Characteristics of the AR-10 assault rifle
A country:USAType:Assault rifleDate of issue:1955Caliber:7.62 mmLength:1040 mm (barrel: 540 mm)Weight:3.8 kg (unloaded).Rate of fire:700 rounds per minuteInitial bullet speed:No informationAmmunition:20-round box magazine (7.62x51mm NATO)
“The AR-10 assault rifle is the 7.62mm ancestor of the M-16. History of creation, design and main modifications"
Disassembly
Before disassembling, make sure the weapon is not loaded. If it has an optic installed, you should not fire dry, as the recoil will be much greater, which can damage the scope.
First of all, you need to remove the stock. To do this, just unscrew two screws on the stock, near the axis of the fracture, and then one under the trigger guard.
The next step is to remove the trigger assembly. To do this, move the fuse back, and then use a screwdriver to disconnect the clamping ring. And then just remove the fuse plate. Now you can unscrew the bolts that hold the trigger.
Next, press the back of the cylinder against a table or other hard and flat surface. Then we knock out the pin that holds the plug. After all this, you can remove the spring from the guide.
Next, we remove the trigger, after which it is possible to pull the lever stop out of the piston. Now we will be able to remove the piston itself. This completes the disassembly.
The history of the AR-10 assault rifle
The AR-10 assault rifle was developed by Eugene Stoner, who worked for Armalite, a division of the American corporation Fairchild Engine and Airplane Corp, in 1955. The rifle was intended to participate in a competition for a new 7.62 mm rifle for the US Army, to replace the outdated M1 Garand rifles. However, the AR-10 rifle was late for the start of the competition, and its design was too advanced for the very conservative American military of that time. In any case, in 1957 the Americans adopted the 7.62 mm M14 automatic rifle, and the AR-10 was not brought into production until the early 1960s.
Actually in the USA, the production of this rifle was minimal, since the production of ready-made weapons quickly switched to the development of a new small-caliber (5.56 mm) automatic rifle for the US Army on its basis. Further, the line of development of the classic 7.62 mm AR-10 went only in the form of its small-caliber descendant, a series of famous AR-15 / M16 rifles, and for a couple of decades the existence of the AR-10 was practically forgotten altogether.
Classic "Armalight-10". A simple and utilitarian greeting from the 1950s in 7.62 mm caliber
Production continued only at the Dutch arsenal Artillerie Inrichtingen, where the license for the production of the AR-10 was sold. However, the Europeans churned out quite a few “Armalight-10” - in total, by the beginning of the 1960s, approximately 10,000 copies were produced, which ended up in both the Dutch, Sudanese and Portuguese arsenals.
Review of the Stoeger X10 air rifle
Stoeger is a fairly young Turkish company that produces high-quality and inexpensive air guns. It is completely owned by the more famous and eminent Italian company Beretta, which, by the way, has united more than one company into its holding.
The Stoeger X10 is an almost complete copy of the Spanish air rifle Gamo Hunter 440, but it has been slightly modified, for example, the Turks use more steel in their version. The workmanship is also at a fairly high level, thanks to which this series of weapons has found its connoisseurs, and on numerous forums users praise reliability, power, accuracy, as well as the quality of processing and assembly.
The X10 rifle is a spring-piston type pneumatic with reloading through a broken barrel. It belongs to the so-called Magnum class of rifles. Mechanical sights with fiber-optic threads.
For installation of optical devices there is a dovetail mount, and in some modifications the optics are included. Actually, the material of the stock depends on the modification, but in any version it is without notches for better retention. The buttstock does not have a cheekpiece, for more convenient aiming, however, if this is important to you, you can always pay attention to the X20 series, which differs only in the stock and the included optical sight.
The fuse, as in all spring-piston automatic rifles. It turns on due to a broken barrel, thanks to which you will definitely avoid an accidental shot, which will negatively affect the weapon, especially if the barrel is open (in this case, you yourself can get seriously injured).
Separately, it is worth highlighting the plastic muzzle. It protects the barrel chamfer from dirt, improves the grip of the barrel and makes it easier and more confident to reload the weapon.
Photo of the Stoeger X10 air rifle
Advantages and disadvantages
Users note the following advantages of the Stoeger X10 air rifle:
- Fiber-optic threads allow you to shoot more effectively from iron sights even in limited lighting;
- Good workmanship;
- Quite good accuracy and accuracy of fire;
- Several modifications allow you to choose the optimal version based on preferences and financial capabilities;
- High firing power, however, after purchasing in Russia you will have to change the base spring and piston, fortunately the “correct” ones are included in the kit;
- The muzzle makes reloading easier and also protects the barrel chamfer.
The model also has certain disadvantages:
- After purchase, it is necessary to sort it out, since the weapon has a very strong diesel effect, and this has an extremely negative effect on the spring and cuff;
After purchase, it is necessary to independently install the “correct” and more powerful spring and piston without a hole, which entails voiding the warranty. This is rather a feature of pneumatics in Russia in general, since legislation limits power, and replacement can be done at a service center.
Purpose
This rifle is perfect for recreational shooting or so-called plinking, when the shooter gets special satisfaction from punching through various kinds of pieces of iron, from beer cans to steel sheets.
