HISTORY OF "AMERICA'S RIFLE"

Here's a quick history lesson on why AR-15 has become the umbrella term for a range of semi-automatic rifles made by a host of gun makers.

"AR" comes from the name of the gun's original manufacturer, ArmaLite, Inc. The letters stand for ArmaLite Rifle — and not for "assault rifle" or "automatic rifle."ArmaLite first developed the AR-15 in the late 1950s as a military rifle, but had limited success in selling it. In 1959 the company sold the design to Colt. In 1963, the U.S. military selected Colt to manufacture the automatic rifle that soon became standard issue for U.S. troops in the Vietnam War. It was known as the M-16.Armed with that success, Colt ramped up production of a semiautomatic version of the M-16 that it sold to law enforcement and the public, marketed as the AR-15.When Colt's patents for the AR-15 expired in the 1970s, other manufacturers began making similar models.

Those gun makers gave the weapons their own names, yet the popularity of the AR-15 turned it into a generic term for all types of AR-15-style rifles. These weapons can go for less than $1,000, though they can be customized and cost in the thousands of dollars.

The National Rifle Association estimates there are some eight million AR-15s and its variations in circulation, and says they are so popular that the "AR" should stand for "America's Rifle."