It had a novel reloading system that functioned on the gun’s own hot gas, and a unique stock that kept the gun on target. In 1959, the gun company Colt acquired manufacturing and sublicensing rights to Stoner’s AR-15 and his gas system. It came equipped with a 20-round magazine, and in 1966, the military ordered more than 400,000 of the guns for its troops. That didn’t stop Colt from marketing to hunters a semiautomatic version — the “Sporter” — that carried a five-round magazine. The gun did not catch on, and the company produced only a few thousand a year.

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Persons: Stoner, “, Armalite, Stoner’s, Colt Organizations: Colt