I notice in the USA Today article concerning the escaped prisoners from Texas that they refered to the ARs/M16s used by the LEOs as Automatic Rifles.  A couple of weeks ago they refered to ARs as assault rifles. Anyone else notice the  media's selective use of phrases?

Firstly. I can't believe the media has experts in every field but guns. They always erroneously call firearms different names and functions.

Assault Rifle dictates a fully automatic weapon in these times.
M16 Denotes a fully automatic weapon
AR15 is the semi automatic version of the military's M16
What the LEO's are using are 99.9%, M16's. A fully automatic weapon.

Assault Rifle is a terminology the has a very negative tone to scare away people. It has been in grained in the masses head that if you have a weapon that looks like something a military or LEO might have, it is an assault rifle and you are only out to do harm and menace to people. Assault Rifle description has been given a negative spin. It like saying nigger, kike, fag, and so on.

'nigger, kike,fag' I knew it.

Wasn't AR originally for Armalite Rifle or something to that effect?

Thanks Troy!  I knew it was something like that... I think I'm getting oldtimers disease...

What Troy said.  The dude knows his stuff!

The AR15 is a SELF-LOADING rifle. The M16 is an ASSAULT rifle.

Ar is short for Armalite pattern 15 rifle! there were other designs , The ar-10, the ar-7 and so on! Armalite(not the modern company!)was a division of Fairchild Aircraft, and their chief designer was Eugene Stoner, the armalite division focused on developing new technology weapon systems out of modern(we're talking 1950's technology!)lightweight materials and one of those designs was the ar-15,which was to be a survival weapon for b-52 aircrews that were shot down! the army liked it's traits for jungle warfare and bought a bunch for use in vietnam!Fairchild could not keep up with the production schedule and sold all the rights to Colt Manufacturing. After the bugs were worked out of the originals, the military added the forward assist and adopted the rifle as the m-16a1.The military also had full auto feature installed and m-16 is the designation for the rifle with the full auto feature!

What really gets me pissed is when you see some shit on the news about why "assault weapons" are dangerous and should be banned they always show footage of people shooting full auto AK47s & Tec-9s. They are purposly misleeding the American People by showing them full auto machine guns (which have been banned since the 30's) !!!!!!!! I'll bet you 99% of the time you talk to an anti gunner and you ask them why AWs should be banned the first thing they mention is MACHINE GUN.

maybe Awsome Rifle would work

It is my understanding that AR stands for "Armalite Rifle". I also believe there are select fire versions of the AR-15 (non converted) as the AR was made long before there was an M-16. It goes in this order: AR-10 then the AR-15, then the M-16. M-16 is just a military # for the AR-15 (with there features of course). Pick your self up a copy of the Black Rifle it will enlighten you.

Didn't you get it yet? In the News.

Bad guys use Assault Weapons.

Good guys use Automatic Rifles.

If you own an AW and 1K+ of ammo, you have an Arsenal.


Thanks Troy for the AR clarification, as always.

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Please check your laws before you post! Machineguns are NOT banned. We shoot them legally in many states, incl Tennessee, and you buy them legally...if you can pass the FBI background check and if you can pay the price + the $200 tax.  

I would like to begin using the term.."Sport-Utility Rifle" for any semi-auto military pattern rifle in common use today. Much more benign and modern term that the dreaded 'assault rifle'.  Think about it.

AR does NOT stand for "ArmaLite Rifle."  Perhaps some of you have heard of the AR17 "Golden Gun" shotgun?  It decidedly is an ArmaLite.  It also decidedly is NOT a rifle.

BTW guys, with all due respect, there is a lot of hogwash on this thread.  The military didn't have the full auto feature *added,* it was only *removed* for civilian purposes.  I also have never heard of AR15s being intended for pilot survival, although I do have a pic of a variant intended for this purpose in a Smith's Small Arms of the World.

Same volume also has a pic of the Winchester competitor to the AR15 which looks something like an M1 carbine.  The AR won out, (and here is my editorializing to follow) probably because it looks "space age," which in a world of Sputnik and big tail fins on cars was probably a good marketing point.

fred--
i really like the term "sport utility rifle" but there is one problem--sport utility is fast becoming as politically incorrect as ar-15 or assault weapon.

I would like to begin using the term.."Sport-Utility Rifle" for any semi-auto military pattern rifle in common use today. Much more benign and modern term that the dreaded 'assault rifle'.  Think about it.[/quote]

I like that name, it doesn't scare me so much.  BAAAAHHHHH!!!

AR-15 = Highly effective killing tool.[heavy]

I read somewhere on this board, afew months back, that AR stands for Armalite Registered. FWIW

AR could also be used to describe anti-gun zealots as Anal Retentive.  [;D]

I did find this on the Armalite web site:
"There is a common misconception that AR stands for "ArmaLite Rifle."This is untrue. The AR-17,forinstance, is a 12-gauge shotgun. Early designations like ArmaLite 10 were shortened to simply AR-10.

The ArmaLite Division of Fairchild developed the AR-15 in 1959.  Fairchild licensed the rifle to the Colt's Patent Firearm Manufacturing Corporation, and Colt's assumed the AR-15 trademark. Early Colt rifles were marked "Colt ArmaLite 15."  Even today, the designation to that Colt brand rifle refers, somewhat embarrassingly, to ArmaLite.

Troy you go dude  [:)]

Chairborne, my information is from Clinton Ezell's Encyclopedia of small arms of the world! If you want a copy It was originally printed in Harrisburgh, Pa. by stackpole books! but Barnes and Noble had a reprint a few years ago! You name it if it was a military style arm before 1984, even experimental it's in this book! it's about 3 inches thick! it has pictures of the entire line of armalite designed weapons in it! it is a book worth having if you like studying firearms! the story i gave is out of it! Not argueing just letting you know about another sourse of information, if you like researching weapons! Hell it even has a chapter including the 6mm rifle round the military developed for the original squad automatic program back in the 1960's [:)]

That's interesting Motel Bravo, because I don't have that book.  I do have "The Great Rifle Controversy" by the same guy, Edward Clinton Ezell, Stackpole 1984, and Chapter 7 has the whole M16 story starting with studies showing short-range fire predominates on the battlefield, and that high velocity .22 caliber fire is just as lethal at that range as larger caliber fire, and that soldiers could carry a lot more smaller, lighter ammo.  On p.172 it refers to CONARC requesting Winchester and ArmaLite submit candidate rifles for testing.  It even recounts the famous incident of Curtis LeMay shooting watermelons right before the Air Force ordered 8,500 AR15s (p.185).  But it doesn't say anything about full auto being added later, or initial development of the AR15 as an aircrew survival weapon.

Now you've pointed out another book I guess I am going to have to get my grubby hands on so I can compare the two.  Maybe the author has veracity problems related to that "Clinton" name!

I do know there are selective fire "AR15s" because in the army I have seen M16s marked "AR15" on the lower receiver.  AR15 is the commercial designation.  M16 is the military designation for what was a civilian-dsigned rifle.