There is a precise definition of what an assault rifle is, yet many do not understand the technology.
Episode Summary:
With an active debate currently ongoing regarding gun-control in America, the term “assault rifle” has been used indiscriminately by the media and by legislators. However, the term has a specific, technical definition, and a history that goes back to World War II. The most commonly known assault rifles today are the AK series that originated in Russia, and U.S. military equivalents based on Eugene Stoner’s original AR 15 design. Both are marvels of mass production mechanical engineering, but the rifles sold on the civilian market are a different thing, describes Jim Anderton.
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Transcript of this week’s show:
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With a spate of tragic mass shootings and the upcoming midterm elections in America, there is a renewed focus on gun-control these days—and unfortunately, a large amount of misinformation about gun technology.
The media, and even the legislators voting on control measures, seem to lack a technical understanding of the different types of firearms—and the most misunderstood and misused term bandied about commonly is “assault rifle.”
The concept of the assault rifle has an interesting history. It was born in World War II, when the German Wehrmacht did a study of combat conditions and discovered that the high-powered World War I-era bolt-action rifles then in common use used a cartridge that was far too powerful and long-range for most real-world conditions. A smaller cartridge would have a shorter effective range, but was still adequate, and used less brass, less gunpowder and resulted in ammunition that weighed less for soldiers to carry, all of which are critical supply chain issues.
The mass production gun that this new smaller cartridge fired was innovative, too. The v , designed by Hugo Schmeisser, was simple and cheap to build, using metal stampings to replace machined steel components. But the real innovation was that it was selective fire. Like all assault rifles that followed, the user could choose between semiautomatic operation—discharging one round for each pull of the trigger—and fully automatic operation, which up to that point had been limited to machine guns and machine pistols.
With a 30-round detachable box magazine, the resulting firearm could replace both the battle rifle and the machine pistol, rationalizing mass production and simplifying supply chains. The Soviets, propelled by Mikhail Kalashnikov, adopted this philosophy and his “Avtomat Kalshnikova”—literally, “Kalashnikov’s automatic”—of 1947 became abbreviated as the legendary AK-47.
The same engineering principles were in play: a smaller cartridge than a rifle round, selectable fire and low-cost stamped components replacing machined parts wherever possible. Oddly, the U.S. military was resistant to the assault rifle concept until 1964, when the Colt ArmaLite model AR-15 was adopted under the official designation M16.
Colt determined that a considerable civilian market existed for the AR-15 and developed a civilian model that operated in semiautomatic mode only, and then modified most components in the lower receiver to prevent their replacement with parts from military assault rifles. Barrels, magazines, sights and the upper receiver were interchangeable.
Colt’s patents expired in 1977, after which multiple companies, from major gun manufacturers to individual gunsmiths, produced AR-15 style rifles, although Colt owns the AR-15 trademark.
Technically, the design is very reliable, and the AR-15 platform is highly customizable with hundreds of available accessories for sport shooters and law enforcement agencies. They are, however, not assault rifles. They are semiautomatic civilian rifles that look like military weapons, but share little in common with arms used in military service.
A critical distinction between AR-15 type civilian rifles and typical semiautomatic hunting rifles is the ability to use high-capacity magazines. 30-round box magazines are common, although varying capacities are available for the AR-15, even as small as five rounds where hunting or capacity regulations require them.
Put simply, AR-15 type rifles look like military weapons, but they are not. They fire cartridges of lower power than standard hunting rifles, but can be fitted with magazines of much higher capacity. From an engineering point of view, the magazine capacity is the key differentiator, and may be the primary reason why this model has been used in mass shootings. Therefore, it seems logical to me that magazine capacity would be the primary focus of any legislative efforts in gun control.
The gas operated, rotating bolt mechanism designed by Eugene Stoner for the AR-15 was very innovative, and for 60 years has become the American platform of choice for hunters and sport shooters as well as law enforcement. I’ve never cared for the AR-15 myself, but I hope that the ingenious technology Stoner invented doesn’t get swept away in the drive for public safety.
