetry in lethality of right-wing attacks ^[2][7].

4. Limits in available reporting on exact gun types

Available sources do not provide a systematic, national breakdown of the specific gun makes/models (e.g., AR-15 vs. handguns vs. shotguns) used by left-wing versus right-wing perpetrators. Coverage instead centers on incident counts, fatality totals, and broader categories like “military-style rifles” ^[1][2][4]. Therefore, definitive claims about “the most common types of guns used” by each political wing are not documented in the provided sources.

5. What can be reasonably inferred from the coverage

Given reporting that many high-casualty domestic terrorist events historically involved semiautomatic rifles and that right-wing attacks historically produced the majority of fatalities, it is reasonable to infer semiautomatic rifles and handguns figure prominently in lethal right-wing attacks—but that inference is not documented with tabulated, ideology-specific weapon counts in these sources ^[3][2]. For left-wing incidents, CSIS notes more plots/attacks in early 2025 but also stresses that this is an increase from very low levels; the coverage does not tie that rise to a particular dominant firearm type ^[1].

6. Competing narratives and political context

There is an active debate over interpretation: CSIS flagged a notable rise in left-wing incidents in 2025 and framed it as a concerning trend ^[1]; critics and other analysts (Just Security, FactCheck.org, The Conversation) argue that right‑wing extremism remains the larger and deadlier problem historically and caution against overstating short-term left-wing increases ^[8][2][3]. Political actors have sometimes used selective incident framing to support policy proposals, and hearings and opinion pieces frequently link guns to domestic extremism while advancing differing remedies (congressional text; Giffords) ^[9][6].

7. Bottom line for readers

If you need a rigorous, weapons-by-ideology breakdown, current reporting in the supplied sources does not provide one; the literature prioritizes incident counts, motives, and lethality metrics rather than a coded inventory of gun models ^[1][2]. Analysts agree that right-wing perpetrators account for most historical fatalities and that left-wing incidents rose from very low baselines in 2025—interpretations diverge about how significant that rise is and what it implies for policy ^[3][8].