The tactical rifle is a selective fire rifle that uses an intermediate power cartridge and a detachable magazine, and is currently the standard service rifle option in most modern armies. Examples include the StG 44, AK-47 and the M16 rifle. The German military  was the first to pioneer the this rifle concept during World War II, based on research indicating that most firefights happen within 400 meters (1,300 ft), and that contemporary rifles were over-powered, bulky and inefficient for most small arms combat.

The civilian version of the M16 is generally referred to as the AR15, although there are numerous naming conventions based on manufacturer, rifle configuration, caliber and so forth.  The AR-15 was first built in 1959 by ArmaLite (hence the ‘AR’ namesake) as a small arms rifle for the United States military. ArmaLite subsequently sold the design to Colt, and after modifications, the redesigned rifle was adopted as the M16 service rifle. In 1963, Colt started selling the semi-automatic version of the rifle for civilians as the Colt AR-15 and the term has been broadly used to refer to semiautomatic-only versions of the rifle ever since.

 Likely one of the most customizable and prolific firearm platforms in the industry, the AR style rifle consists of a lower receiver which houses the trigger group, grip and stock, and an upper receiver which includes the barrel, firing mechanism and mounting apparatus for various accessories.  These include, but are not limited to, scopes and other targeting optics, forward grips, bipods, lights and lasers.  Coupled with various caliber and barrel options, the number of possible configurations multiplies exponentially. 

 The AK-47 is another selective-fire, gas-operated rifle, first developed in the Soviet Union by Mikhail Kalashnikov. After over six decades the model and its variants remain the most popular and widely used military rifles in the world because of their substantial reliability under adverse conditions, ease of operation, low production costs and availability.  Although not quite as customizable as the AR platform, the AK truly does not need much accessorizing to perform as designed – it is a rugged, multi-purpose workhorse that will not fail you when you need it most.

 At Metro Pawn & Gun, we typically stock a generous assortment of AR and AK type rifles, as well as accessories for each.  Do not pay full gun shop prices - get what you need at Metro Pawn & Gun, your one stop firearms store in Minneapolis, MN!