[JWinNC]

Are AR-15s even assault rifles? I think not, they are a derivative to be sure, but not full auto.

[Pontiac]

Ahern did not know if the stolen assault weapons were equipped to be fully automatic. He said several weapons were left behind after the theft.

I guess the cops may have installed an automatic sear.

[WayneS]

No. They are not.

The AR-15 is a semi-automatic, .223 caliber rifles; very much the same as the semi-automatic, .223 caliber rifles used by small game hunters all over the country. In fact, some people hunt small game with AR-15s.

On a side note, in Virginia it is illegal to hunt deer with an AR-15, or any weapon of a claiber smaller than 0.23. The Commonwealth has determined that anything as small as .223 is not powerful enough to allow for consistent, clean, humane, one-shot kills of animals the size of a deer.