An Armalite rifle (AR) is one of a series of rifles the ArmaLite company made or, more generally, a rifle based on one of its designs, such as the ArmaLite AR-15 rifle. Eugene Stoner, Jacques Michault, Melvin Johnson, Robert Fremont, and Jim Sullivan are some of the designers credited with their development.[1] In the United States, these rifles are generally known by their model numbers. The AR before the model number stands for "ArmaLite Rifle".[2][3]
| Model number | Model name | Cartridges | Manufacturers | Notes | Image |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AR-5 | Aircrew survival weapon | .22 Hornet | ArmaLite | A bolt-action, take-down survival rifle. |  |
| AR-7 | Explorer | .22 Long Rifle | ArmaLite, Charter Arms, Henry Repeating Arms | A semi-automatic, take-down survival rifle. |  |
| AR-10 | 7.62×51mm NATO, .308 Winchester | Fairchild ArmaLite, Artillerie Inrichtingen (AI) | A lightweight battle rifle. |  | |
| ArmaLite AR-14 | Unknown | ArmaLite | A lightweight hunting style rifle that never made it past the prototype phase and according to reports had issues of exploding when fired. | ||
| AR-15 | .223 Remington, 5.56 NATO | ArmaLite, Colt's Manufacturing Company | A lightweight assault rifle. A smaller version of the AR-10 and adopted by the United States military as the M16 rifle. Later developed by Colt into a popular semi-automatic Colt AR-15. |  | |
| AR-16 | 7.62×51mm NATO | ArmaLite | Prototype battle rifle. | ||
| ArmaLite AR-17 | 12 gauge | Semiautomatic 12ga 2shot shotgun based on the earlier AR-9. | |||
| AR-18 | 5.56×45mm NATO | ArmaLite, Howa Machinery Company, Sterling Armaments Company | An inexpensive, easy to make, stamped steel rifle. Also known as "The Widowmaker" in Northern Ireland. |  | |
| AR-180 | 5.56×45mm NATO | Howa Machinery Company, Sterling Armaments Company | Semi-automatic rifle version of the AR-18. |  | |
| AR-100 AR-101 AR-102 AR-103 AR-104 |
5.56×45mm NATO | ArmaLite, Elitool | AR-100 series[4] based on the AR-16 that used a self ejecting magazine device.[5] Used in development of Ultimax 100 LMG. | ||
| AR-30, AR-30A1, AR-31 | .308 Winchester, .300 Winchester Magnum, .338 Lapua | ArmaLite | Bolt-action rifle based in part on the ArmaLite AR-50 rifle. | ||
| AR-50 | .50 BMG | ArmaLite | Single-shot, .50 caliber bolt-action sniper and long-range target rifle. |
 |
References
edit- ^ "Armalite AR-10 Semi-Automatic Rifle". National Rifle Association of America. Archived from the original on January 7, 2014. Retrieved January 23, 2014.
- ^ "History". www.armalite.com. Armalite. Retrieved 2018-03-05.
- ^ William Harris. "Top 5 Most Popular Guns - and Why". How Stuff Works. Retrieved January 23, 2014.
- ^ Various. "AR-100 Series of Weapons". AR15.com. Retrieved February 17, 2023.
- ^ Arms and Defence in Southeast Asia, Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, 31 Dec. 1989 by Chandran Jeshurun, ISBN 9813035455