This bugs me a little...

[Canine Dave]

What does the AR stand for as in AR-15?

[Bawanna]

Assault Rifle. Poor choice in this day an age.

[Canine Dave]

Friend of mine takes his daughter ground hog hunting with his AR. His best shot this year is 300 yards. Her's somewhat less.

It's just a semi-automatic rifle, right?

[340pd]

AR stands for ArmaLite rifle. The design goes back to the 1950's.

[getsome]

Eugene Stoner is every bit the genius that John Browning was but had better tooling and materials to work with.....The military decided the M14 needed to be replaced and wanted a light weight small caliber rifle and contracted ArmaLite to make a prototype and gave the project to Eugene to engineer a working rifle to meet the contract.....Stoner hated the small caliber demand and wanted to invent a better M14 .30 caliber platform but to get ArmaLite the contract he engineered the gas system and carrier group to make the thing work and the rest is history......

I bought a AR-15 rifle a couple years ago because I figured this time would come when the government would no longer allow law abiding citizens to own one and it saddens me but I’m glad I did it because even though I didn’t have money at the time to buy one it’s a very good shooting semi auto rifle and even if they take away our right to own one, I got mine..........

[Canine Dave]

So it is just a semi-automatic rifle like my Dad's Remington 742 Woodsmaster.

I don't recall anyone being scared of my Dad's 742 Woodsmaster.

[Bawanna]

AR stands for ArmaLite rifle. The design goes back to the 1950's.

That was my first thought too Armalite which is what I have, but browsing around multiple locations call it Automatic Rifle.

I like Armalite better myself.

[AJBert]

Armalite is the correct name, it is just over the years people have come up with their own description. First used in Vietnam, the troops mostly didn't trust it and referred to the manufacturer as Mattel due to the plastic stock and fore grip.

[mr surveyor]

My understanding has always been that Stoner constructed the first model with precision fit ... which made the workings too tight for nasty jungle battlefield work. Way too many jams in the beginning. I have a cousin that was in Nam in the late 60's/early 70's that sort of informed me on what he saw. When he finished his required time they had been issued a later generation of the "Mickey Mouse" gun that seemed to be more stable, but since he was an MP (fortunately for him) he wasn't on the nasty front. He did say that one of their major problems was not being issued enough proper cleaning supplies for any of their rifles. Some of the guys on the front lines were even using the the melted peanut oil from the C-Ration peanut butter to get by ... that and knotted boot laces for "bore snakes".

Since I wasn't there myself, I can only relate what I've been told. Neither the Navy or Army would take me due to medical/physical conditions - In a way I'm a bit sad to not have the experience, then again I feel fortunate that I didn't. God Bless Those That Did.


jd

[Bawanna]

"Since I wasn't there myself, I can only relate what I've been told. Neither the Navy or Army would take me due to medical/physical conditions - In a way I'm a bit sad to not have the experience, then again I feel fortunate that I didn't. God Bless Those That Did."

This was me also, I tried all 3 branches but Nam was just winding down and the Marines told me if another war came up to come back and they would get me in but didn't need me.
I should have got a purple heart anyhow, got beat up pretty good during the physical but that's a story for another day. Nothing but love and respect for those that did go, it was ugly.