At the rear of the receiver there was fitted a shoulder stock. There was also an adjustable rear sight for precise firing. An adjustable triangular-appearing forward sight adorned the weapon aft of the barrel but forward of the forend. The barrel protruded ahead of the forend and was capped by a baffled muzzle brake. A forend covered the barrel assembly and protected the operator's hand from the hot barrel. An optional carrying handle was well-integrated into the design and set about the upper receiver. The upper receiver component managed the ejection port and cocking mechanism -both set to the right-hand side of the weapon. The pistol grip and magazine well supported the trigger system at the rear and front respectively. The trigger was curved forward and protected by a thin ring guard. The receiver (specifically made up of of a lower and upper section) included all of the major internal working components including the low-set magazine feed, angled pistol grip and trigger group. Outwardly, the AR-15 shared much of the appearance of the highly recognized M16 infantry rifle of the US Army. The AR-15 was eventually adopted into the US Army inventory as the well-known "M16" while Colt also took the rifle to the civilian market as the "Colt AR-15" (a registered company trademark) and these were completed as semi-automatic rifles beginning sales in 1963. Amidst financial troubles, ArmaLite was forced to sell off its AR-10 and AR-15 designs to competing Colt and Stoner himself eventually left ArmaLite in 1961. The resulting rifle design was then designated as the "AR-15" which formally appeared in 1958. One of the major changes was in the chambering of the smaller. Nevertheless, all was not lost for the future of the AR-10 for the US Army continued its interest in the AR-10 and called for some revisions to the basic design. However, the type was rejected in favor of the T44 prototype (a safer approach in the eyes of the US Army), eventually to become the M14 rifle - an evolution of the World War 2-era M1 Garand. Seeing potential long-term revenue of the rifle in US military hands, ArmaLite entered their AR-10 design into competition to become the next US Army standard infantry rifle. In 1955, Stoner developed the AR-10 rifle, a system chambering the 7.62x51mm NATO standard round, offering selective fire and being of relatively lightweight in its construction - highly suitable for use in a military environment. Stoner, who became chief engineer at ArmaLite in 1954, lent his considerable talents to the design of several promising though unfulfilled small arms productions.
One of its key people became famed gunsmith Eugene Stoner (1922-1997), who - in the eyes of many - could lay claim to his influence in the world of firearms comparable to the great John Browning himself. The ArmaLite concern was founded in 1954 and became a developer of small arms systems, the company based out of its Illinois headquarters. Hundreds of thousands of examples are currently in circulation and the type has seen uninterrupted production since its inception in 1958.
The AR-15 has proven to be a highly modular, accurate and easy-to-use and maintain system which has only furthered its reach the world over. The type is considerably enjoyed throughout the United States where its citizens enjoy certain firearm-related freedoms not seen in other developed nations. The ArmaLite / Colt AR-15 is one of the most favored automatic rifle systems in the world today.
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