#xm16ea

[freetheshit-outofyou]

More on the Military and Civilian History of the AR-15

By James Fallows, 2017 This is one of the best write ups I have read on the history and evolution of the AR15 rifle. I made a PDF copy of it long ago, now it is locked behind a pay wall. The source link is at the bottom.

“In your article “Why the AR-15 Was Never Meant to be in Civilian’ hands”, your source claims that the AR-15 was not commercially available to civilians before it was standardized by the military. This is factually incorrect. Model R6000 Colt AR-15SP1 Sporter Rifle” Began on Jan 2, 1964. The M16 wasn’t issued to infantry units until 1965 (as the XM16E1), wasn’t standardized as the M16A1 until 1967, and didn’t officially replace the M14 until 1969. Colt had been selling the semi-automatic AR-15’s to civilians for 5 years by the time the M16A1 replaced the M14. Going off of the serial number records for the SP1 Colt had sold at least 2,501 riels to the civilian market by 1965, 8,250 files by 1967, and 14,, 653 rifles by 1969.” Nothing quite like a good old history lesson. Source