Technical Specifications

Type	Assault rifle
Country of origin	United States
Designer	Eugene Stoner (AR-10) · L. James Sullivan (AR-15)
Designed	1959
In service	1964–present
Wars	See Conflicts
Used by	See Users
No. built	~8 million · ~28 million AR-15–style rifles
Variants	See List of Colt AR-15 and M16 rifle variants
Weight	Unloaded: · 6.37 lb (M16A1) · 7.5 lb (M16A2 without magazine and sling) · 7.5 lb (M16A4) · 8.81 lb (M16A4 loaded with 30 rounds and sling)
Length	38.81 in (M16A1) · 39.63 in (M16A2) · 39.37 in (M16A4)
Barrel length	20 in
Cartridge	5.56×45mm NATO
Action	Gas-operated, closed rotating bolt, Stoner bolt and carrier piston
Feed	STANAG magazine · 20-round detachable box magazine · 30-round detachable box magazine · 40-round detachable box magazine · 60-round detachable box magazine · Beta C-Mag 100-round drum magazine
Muzzle velocity	3150 ft/s (M855A1 round)
Rate of fire	700–800 rounds/min cyclic sustained (M16A1) · 700–900 rounds/min cyclic sustained (M16A2, M16A3) · 800 rounds/min cyclic sustained (M16A4)
Range	550 m (point target) · 800 m (area target)
Maximum range	3600 m