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An AR-15 style rifle is a semi-automatic rifle based on the Colt AR-15 design. After Colt's patents expired in 1977, an expanded marketplace emerged with many manufacturers producing their own version of the AR-15 design for commercial sale. The Federal Assault Weapons Ban restricted the Colt AR-15 and derivatives from 1994-2004, although it did not affect rifles with fewer feaures. They are referred to as modern sporting rifles by the National Shooting Sports Foundation, a firearms industry trade association, and by some manufacturers.

Since 2010, AR-15 style rifles have become one of the "most beloved and most vilified rifles" in the United States, according to the New York Times. It has been promoted as "America's rifle" by the National Rifle Association. It has also been the weapon used in many of the largest mass shootings in the US. There are an estimated 10-12 million in circulation in the United States.

Terminology

In 1956, a lightweight assault rifle was designed for military use by ArmaLite and designated the ArmaLite Rifle-15, or AR-15. Due to financial problems, ArmaLite sold the design and the AR-15 trademark to Colt's Manufacturing Company in 1959. In 1964, Colt began selling its own version with an improved semi-automatic design known as the Colt AR-15. After Colt's patents expired in 1977, an active marketplace emerged for other manufacturers to produce and sell their own AR-15 style rifles.

In 2009, the term "modern sporting rifle" was coined by the National Shooting Sports Foundation for its survey that year as a marketing term used by the firearms industry to describe modular semi-automatic rifles including AR-15s. Today, nearly every major firearm manufacturer produces its own generic AR-15 style rifle. As Colt continues to own and use the AR-15 trademark for its line of AR-15 variants, other manufacturers must use their own model numbers and names to market their AR-15 style rifles for commercial sale.

Sales

The first version produced for commercial sale by Colt was the AR-15 Sporter, in .223 Remington, with a 20 inch barrel and issued with 5-round magazines. Initial sales of the Colt AR-15 were slow, primarily due to its fixed sights and carry handle that made mounting a scope difficult and awkward to use.

In the 1990s, sales of AR-15 style rifles increased dramatically. Partly as a result of the introduction of the flat top upper receiver allowing scopes and sighting devices to be easily mounted and new features such as free floating hand guards that increased accuracy. While only a handful of companies were manufacturing these rifles in 1994, by the 21st century the number of AR-15 style rifles had more than doubled. From 2000 to 2015, the number of manufacturers of AR-15 style variants and knock-offs increased from 29 to about 500.

Variations and modularity

Today, AR-15 style rifles are available in a wide range of configurations and calibers from a large number of manufacturers. These configurations range from standard full-sizes rifles with 20 inch barrels, to short carbine-length models with 16 inch barrels, adjustable length stocks and optical sights, to long range target models with 24 inch barrels, bipods and high-powered scopes. These rifles may also have short-stroke gas piston system, forgoing the direct gas system standard in the original AR-15 design. These calibers include the 5.56×45mm NATO, 5.7×28mm, 6.8mm Remington SPC,.300 Blackout, 9×19mm Parabellum and .458 SOCOM to name a few.

Due to the vast assortment of aftermarket parts and accessories available, AR-15 style rifles have also been referred to as "the Swiss Army knife of rifles", "Barbie Dolls for Guys" or "LEGOs" for adults.

Use in mass shootings

Following the use of a Colt AR-15 rifle in the Port Arthur massacre, the worst single-person shooting incident in Australian history, the country enacted the National Firearms Programme Implementation Act 1996, restricting the private ownership of "high capacity" semi-automatic rifles (Category D) in that country.

AR-15 variants have been used in mass shootings in the United States, including in the 1982 killing spree by George Banks in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, 2012 Aurora shooting, 2015 San Bernardino attack, the 2017 Sutherland Springs church shooting, the 2017 Las Vegas shooting, and the 2018 Stoneman Douglas High School shooting.

