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The AR-15 is the civilian version of the military M16 rifle. The main difference is that the AR-15 only allows semi-auto fire whereas the M16 provides semi-autio, burst (three-round) and full auto fire. The M16 was introduced in the mid 60's and immediately went into service in Vietnam. Previous rifles had decades of testing before fielding, but the M16 was refined in battle, making it both an excellent weapon but also somewhat problematic for the soldiers and they "debugged" it in the field.

Since this rifle has been in service the longest of any in the history of the U.S. military, and it is seen as such a versatile yet simple design, parts abound for the civilian. Many kits are available to even allow a completely hand-built rifle.

The AR-15 is a gas-operated .223 caliber semi-automatic center-fire long rifle. The 'gas-operated' part means that gas from the expanding gunpowder in the round is diverted from the barrel back into the bolt camber to eject the shell and load a new round. The '.223' is the diameter of the bullet measured in inches. The 'semi-automatic' part means that on each pull of the trigger, one round is fired and a new round loaded in (full automatic would continue to fire each new round without having to re-pull the trigger). 'Center-fire' means the primer on the bullet casing is struck by a firing pin in the center of the primer cap.

Research

I highly recommend the book The AR-15 Complete Owner's Guide by Kuleck and Duff. It covers the history of the AR-15, operating instructions, and an overview of building from a kit. It's available at the Fulton Armory for $22.95.

You'll also want to pick up the Marine Technical Manual for the M16A2 rifle. It has detailed disassembly/assembly diagrams that you'll certainly need for assembling the kit parts. Just ignore the parts about the 'automatic sear' since you won't have one.

Parts

First you should start with what's called a stripped lower receiver (pictured below right). This is the basic starting point of an AR-15, and is officially what is labeled as the firearm as far as the BATF is concerned. Therefore, you can only buy this part if you have an FFL (a dealer). If you are not a dealer, just contact your local gun shop and they can order it for you. In order to purchase it from the gun shop you'll then need to go through a background checks, blah, blah. You know the drill. It's a good thing the government isn't infringing on our rights, eh?

You'll then need the rest of the parts. Olympic Arms sells a great kit with everything but the stripped lower receiver (the 20-inch PCR kit). You may order it direct from them and they'll ship it to your door. The great thing about the Olympic Arms kit is that the upper receiver comes pre-assembled and headspaced (so you don't have to buy headspace gauges or a barrel wrench and block).

There are several other parts and tools you'll need:

Roll Pin Punches (5/32-inch, 1/8-inch, 3/32-inch) (available from MidwayUSA)
Hammer
Flathead screwdriver
Magazine (available from Fulton Armory)
Long-rifle 22 cleaning rod and supplies (Brownells)

Click here for an exploded parts diagram from Fulton Armory.

Assessmbly

Coming soon. For now see this page.

Shooting

It's perfect. More later.

Cleaning

An AR-15 is a solid firearm, but of course it should be kept clean to avoid any failures. Every time you are done shooting, you should do the following:

Separate lower and upper receiver
Remove bolt carrier assembly and charging handle
Remove firing pin retaining pin
Remove firing pin
Remove bolt key (you have to turn it 90 degrees)
Remove bolt
Clean everything with a rag, a brush, and small amount of cleaner
Run a patch with bore cleaner down the barrel
Run clean patches down the barrel until they come out clean
Run a lightly oiled patch down barrel to avoid corrosion
Run one more clean patch down to remove excess oil
Rub a small amount of oil on all parts
Re-assemble in reverse order
Put a small mount of oil on the trigger and hammer springs