Also, the power, especially after installing a gas spring, will be enough for hunting. This is facilitated by the fact that the rifle was copied specifically from the model for hunters.
New life for an old AR-10 rifle
By the early 1980s, the reorganized Armalite company (already without Stoner) decided to re-conquer the American arms market. It was pointless to compete with the M-16 in the military weapons market, so the emphasis was placed on the civilian and police weapons market. And the “flagship” was supposed to be the AR-10, which was successfully forgotten twenty years ago.
The new rifle essentially represented a reverse step in the development of the family - if at first the AR-15 rifle was obtained by reducing the AR-10, then the revived AR-10 under the symbol AR-10B was an enlarged AR-15, corresponding in all respects to the M16A2 rifle, and differed from it only in the absence of automatic fire.
In terms of design, the “original” AR-10 is practically no different from the AR-15 of the very first samples. The main differences are the location of the charging handle above the receiver, rather than behind it, and the sight's rear sight, which is continuously adjustable in range.
AR-10A4 semi-automatic rifle. There is even an option for a hunting cartridge.
Equipment
The rifle comes in a black box with a color printed image of the weapon and its name. Inside, it is held in place by small foam inserts, and for greater safety and to prevent damage to the surface, the pneumatic is wrapped in cellophane.
In the box you will also find a passport, a piston without a hole and a full-fledged powerful spring. If you took the Combo version, you will also get a 4x optical sight. It is worth noting that it cannot be installed immediately, and this can only be done after the weapon’s diesel effect disappears.
Garage and construction cooperative
was something of a personal hobby for George Sullivan, patent lawyer for the Lohey Corporation of Lockheed Aircraft. True, for some reason George did not (or was unable to) make money from his native office, so he had to look for sponsors on the side. As a result, competitors from Fairchild contributed the money.
Sullivan initially planned to enter the sporting arms market. However, the company's production capabilities were not very good. Sullivan made the first samples in his own garage. Even when the company opened a small candle factory and a small machine shop, things didn’t get much better. George hoped to widely introduce advanced aviation technologies - plastic, aluminum - into weapons production.
Eugene Stoner and his rifles
It was this company that Eugene Stoner came to. By acquaintance, he and George Sullivan met at a shooting range, and he was so impressed by Eugene’s ideas that he invited him to join his newly created company as chief engineer.
However, in the process of work, it quickly became clear that selling cool, even sometimes revolutionary ideas on the arms market is a little difficult. There were, to put it mildly, a lot of ideas around - in contrast to the weapons that actually proved their superiority. Armalite made AR-1, AR-3, but it did not succeed in the civilian market.
Early AR-10 prototypes
Stoner's first successful model was the AR-5 chambered in .22 Hornet, created in 1954 as a "survival weapon" for Air Force pilots. Its main advantages were lightness and simplicity - when disassembled, the weapon was a sealed case-butt that did not even sink in water. True, it was difficult to fight off someone larger than a rabbit with an AR-5.
AR-5 rifle
Although the AR-5 was adopted by the US Air Force under the designation “MA-1 survival rifle,” there was no money for mass purchase from pilots. Times were hard, everything was spent on strategic bombers.
However, Armalite, in the absence of other successes, considered even this an achievement. They decided to give up on the civilian market, where they could not appreciate their flight of thought, and focus on the military.
Choice of optics
Perhaps the most common magnification for optics for high-power rifles is 3-9. Variable magnification will allow you to shoot effectively at medium and long distances. When choosing, it is important to pay attention to several details, namely the mount, since this rifle has an 11mm dovetail. Also be sure to make sure that the chosen model can withstand the recoil power of the X10, since it is very common to find sights for rifles with muzzle energy up to 7.5 J, and in our case it is more than twice as much.
For example, you can pay attention to the Veber PO 3-9x40 AO E model. This is a pretty good optics that has better image quality and a rather larger field of view. It can easily withstand muzzle power of up to 25 J, which will allow you to upgrade your weapon without fear of breaking the sighting device.
Photo of the Veber PO 3-9x40 AO E optical sight
Advantages and disadvantages
Among the advantages of Turkish weapons are noted:
- shooting accuracy at medium distances, tight grouping at long distances;
- high power;
- ease of assembly and disassembly;
- low recoil, they are reduced by a rubber pad on the body;
- the use of fiberglass on the sight, thanks to the photosensitive threads, the front sight is perfectly visible in cloudy weather;
- variability of replaced elements: spring and piston from other models are suitable;
- the presence of a muzzle.
Flaws:
- After purchasing the weapon, it is advisable to go through the weapon to reduce the amount of lubricant and change the piston with a hole to a solid one. Reducing the diesel effect will protect the spring from breakage and the cuff from burning.
- When firing dry, the optics become confused. The sight can be damaged.
- Rigid trigger mechanism in comparison with analogues of other gunsmiths.
Modifications
The Stoeger X10 air gun is available in two versions: Wood and Synthetic. The Turkish Stoeger X10 Wood rifle in plastic design is often positioned as Italian. The dense plastic, rough to the touch, looks good. The stock holds well in the hand and does not slip out.
The Stoeger X10 Synthetic 4.5 mm from a distance is confused with a hunting rifle. This modification is chosen by lovers of the classics. Models with the word “Combo” in the name are equipped with a detachable 4x32 optical sight.
