White House Readies Executive Action On Gun Control

[ErikJ]

152. lol. It was INVENTED by the US Army as a lightweight Assault Rifle.

Top Ten Assault Rifles: http://www.military-today.com/firearms/top_10_assault_rifles.htm

The AR-15 was designed by Armalite to meet the US Army requirement for a new assault rifle, chambered for a new intermediate cartridge. It was adopted by the US Army as the M16 and became a standard issue infantry weapon.

This weapon was designed in the late 1950s. At the time it was a very progressive design. The US Army demanded for a super light weapon. So the M16 has a number of lightweight materials in order to save weight. It uses aluminum in place of steel, fiberglass construction in place of wood. Also it has an ergonomic design. It incorporated many features, never seen before. At the time of its introduction it was called the "Space Rifle".

The barrel is in one line with the buttstock. This feature significantly reduces the recoil. It operates smoothly during fully automatic fire and is very easy to control. Consequently it is much more accurate during automatic fire than many other assault rifles. Its superior accuracy gives it a decisive advantage.

This superior weapon works great in battle, although it does have some faults. Newer models have a Picatinny-type rail and support various optics and detacheable accessories. It can be also fitted with underbarrel grenade launcher.

Since its introduction this assault rifle was constantly improved. This influential weapon was built in hundreds of variants. Approximately 8 million of these assault rifles were manufactures. The M16 and its derivatives are used by more than 70 countries around the world.

A lot of people like to compare the M16 vs AK-47. The M16 has 3 main advantages over AK-47, including range, accuracy and weight.