List of models

• ArmaLite M-15
• Barrett REC7
• Bushmaster XM-15
• Colt AR-15
• Carbon 15
• Daniel Defense DDM4
• DPMS Panther Arms Tactical Rifle
• Heckler & Koch MR556
• Lewis Machine & Tool Company CQB16
• LWRC International IC series
• Mossberg Tactical Semi-Automatic Rifles
• Olympic Arms K series
• Patriot Ordnance Factory rifles and carbines
• Remington R5 RGP
• Rock River Arms LAR-15
• Ruger SR-556
• Savage Arms MSR-15
• SIG Sauer SIG516
• SIG Sauer SIGM400
• Smith & Wesson M&P15
• Stag Arms STAG-15
• Wilson Combat Tactical Rifle

See also

• List of Colt AR-15 & M16 rifle variants, a list of Colt-made firearms based on the ArmaLite AR-15 design
• List of AR platform calibers, a list of calibers that AR-15 type firearms are chambered for
• Assault weapons legislation in the United States

References

1. ^ Jeff Zimba. The Evolution of the Black Rifle: 20 Years of Upgrades, Options, and Accessories.
2. Plumer, Brad (2012-12-17). "Everything you need to know about the assault weapons ban, in one post". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2018-02-26.
3. "Guns Like The AR-15 Were Never Fully Banned". FiveThirtyEight. 2016-06-14. Retrieved 2018-02-26.
4. "Modern Sporting Rifle Facts". National Shooting Sports Foundation. 2013. Retrieved 21 August 2013.
5. ^ Feuer, Alan (13 June 2016). "AR-15 Rifles Are Beloved, Reviled and a Common Element in Mass Shootings". The New York Times. Retrieved 16 February 2018.
6. "ArmaLite History: 1955-1959". Retrieved 22 February 2018.
7. Bartocci, Christopher R. (July 16, 2012). "AR-15/M16: The Rifle That Was Never Supposed to Be". Gun Digest. Retrieved May 24, 2017.
8. ^ Bob Hutton & Bob Forker (October 1964). "A Beautiful Marriage: .223 Remington and Colt's AR-15 'Sporter'". Guns & Ammo.
9. "Modern Sporting Rifle Owners Are Most Active Shooters, Says NSSF/Responsive Management Survey". National Shooting Sports Foundation. 2010-04-19. Archived from the original on 2010-04-25. Retrieved 2018-02-20. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |dead-url= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
10. Peters, Justin (2016-06-14). "Omar Mateen Had a "Modern Sporting Rifle"". Slate. ISSN 1091-2339. Retrieved 2018-02-16.
11. ^ "DPMS Founder and President Retires". The Outdoor Wire Digital Network. 14 December 2009. Retrieved 16 August 2013. Luth's quest to introduce the hunting market to the AR platform was recognized in January 2009 when he was named to the Outdoor Life's OL-25, and later chosen by online voters as the OL-25 "Reader's Choice" recipient. The recent campaign by the NSSF to educate hunters everywhere about the "modern sporting rifle" can be directly attributed to Luth's push to make AR rifles acceptable firearms in the field, the woods and on the range.
12. "Modern Sporting Rifle - AR-15 platform-based rifles". NSSF. Retrieved 2018-02-16.
13. Richardson, Reed (July 12, 2016). "American Rifle: A Biography of the AR-15". Talking Points Memo. Retrieved March 28, 2017. Fueled by this "Obama effect" — his reelection in 2012 coincided with the best month for gun sales in decades — every mainline gun manufacturer now sells an AR-15 model.
14. "AR-15 - Trademark Details". JUSTIA Trademarks. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
15. ^ Mann, Richard A. (30 April 2014). GunDigest Shooter's Guide to the AR-15. Iola, Wisconsin: Krause Publications. pp. 15–16. ISBN 978-1-4402-3847-5.
16. Sweeney, Patrick (30 August 2016). Gunsmithing the AR-15, the Bench Manual. Iola, Wisconsin: F+W Media, Inc. pp. 7–9. ISBN 978-1-4402-4660-9.
