The AR-15 is a highly popular rifle that has become a symbol of American culture and firearms ownership. The history of the AR-15 can be traced back to the early 1950s, when Eugene Stoner, a firearms engineer, began working on a new rifle design for the Armalite Corporation.

The first prototype of the rifle, called the AR-10, was designed for military use and used a 7.62x51mm cartridge. While the AR-10 was not adopted by the US military, it did see use by a number of foreign militaries and was highly influential in the development of the AR-15.

In 1958, the AR-15 was developed by Armalite as a smaller version of the AR-10, using a .223 Remington cartridge. While the rifle was initially intended for military use, it quickly became popular with sports shooters and hunters due to its accuracy and versatility.

In the 1960s, the US military adopted the AR-15 as the M16 rifle, which saw widespread use in the Vietnam War. Since then, the AR-15 has become one of the most popular rifles in the United States, with millions of them being sold for sports shooting, hunting, and self-defense.