05/27/2026
The "AR" in AR-15 stands for ArmaLite Rifle, named after the company that originally designed and developed the firearm in the 1950s. Despite popular belief and media confusion, the "AR" does not stand for Assault Rifle or Automatic Rifle. An assault rifle must be capable of selective or fully automatic fire (such as the military's M16), whereas civilian AR-15s are semi-automatic, meaning they fire only one bullet per trigger pull.