AR-15

The AR-15 is based on the 7.62 mm AR-10, designed by Eugene Stoner. It was designes as a lightweight, air-cooled, magazine fed, shoulder-fired rifle. The original ArmaLite AR-15 was a selective-fire prototype submitted for consideration as a military infantry rifle. It was later adopted as the M16. The name, "AR15", in general, is used by the shooting public in reference to all current rifles (regardless of manufacturer) made to look, function, and swap-parts with the AR15. Non-military contract AR15’s are also commonly referred to as "clones". The AR-15 was developed as a lighter, 5.56 mm version of the AR-10. The "AR" in AR-15 comes from the ArmaLite rifle, not "assault rifle" as is commonly believed.

ArmaLite sold its rights to the AR-10 and AR-15 to Colt in 1959. Colt marketed the AR-15 rifle to various military services around the world, including the U.S. Air Force, Army, and Marine Corps. The AR-15 was eventually adopted by the United States military under the designation M16. However, Colt continued to use the AR-15 trademark for its semi-automatic variants (AR-15, AR-15A2) marketed to civilian and law-enforcement customers. The original AR-15 was a very lightweight weapon, weighing less than 6 pounds with empty magazine, though later heavy-barrel versions of the civilian AR-15 can weigh upwards of 8.5 pounds.

Today the civilian-model AR-15 and its variations are manufactured by many companies and have captured the affection of sport shooters and armed forces around the world due to their accuracy and modularity. The AR-15 has become one of the most popular rifles in history, and for good reason. They work, and they are accurate. The current generation of military M16’s and civilian AR15 models differ from the originals in many ways, reflecting the improvements and refinements of the rifle over the last 30 years. The trademark "AR15" or "AR-15" is registered to Colt Industries, which maintains that the term should only be used to refer to their products. Other manufacturers make AR-15 clones marketed under separate designations, although these are sometimes also referred to by the term AR-15.

The mechanism of operation for the rifle is known as direct gas impingement. Gas is tapped from the barrel as the bullet moves past a gas port located under the rifle's front sight base. The gas rushes into the port and down a gas tube located above the barrel. The gas tube runs from the front sight base into the AR-15's upper receiver. Here, the gas tube telescopes into a “gas key” which accepts the gas and funnels it into the bolt carrier. The movement of gas into the bolt carrier forces the bolt and carrier backwards in a line with the stock of the rifle. As the bolt carrier moves towards the butt of the gun, the bolt begins to turn and unlock from the barrel extension. Once the bolt is fully unlocked it begins rearward movement along with the bolt carrier. The cam pin is responsible for the bolt's rotation as it follows a groove cut into the carrier that twists and forces the bolt to unlock. Once the bolt is unlocked, the bolt carrier and bolt continue to move towards the butt of the gun and the chambered casing is extracted and ejected out the side of the upper receiver.

A return spring located behind a buffer then pushes the bolt carrier back towards the chamber. A groove machined into the upper receiver traps the cam pin and prevents it and the bolt from rotating into a closed position. The bolt's locking lugs then push a fresh round out of the magazine, up the feed ramps and into the chamber. As the bolt's locking lugs move past the barrel extension, the cam pin is allowed to twist into a pocket milled into the upper receiver. This twisting action follows the groove cut into the carrier and forces the bolt to twist and “lock” into the barrel’s extension.

In the United States, variants with certain features such as collapsible stocks, flash suppressors, and bayonet lugs were prohibited for sales to civilians during the period 1994-2004 by the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, under the provision known as the Assault Weapons Ban. Those that were manufactured with those features were stamped, "Restricted Military/Government/Law Enforcement/Export Only" as well as the accompanying high capacity magazines. Since the expiration of the Federal AWB in September of 2004, these features are now legal in most states.

Some of the many features of the AR-15 Rifle

• The AR15 receiver is made of aircraft grade aluminum
• The modular design of the AR-15 allows for a variety of accessories and makes repair easier.
• The Ar15 features a direct impingement gas system

Direct Gas Impingement Operated Rotating Bolt 223 Remington / 5.56 NATO Designed 1957 Designer Eugene Stoner In Service 1958 - Present Weight 5.5 - 8.5 Pounds
	Effective Range 550 Meters / 600 Yards Adjustable Rear Iron Sights Similar to M16 / M4 Picatinny Rail or Carry Handle Over Dozen Current Makers of AR-15 Rifles Over 50 AR-15 Parts Makers
Buffer Spring Absorbs Felt Recoil Interchangable Parts Long Range Precision Accepts High Capacity Magazines Features Bolt Forward Assist

	Alexander Arms AR-15 Rifles Maker of 6.5 Grendel Maker of .50 Beowulf
Armalite Arms Orginial Maker of AR-15 Maker of AR-10 / AR-15 AR-15 Parts
	A.R.M.S. Inc AR-15 Accessories AR-15 Grips
Bushmaster Arms AR-15 Rifles AR-15 Variants AR-15 Accessories AR-15 Pistols AR-15 Parts
	Command Arms AR-15 Accessories
CMMG Arms AR-15 Rifles AR-15 Accessories
	Colt Arms AR-15 Rifles AR-15 Accessories AR-15 Parts Government M16 / M4 Contractor
DPMS Arms AR-15 Rifles AR-15 Variants AR-15 Parts AR-15 Accessories
	Hogue Inc AR-15 Accessories AR-15 Grips
Midwest Industries Inc AR-15 Accessories AR-15 Grips AR-15 Stocks
	Olympic Arms AR-15 Rifles AR-15 Parts AR-15 Accessories AR-15 Pistols
Pachmayr Inc AR-15 Grips
	Pearce Grip AR-15 Grips
ProMag Inc AR-15 Magazines AR-15 Accessories
	Stag Arms AR-15 Rifles AR-15 Accessories Left & Right Handed AR-15s
Smith & Wesson AR-15 Rifles M&P Series Rifles
	TangoDown Inc AR-15 Accessories
Tapco Inc AR-15 Accessories AR-15 Stocks
	Target Sports AR-15 Accessories AR-15 Stocks
VLTOR Inc AR-15 Accessories
	Wilson Combat AR-15 Rifles AR-15 Accessories AR-15 Parts
Remington Arms AR-15 Rifles AR-15 Variants
	Magpul Industries AR-15 Accessories AR-15 Magazines