What is AR-15?
The AR-15 is a lightweight rifle with an intermediate cartridge and a rotating lock bolt. To give you an idea of how light it is, the rifle without ammunition weighs less than 6 pounds. Some later versions of the AR-15 were made with heavier barrels, which increased the weight to about 9 pounds. There have been many versions of the AR-15 produced, which have mainly been within the semiautomatic family. But the original AR-15 rifles were fully automatic and could shoot 800 rounds per minute. By the time they were brought to the consumer marketplace, they were made into semiautomatic rifles which could shoot 90 rounds per minute. These rifles are manufactured with lots of synthetic materials and aluminum alloys. The very first AR-15 was created in 1959 by the company “ArmaLite,” which was a small arms engineering company in America. Many people think the “AR” in the rifle’s name means assault rifle, but it actually stands for the name of its founder “ArmaLite.” They built the AR-15 specifically for the United States military back in the 1950s. Eventually ArmaLite had financial problems and were forced to sell the AR-15 design to the firearms manufacturing company called “Colt.” It was Colt that brought the AR-15 rifle to the consumer marketplace, which occurred around 1963. They also own the AR-15 registered trademark, although there have been variations of the firearm made by many different manufacturers and they use their own names for it.
AR-15s are best known for their shooting accuracy as well as their modularity. This is why both civilians and law enforcement agencies throughout the world have been using AR-15 weapons for years now. Tactical forces, such as SWAT teams, love to use AR-15 rifles or variations of it because they can rush with them quickly. Then when they have to aim their weapon and shoot a suspect, they can do it fast and with a lot of accuracy. Since it is easy to configure the AR-15, it has been manufactured and modified into a number of other weapons. One of the most popular modifications is the M16 rifle. This rifle was first used by the United States Army when they were deployed to Vietnam in 1963.
Today you will find hunters using the AR-15 to shoot their prey. Some say the AR-15 makes it easier for hunters to kill their prey, but to them it is all about the love of killing. That is why AR-15 rifles will continue to be used for hunting and sports just like it.