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The AR-15: America’s Loved and Hated Rifle
Eugene Stoner, a seemingly ordinary man in postwar America, was an unlikely inventor. With his glasses, fondness for bow ties, and friendly demeanor, he appeared more like a teddy bear than a genius. Refusing to swear or spank his children, he was a unique character who disliked attention.
A lifelong tinkerer and a Marine veteran, Stoner had a passion for improving the performance and functionality of guns. Whenever an idea struck, he would jot it down on napkins, scraps of paper, or even tablecloths. Despite lacking formal training in engineering or firearms design, it was in Stoner’s unassuming garage in Los Angeles during the 1950s that he conceived an idea that would forever change American history.
Today, the AR-15, the rifle born from Stoner’s ingenuity, is both revered and reviled. It serves as a symbol of Second Amendment rights for millions of Americans, but it is also seen as a catalyst for a violent gun culture run amok by millions of others. With its lightweight frame and internal gas system, the military version of the AR-15 can fire automatically, unleashing a hail of bullets with a single trigger pull. However, it can also be fired semiautomatically, allowing for more precise shots. The civilian semiautomatic version is now the best-selling rifle in America, with over 20 million in civilian hands. Regrettably, it has also become the weapon of choice for mass shooters, including the recent white supremacist attacker in Jacksonville, Florida.
The consequences of the AR-15’s creation have rippled through society and politics for generations, in ways that Stoner could never have anticipated. Initially, he designed the firearm with a straightforward goal: to develop a superior rifle for the U.S. military and its allies during the Cold War. His aim was to protect the country he loved. However, his invention is now inseparably linked in the public consciousness with the horrors of innocent individuals being targeted while going about their daily lives—at school, at the movies, at the store, or at a concert. Yet, few participants in America’s ongoing gun debate are familiar with the true and complex history of this consequential creation, or the man behind it. The saga of the AR-15 is a tale of how an invention can quickly escape the control of its inventor and be used in ways never contemplated.
We had the opportunity to interview Stoner’s family members and close colleagues about his views on his invention. While we can only speculate on his thoughts regarding the current usage of the AR-15, as Stoner passed away before the prevalence of mass shootings involving these rifles, their insights provide valuable glimpses into the mind of the inventor. Toward the end of his life, Stoner, reflecting on his career during an interview for the Smithsonian Institution, mused, “It was kind of a hobby that got out of hand.”
As a young boy growing up in California’s Coachella Valley during the 1920s and ’30s, Stoner exhibited a fascination with explosions. By the age of 10, he had begun designing rockets and crude weapons. On one occasion, he even constructed a primitive cannon aimed at a neighboring house. However, before he could fire it, his father intervened, scolding him for not using the city dump for his experiments. Lloyd Stoner, a World War I veteran who relocated the family from Indiana to California in search of a better life, insisted on safety.
Eugene Stoner never pursued a college education. Instead, he enlisted in the Marines during World War II and spent his time repairing weapons on aircraft in the Philippines. Upon returning home, he presented his wife, Jean, with a rifle assembled from gun parts he had obtained during his service in Asia. Jean, an adventurous woman with a strong admiration for Amelia Earhart, loved the gift. The couple frequently enjoyed hunting and shooting together. Jean recalled, “He was a very quiet person, but if you talked about guns, cars, or planes, he’d talk all night.”
After the war, Stoner found employment as a machinist, manufacturing aircraft parts. Every evening, after a meal prepared by Jean (his favorite being beef Stroganoff), he would take a short nap before retreating to the garage to work on his gun designs. Like other inventors of the era, Stoner believed he had the power to propel the nation forward through his ingenuity. “We were like the typical 1950s family. It was California. It was thriving after the war,” shared his daughter Susan. “Through my dad, I sensed the limitless possibilities of the future.”
Stoner possessed a remarkable ability, common among inventors, to envision engineering solutions that others entrenched in conventional thinking could not fathom. Historically, gunmakers had constructed rifles using wood and steel, resulting in heavy firearms. Recognizing the U.S. military’s need for lighter rifles, Stoner contemplated whether modern materials could be used to build a superior firearm. If airplanes could soar through the sky using lightweight aluminum, then surely this metal could withstand the pressures of a firing gun. By the early 1950s, Stoner had devised a way to replace one of the heaviest steel components of a rifle with aluminum. Additionally, he harnessed the power of gas generated by exploded gunpowder to move internal parts of the gun, eject spent casings, and load fresh rounds. This innovative design eliminated other cumbersome metal components traditionally used in firearms. Admittedly, his initial attempt at firing his gun resulted in hot gas blowing back into his face, but he perfected the design and eventually obtained a patent for his creation.
In 1954, Stoner received a remarkable opportunity to bring his unconventional gun concepts to life. As he recalled, he had a chance encounter with George Sullivan, the head of a Hollywood startup named ArmaLite, at a local gun range. Known for his relentless sales pitch, Sullivan was scouting for talent and was captivated by the homemade guns Stoner was firing. Impressed with Stoner’s skills, Sullivan recruited him as ArmaLite’s chief engineer.
Operating within the small yet brilliant ArmaLite team, Stoner and his colleagues feverishly designed a series of lightweight guns constructed from aluminum and plastic. Unfortunately, most of their designs failed to gain traction. Nonetheless, Sullivan, who possessed unbounded ambition, set his sights on an audacious goal: supplanting Springfield Armory—the military’s longstanding institution for producing firearms—in becoming the U.S. Army’s primary rifle supplier. Under the Eisenhower administration’s “New Look,” which aimed to curtail Pentagon spending and promote advancements in technology, private companies were given opportunities to secure lucrative military contracts. The ArmaLite team, still considered outsiders from Hollywood, ambitiously decided to challenge Springfield Armory, which had developed a heavy wood-and-steel rifle that was only marginally more sophisticated than the World War II-era M1 Garand.
ArmaLite’s first serious endeavor to create a rapid-fire, lightweight rifle employing plastic and aluminum was the AR-10. The “AR” in its name stood for ArmaLite or ArmaLite Research (accounts differ), and “10” indicated that this was the company’s tenth creation. Incorporating Stoner’s efficient internal gas system and employing modern lightweight materials, the AR-10 enabled easier shooting and better target acquisition. In December 1956, Time magazine hailed the AR-10 as a potential…
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