ByTerrence Dunn, Vancouver

Published:June 19, 2022, 6:00am

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James Ault uses some trivial characteristics of the AR-15 to justify his false claim that it is a hunting rifle rather than an assault rifle (“AR-15 is natural evolution,”Our Readers’ Views, June 15). It is more instructive to look at relevant characteristics of the AR-15. Its ammunition is the 5.56 NATO cartridge, the same as the M16. This is the cartridge that all NATO armies, including the U.S. Army, must use in their assault rifles. The barrel velocity of the AR-15 is the same as that of the M16 at 3,300 feet/second.

To reload the firing chamber, the AR-15 and M16 use exactly the same semi-automatic gas-piston system. It is key to the functioning of an assault rifle. While the AR-15 is sold without the fully automatic function of the M16, fully automatic function can easily be added to…