It is nice to see a product evolve over time. The ArmaLite AR-31 .308 Win rifle is a great case in point. The AR-31 shares its design lineage
with previous ArmaLite precision rifles in the form of the AR-30 and its updated version AR-30A1. The AR-30A1 rifle is chambered in “long
action” bolt cartridges such as .300 WinMag and .338 Lapua. The AR-31 takes the no nonsense ArmaLite concept of the tactical rifle another
step forward. While the AR-31 (and AR-30A1) may resemble its AR-30 predecessor, only the pistol grip, buttpad, trigger, and a few small
components from the original AR-30 transferred over to the AR-31. All other components are new or redesigned. This is especially true with
the AR-31’s bolt action. The AR-31’s “short action” describes the length the bolt needs to travel to function/cycle the .308Win cartridge.
The longer .300 WinMag and .338 Lapua cartridges require a “long action.” The AR-31’s shorter action provides for a stiffer receiver often
translating into better accuracy.
The AR-15/M16/M4 series rifle is undoubtedly the most popular rifle in the United State for all military, law enforcement and commercial markets. It is the most versatile platform of a rifle on the face of the planet. Another rifle has crept up into that popularity; one that was on the scrap heap of the U.S. Army for nearly 40 years. That would be the one that started it all, the AR-10. “Tomorrow’s Rifle Today” in the late 1950s has turned out to be today’s rifle today. The rifle that Ordnance Corp….
At the 2012 SHOT Show, ArmaLite introduced their new and long anticipated AR-10A family of rifles. This is an AR-10 that uses the standard magazine rather than the proprietary M14 based magazine that the ArmaLite AR-10B rifles have used since their introduction in 1995. To trace the history a little, the ArmaLite AR-10B series was introduced to the commercial market in 1995, which was one year after the infliction of the 1994 assault weapon ban that prohibited production of magazines that held more than 10 rounds for commercial purposes. Former U.S. Army Ordnance officer and President of ArmaLite Mark Westrom had a dilemma on his hands while….
Early in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq it was clear by the entire sniping community there was a need for a new updated sniper rifle. Modern semiautomatic rifles show little to no accuracy degradation from the traditional bolt action rifles used throughout the last century. The use of a semiautomatic sniper system not only would provide the snipers with their existing capabilities but so much more. Snipers could engage five targets in at least half the time it would take a sniper with a bolt action rifle. Also, the snipers ability to engage multi-targets is vastly increased….
The reintroduction of the AR-10/SR-25 in the early 1990s re-revolutionized the use of semiautomatic rifles as sniper/tactical rifles. The direct gas system combined with the eight-lug rotating bolt and a free floating barrel made this system sub-MOA with little difficulty or maintenance. Although the AR-10 was discarded nearly 50 years ago by a biased and self serving….
Over the last 15 or so years, the sniper rifle in both concept and rifle has changed. It was not until the Vietnam War where…
