What Does AR Stand For?

We are frequently asked, “What does AR stand for?”  AR was originally used as an abbreviation for AmaLite Rifle.  Since then, it has been used as propaganda in many ways.  The most common words built out of “AR” are:

• Anti-Rape

• Assault Rifle

• Automatic Rifle

The first two above names are clearly biased, as intelligent people know that items are not capable of human actions or emotions.  An “automatic rifle” is the closest to being intellectually honest.  In truth however, only a small fraction of civilian owner AR-15 style modern sporting rifles are automatic.  Many people have spoken loudly with great bravado and ended up with egg on their faces.  Most notable was this poor former politician:

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The facts

The AR-15 style rifle is a lightweight semi-automatic modern sporting rifle based on the ArmaLite AR-15 design. ArmaLite sold the patent and trademarks to Colt’s Manufacturing Company in 1959. After Colt’s patents expired in 1977, Colt retained the trademark and is the exclusive owner of “AR-15” designation.

When the US government’s military adopts a gun for use, they give it an “M” designation.  The AR-15, when used by the US government’s military, is called an M4.  While governments use this style of rifle as a weapon, most owners use them as a sporting item.  Some owners use them as a defensive tool as well. Outfitted with good optics, these tools are very effective for personal protection.

Since 2010, an expanded marketplace emerged with many manufacturers producing their own version of the AR-15 design for commercial sale  Since then, they have become one of the “most beloved and most vilified rifles” in the United States, according to the New York Times.  The rifle is known as “America’s rifle.”  Steadily increasing popularity in part is due to the amount of attention through politics and media that is devoted to banning or restricting AR pattern rifles.

The AR comes in various cartridge chamberings, with .556 being the most popular.

In gun control debates, the issue stems around governments and their employees being the sole owners of defensive tools, or if women, people of color and all humans should have a right to have and control tools to defend themselves.  Our firm has not taken a stance on this political issue.  The debate really comes down to how much a person trusts the government.