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AR-15–style rifle

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Modern sporting rifle (MSR) is a firearms industry term dated to 2009 that originally referred to certain semi-automatic rifles similar to the AR-15.[1] Between 2010 and 2013, several semi-automatic shotguns were added to the list of MSRs.[2][3][4][5]

Terminology

Creating the term "modern sporting rifle" in 2009 was part of a campaign by the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) to introduce the AR-15 platform to the hunting market.[1] The campaign is attributed to a push by Randy Luth, founder and former president of rifle manufacturer DPMS Panther Arms, to make rifles like the AR-15 acceptable in the field and on the range.[1] After passage of the Federal Assault Weapons Ban of 1994, the firearms industry, and many firearm owners, objected to use of the term assault weapon for firearms other than assault rifles, which have a mode capable of fully automatic firing.[6] The NSSF said confusion was created for years by referring to AR-15-style rifles as "assault rifles" and "assault weapons".[7] In fact, they claimed, the term "is a political term created by California anti-gun legislators to ban some semi-automatic rifles there in the 1980s."[7] The usage was problematic for two reasons:

  1. AR is an abbreviation for "ArmaLite rifle," after the original manufacturer of the semiautomatic rifle that is currently referred to as the AR-15. It is commonly mistakenly thought that "AR" stands for "assault rifle" or "automatic rifle."[7] The AR-15 model is now made by Colt's Manufacturing Company. Manufacturers of similar rifles include Bushmaster Firearms International, Smith & Wesson, and Stag Arms.
  2. Assault rifles are typically defined as having the capability for fully automatic fire, while no AR-15 sold to civilian customers has this capability.

Features

Features that are commonly found in factory-produced MSRs include:

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c "DPMS Founder and President Retires". The Outdoor Wire Digital Network. 14 December 2009. Retrieved 16 August 2013. Luth's quest to introduce the hunting market to the AR platform was recognized in January 2009 when he was named to the Outdoor Life's OL-25, and later chosen by online voters as the OL-25 "Reader's Choice" recipient. The recent campaign by the NSSF to educate hunters everywhere about the "modern sporting rifle" can be directly attributed to Luth's push to make AR rifles acceptable firearms in the field, the woods and on the range.
  2. ^ "Modern Sporting Rifle (MSR) Comprehensive Consumer Report 2010" (PDF). National Shooting Sports Foundation. 2010. Retrieved 16 August 2013.
  3. ^ "Take the NSSF Survey on 'Modern Sporting Rifles'". Field & Stream. 14 May 2013. Retrieved 16 August 2013. For the purposes of the study, the NSSF is using the "modern sporting rifle" term to refer to "semi-automatic AR and AK-platform rifles...or other semi-automatic rifles with detachable magazines."
  4. ^ "Modern Sporting Rifle Facts". National Shooting Sports Foundation. 2013. Retrieved 21 August 2013. Chamberings include .22, .223 (5.56 x 45mm), 6.8 SPC, .308, .450 Bushmaster and about a dozen others. Upper receivers for pistol calibers such as 9 mm, .40, and .45 are available. There are even .410 shotgun versions.
  5. ^ Goode, Erica (16 January 2013). "Even Defining 'Assault Weapons' Is Complicated". The New York Times.
  6. ^ Goode, Erica (16 January 2013). "Even Defining 'Assault Rifles' Is Complicated". New York Times. Retrieved 21 August 2013.
  7. ^ a b c "Modern Sporting Rifle Facts". National Shooting Sports Foundation. Retrieved 12 December 2012. Confusion exists because while these rifles may cosmetically look like military rifles, they do not function the same way. Also, groups wanting to ban these rifles have for years purposely or through ignorance spread misinformation about them to aid their cause.
  8. ^ "MSR Consumer Report 2010" (PDF). Sports Marketing Surveys. Retrieved 12 December 2012.
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