17. O’Dea, Meghan (June 13, 2016). "What Makes the AR-15 So Appealing to Mass Shooters?". Fortune. Retrieved February 15, 2018. While Colt alone makes the official AR-15, variants and knock-offs are made by a huge number of gun manufactures, including Bushmaster, Les Baer, Remington, Smith & Wesson (swhc, +0.00%), and Sturm & Ruger (rgr, -2.04%), just to name a few. TacticalRetailer claims that from 2000 to 2015 the AR manufacturing sector expanded from 29 AR makers to about 500, "a stunning 1,700% increase."
18. U.S. Military Small Arms Ammunition Failures and Solutions, GK Roberts, NDIA Dallas, TX, May 21, 2008 "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-06-28. Retrieved 2011-02-04. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
19. Evolution of an AR | Gear | Guns & Ammo Archived September 15, 2011, at the Wayback Machine. Archives.gunsandammo.com (August 29, 2011). Retrieved on 2011-09-27.
20. Patrick Sweeney ARS Across the Board Archived 2011-08-19 at the Wayback Machine. GUNS&AMMO November 2010
21. "Chicago Tribune: Why Assault Rifle Sales are Booming - The Truth About Guns". June 17, 2015.
22. Levings, Darryl (February 2, 2013). "AR-15 rifle more loved — and hated — than ever - Amid the rising call for the rifle to be banned, sales of the "Barbie doll for guys" have soared". Kansas City Star. Retrieved 10 August 2016.
23. Kyle, Chris (2014). American Gun. William Morrow Paperbacks. p. 252. ISBN 0062242725.
24. Stokes, Jon. "The AR-15 Is More Than a Gun. It's a Gadget". WIRED. Retrieved 2017-01-30.
25. "Fifteen of the Best Cheap AR Accessories". The Shooter's Log. Retrieved 2017-01-30.
26. "Lego Kits for Adults". AR Blog. 2016-07-13. Retrieved 2017-01-30.
27. Oakes, Dan (2013-01-23). "Assault guns made here". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2018-02-26.
28. "Firearms in Australia: a guide to electronic resources". aph.gov.au. Commonwealth of Australia. 9 August 2007. Retrieved 4 April 2015.
29. "How Australia Passed Gun Control: The Port Arthur Massacre and Beyond". Foreign Affairs. October 13, 2017. Retrieved 18 February 2018.
30. Wahlquist, Calla (14 March 2016). "It took one massacre: how Australia embraced gun control after Port Arthur". The Guardian.
31. Robbins, William (September 26, 1982). "Gunman Kills 13 in a Pennsylvania Rampage". The New York Times. Retrieved February 27, 2018.
32. Ramsland, Katherine (2005). "Inside the minds of mass murderers: why they kill". Praeger Publishing. ISBN 978-0275984755.
33. Nussbaum, Paul (May 20, 1983). "Banks Recounts Details of 12 Shootings". Philadelphia Inquirer. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
34. "Decades on death row: Now delusional, George Banks killed 13 people, including 5 of his children in 1982". The Patriot-News. Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Associated Press. September 29, 2012. Retrieved February 27, 2018.
35. ^ "Why the AR-15 keeps appearing at America's deadliest mass shootings". USA Today. Retrieved 22 February 2018.
36. Shapiro, Emily (February 14, 2018). "At least 17 dead in 'horrific' Florida school shooting, suspect had 'countless magazines'". ABC News. Archived from the original on February 15, 2018. Retrieved February 15, 2018. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)

Bibliography

• Stevens, R. Blake and Edward C. Ezell. The Black Rifle M16 Retrospective. Enhanced second printing. Cobourg, Ontario, Canada: Collector Grade Publications Incorporated, 1994. ISBN 0-88935-115-5.
• Bartocci, Christopher R. Black Rifle II The M16 Into the 21st Century. Cobourg, Ontario, Canada: Collector Grade Publications Incorporated, 2004. ISBN 0-88935-348-4.

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