An Armalite rifle (AR) is one of a series of rifles the ArmaLite company made or, more generally, a rifle based on one of its designs, such as the ArmaLite AR-15 rifle. Eugene Stoner, Jacques Michault, Melvin Johnson, Robert Fremont, and Jim Sullivan are some of the designers credited with their development. In the United States, these rifles are generally known by their model numbers. The AR before the model number stands for "ArmaLite Rifle".
| Model number | Model name | Cartridges | Manufacturers | Notes | Image |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AR-5 | Aircrew survival weapon | .22 Hornet | ArmaLite | A bolt-action, take-down survival rifle. |  |
| AR-7 | Explorer | .22 Long Rifle | ArmaLite, Charter Arms, Henry Repeating Arms | A semi-automatic, take-down survival rifle. |  |
| AR-10 | 7.62×51mm NATO, .308 Winchester | Fairchild ArmaLite, Artillerie Inrichtingen (AI) | A lightweight battle rifle. |  | |
| ArmaLite AR-14 | Unknown | ArmaLite | A lightweight hunting style rifle that never made it past the prototype phase and according to reports had issues of exploding when fired. | ||
| AR-15 | .223 Remington, 5.56 NATO | ArmaLite, Colt's Manufacturing Company | A lightweight assault rifle. A smaller version of the AR-10 and adopted by the United States military as the M16 rifle. Later developed by Colt into a popular semi-automatic Colt AR-15. |  | |
| AR-16 | 7.62×51mm NATO | ArmaLite | Prototype battle rifle. | ||
| ArmaLite AR-17 | 12 gauge | Semiautomatic 12ga 2shot shotgun based on the earlier AR-9. | |||
| AR-18 | 5.56×45mm NATO | ArmaLite, Howa Machinery Company, Sterling Armaments Company | An inexpensive, easy to make, stamped steel rifle. Also known as "The Widowmaker" in Northern Ireland. |  | |
| AR-180 | 5.56×45mm NATO | Howa Machinery Company, Sterling Armaments Company | Semi-automatic rifle version of the AR-18. |  | |
| AR-100 AR-101 AR-102 AR-103 AR-104 |
5.56×45mm NATO | ArmaLite, Elitool | AR-100 series based on the AR-16 that used a self ejecting magazine device. Used in development of Ultimax 100 LMG. | ||
| AR-30, AR-30A1, AR-31 | .308 Winchester, .300 Winchester Magnum, .338 Lapua | ArmaLite | Bolt-action rifle based in part on the ArmaLite AR-50 rifle. | ||
| AR-50 | .50 BMG | ArmaLite | Single-shot, .50 caliber bolt-action sniper and long-range target rifle. |
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References
- "Armalite AR-10 Semi-Automatic Rifle". National Rifle Association of America. Archived from the original on January 7, 2014. Retrieved January 23, 2014.
- "History". www.armalite.com. Armalite. Retrieved 2018-03-05.
- William Harris. "Top 5 Most Popular Guns - and Why". How Stuff Works. Retrieved January 23, 2014.
- Various. "AR-100 Series of Weapons". AR15.com. Retrieved February 17, 2023.
- Arms and Defence in Southeast Asia, Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, 31 Dec. 1989 by Chandran Jeshurun, ISBN 9813035455