Exactly what is an AR-15 and what does the name really mean? That is the point of this blog.
First off the AR-15 is not an assault rife and the AR does not mean assault rife. It is the name of the company that developed the rifle back in the 1950's. The company was the Armalite company, that is how it got its name.
It is only available for public sale as a semiautomatic. That mean to fire a shot requires the finger to the trigger for each shot. The US Army can purchase the rifle with a full automatic mode, but not the public. It is a fact that zero people have been shot with the AR-15 that many refer to as an assault rifle.
The rifle has a unique characteristic and that is the sights have been raised significantly. That is one thing that makes it very easy to identify. As it turns out, the reason why the sights have been raised is so the rifle barrel lines up with the shooter's shoulder. Historically rifles had sights down on the barrel and the eye had to be lined up with the sights. Now, this meant that the stock had to be lowered so that it could rest on a shooter's shoulder. When the rifle was fired, this created a moment such that the barrel would kick after each shot. This was not a problem for old style rifles, but for semiautomatics this meant the rifle would kick off the target and the shooter would then have to realign with the target even though he had an other shot ready, It was a Russian by the name of Kalashnikov who solved this problem when he designed he revolutionary rifle with significantly raised sights,
There is nothing more frustrating for a normal hunter with a telescopic sight not be able to see if his shot hit its target because the rifle kick up and off the target. Currently many hunters use rifles that have telescopic sights and thus prefer a rifle where the barrel does not kick off the target and thus prefer the AR type rifle with its raised sights and alignment of the barrel with their shoulder, That is why the AR style rifle, made by many gun makes, is so popular.
It is only those who know little about guns who keep referring to any gun with raised sights or the AR design as an assault rifle. They need to do their home work or just keep their mouths shut and stop confusing the public.
