Reeder Custom Guns - ? Was the AR-15 originally designed as semi automatic. I

believe that Eugene Stoner was aiming at the civilian market. Just wondering if anyone knew.

The AR-15 or M-16 designed by Gene Stoner was first designed for the Air Force. Stoner was in a financial bind and sold the patent rights to Colt. Being it was then designed for our armed forces I would imagine from then on it was a select fire weapon, either full auto or semi auto.

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The M16-A2 was set up as semiauto or three-round burst. No full auto.

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later variations of the M-16. When I was working at the radio station across from Ft. Campbell an officer buddy of mine in the 101st would call the station every now and then and ask what time I got off the air and could get out of the station. When I did we would meet at one of the back gates and he would check out an M-16, some 45s and a bunch of ammo and we would go burn some powder. That was in the late 60s and early 70s so I am not really familiar with any changes after the original M-16. Thanks for that Irv.

Kinda scary

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Stoner was working to get a military contract on both the M-16 and the AR-10 but ran out of money and sold the patent for both guns to Colt. Colt released the first semi AR-15s in late '64 to the public. I was still in radio then but working part time at a gun shop in Clarksville Tennessee and we got a couple of the first AR-15s in and nobody wanted them because they didn't look like any normal hunting rifle or target rifle. All the ammo at the time and for years afterward was Remington 223. All the 5.56 was going to Viet Nam.
A few years later Bushmaster came out with their version of the AR-15 except it was a pistol and it sure was ugly.
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I don't think the gun shop sold any of them and just sent them back to the distributor.

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? Was the AR-15 originally designed as semi automatic. I

AR-15/M-16

Later to be full auto or 3 round burst

IC

thanks for that. I am not that familiar with the

My m16 was made by the transmission division of GM.

You always were sorta shiftless anyway.

You know me too well.

I think the AR-15 was always to be semi