What is an AR-15 style rifle?
A: An AR-15 style rifle is any lightweight semi-automatic rifle based on the
Colt AR-15 design.
AR-15 style rifles come in many sizes and have many
options, depending on what?
A: The manufacturer.
The original ArmaLite AR-15 is a scaled-down derivative
of what?
A: Eugene Stoner's ArmaLite AR-10 design.
The then Fairchild Engine and Airplane Corporation
division ArmaLite sold the
patent and trademarks to whom?
A: Colt's Manufacturing Company in 1959.
When did most of Colt's patents for the Colt AR-15
expire?
A: In 1977.
After that, firearm manufacturers began to produce
what?
A: Copies of the Colt AR-15 under various names.
Despite the patents expiring, Colt retained what?
A: The trademark of the AR-15 and is the sole manufacturer able to label
their firearms as AR-15.
Although Colt owns the AR-15 trademark, the "AR" in
AR-15 stands for what?
A: "ArmaLite Rifle", not "assault rifle".
The Federal Assault Weapons Ban restricted the sale of
the Colt AR-15 and some derivatives in the United States from 1994 to when?
A: 2004, although it did not affect rifles with fewer listed features.
Who coined the term “modern sporting rifle” in 2009?
A: The US National Shooting Sports Foundation, a firearms trade association.
In the 2010s, AR-15 style rifles became one of what?
A: The "most beloved and most vilified rifles" in the United States,
according to The New York Times.
The rifles are controversial in part due to their use
in what?
A: High-profile mass shootings.
Promoted as "America's rifle" by the National Rifle
Association, AR-15 style rifles' popularity is partially attributable to
what?
A: Proposals to ban or restrict them.
The Colt AR-15 is closely related to the
military what?
A: M16 and M4 Carbine rifles, which all share the same core design, first
patented for use in the AR-10.
The term "AR-15" is now most-commonly used to refer
only to what?
A: The civilian variants of the rifle which lack the fully automatic
function.
Some versions of the AR-15 were classified as what?
A: Assault weapons.
When were assault weapans banned under the Public
Safety and Recreational Firearms Use Protection Act?
A: In 1994.
Today, nearly every major firearm manufacturer produces
its own what?
A: Generic AR-15 style rifle.
When manufactured with a barrel length less than 16
inches (410 mm) and without a shoulder stock, it is legally considered a
what?
A: A pistol as opposed to being a short-barreled rifle and is described as
an AR-15 style pistol.
Most rifles eject spent cartridges from the right side
of the receiver away from what?
A: Right handed shooters.
Right-side ejection is a disadvantage for the third of
the population whose what?
A: Whose left eye is dominant, and for the tenth of the population who are
left handed.
When the M16A2 was adopted by the Army in 1986, it
incorporated what?
A: A built-in brass deflector to prevent the ejected cartridges from hitting
shooters in the face.
Some AR-15-style rifles have features limiting use of
detachable magazines to what?
A: Comply with state regulations.
The military M4 carbine typically uses how long of a
barrel?
A: A 14.5-inch (37 cm) barrel.
Civilian rifles commonly have 16-inch (41 cm) or longer
barrels to comply with what?
A: The National Firearms Act.
While only a handful of companies were manufacturing
these rifles in 1994, by the 21st century the number of AR-15 style rifles
had what?
A: More than doubled.
From 2000 to 2015, the number of manufacturers of AR-15
style variants and knock-offs increased from 29 to how many?
A: About 500.
The National Shooting Sports Foundation has estimated
that how many AR-15 style rifles exist in the U.S. within the broader total
of the 300 million firearms owned by Americans?
A: Approximately 5 million to 10 million.
Why do many hunters prefer using AR-15 style rifles?
A: Because of their versatility, accuracy, wide variety of available
features, and wide variety of calibers.