M16 and AR-15: How firearms work

A great video introduction of the inner workings of the modern-day musket, a rifle everyone on the Pro-Liberty Right should own.

The AR-15 is the modern-day musket, the basic rifle of the common man or woman. Equivalent to the Kentucky long rifle from days of yore. Owning one should be a basic requirement to obtaining one’s woman or man card with building one from a stripped lower receiver on up the best way to become intimately familiar with the firearm.

It’s been said that the AR-15 is a ‘Barbie-doll’ for grown ups, with countless options and accessories beyond the basic form. The rifle has two main parts – the upper and lower receivers. The upper comprises the barrel, upper receiver, gas impingement or piston system, Picatinny rails or hand guards and optical or back up iron sights.

The lower receiver is the critical part of the system, with the basic part [colloquially called a ‘stripped’ lower receiver]. It could be thought of as the ‘motherboard’ of the rifle. This is the part that has the serial number and is considered to be a ‘gun’ in its basic state.

For those interested in building one of these fine rifles, there are a number of tutorial videos and articles on the web. Such as the series outlined below from the fine people at Brownells.

Everyone can start out by getting a stripped lower receiver and add the parts for the fire control group as well as the upper receiver and other parts. It is a great way to learn the intricacies of the rifle, just be careful since it’s very easy to accidentally lose a stripped lower receiver since its only a small, lightweight piece of aluminium that can easily be misplaced.

How To Build An AR

Brownells: How to Build an AR-15