Posted on 11/06/2017 1:29:53 PM PST by Red Badger
The 26-year-old man who walked into a Sutherland Springs church and opened fire did so with a variant of the AR-15, a popular rifle that is based on the militarys M-16, police said Sunday.
The rifle used by Devin Kelley was the Ruger AR-556, Texas Department of Public Safety Regional Director Freeman Martin said in a news conference.
The AR-15 is more of a category than a specific weapon. It is known for being customizable, with hundreds of variants, each with its own characteristics. Rugers AR-15 variant, the AR-556, comes with a suggested retail price of $849 and weighs 6.5 pounds.
Colt owns the trademark for the AR-15, but hundreds of companies have produced their own versions of the weapon. Gun owners are able to mix and match elements such as barrels, grips and stocks. Some variants are able to fire pistol rounds and even can be modified to fire shotgun rounds.
The AR-15, like its military cousin the M-16, is a magazine-fed, gas-operated, air-cooled weapon. While the maximum range of an AR-15 variant depends on its setup, the M-16 has a maximum effective range of 600 to 800 yards.
Unlike the M-16, the stock AR-15 does not have burst or automatic fire modes. One trigger pull in an unmodified rifle fires off one round. Some modifications or firing techniques can allow the weapon to mimic an automatic rifle.
Mass murderers have used AR-15 variants in the past. Rifles based on the AR-15 were used in mass shootings in Newtown, Connecticut; Aurora, Colorado; and San Bernardino, California. The Orlando shooter used a Sig Sauer MCX, which is a weapon with different characteristics but based on similar concepts to the AR-15.
The rifles appeal is boosted by its customization, according to the National Rifle association website. The AR-15s ability to be modified to your own personal taste is one of the things that makes it so unique, a post on the site reads.
Sales of the gun traditionally have spiked after each mass shooting.
It is unknown how many AR-15 variants are owned in the United States, but estimates range from 5 million to 8 million. The weapon did not reach its current levels of popularity until the expiration of the nations federal assault weapons ban in 2004.
Groups such as the NRA and the National Shooting Sports Foundation have attacked critics of AR-15 variants in the past. While these rifles may cosmetically look like military rifles, they do not function the same way, a post on the National Shooting Sports Foundation site reads.
A database of 143 mass shootings compiled by Mother Jones, going back to 1984, found 20 attacks that used guns that would have been illegal under the assault weapons ban that was in place from its passage in 1994 to its expiration. The AR-15 was specifically named in that ban.
A history of the AR-15 by the Washington Post noted the weapon is typically loaded with a 30-round magazine. However, larger magazines carrying 75 to 100 rounds are commercially available, but unwieldy and sometimes prone to jamming.
The AR in the name does not stand for assault rifle or automatic rifle. Instead it, stands for ArmaLite rifle, named for the company that developed the weapon.
That would literally cut the gun homicide rate by about 90%, I s*** you not!
Well, he hated religious people, so Islam and the virgins are out................
The weapon did not reach its current levels of popularity until the expiration of the nations federal assault weapons ban in 2004.
Correction called for:
The weapon did not reach its current levels of popularity until the ASCENDANCY OF BARACK OBAMA IN 2008.
The distressing part of mine is its current inability to place 55 grain blobs of lead at better than 5-10 MOA...
It didn’t make any guns illegal, either. It made the sale of them to civilians illegal, but guns in private hands remained there and were perfectly legal.
It looks to be political by nature.
What kind of rifle did the guy who took him down use?I believe I heard one of the spokesmen at today's press conference say that the civilian also used an AR-15 variant.
I am thinking along the lines of a gun control enthusiast.
Still, what kind of crap is this narrative. Shouldn't we be celebrating the armed citizen who came to the rescue?
Oh, you mean do this horrid heinous act to spur creation of more gun control laws.
I don’t think he was that smart.
He apparently was targeting his former in-laws...............
It’s both.
To a Muslim, Islam IS the government...............
That is true. I bought my first AR pattern rifle during the “ban”. Had to make due without the bayonet lug.
Even funnier, you can get scary black plastic stocks for Rugers.
= = =
In CA, those may turn your Mini-14 into an Assualt Rifle.
And you might not even have to install it, just be in possession of both.
Yeah, you’re right.
Why does the IRS have full auto AR’s?
Did they have any of that special black paint that increases muzzle velocities 25%?
That’s why leftists and muzzies get along so well.
They both worship government......................
Glad I don’t live there.
Just in case..................
Reminds me of the old “Planet of The Apes” movies with Charlton Heston.
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